Make it stick · 3 min

Glossary

Every term used in the project, in plain words.

Search the glossary

ClaimOne account's attempt to own one domain.Product

ChallengeThe record issued for a claim: its name, value and expiry.Product

TokenThe random 26-character code inside the value.Product

CheckOne verification attempt.Product

ObservationOne resolver's answer to one question, during a check.Product

OutcomeWhat a check concluded.Product

StatusThe stored lifecycle state of a claim.Product

PhaseWhat to show for a claim. Computed on each read.Product

OwnerThe account whose claim is verified or at risk.Product

RotateIssue a new code, replacing the old one.Product

Grace periodThe 7 days to restore a missing record.Product

LeaseA worker's temporary hold on a claim.Product

PrufyThe product: a tool that only proves you own a domain.Product

RelayThe made-up email product this started inside. The name was dropped.Product

SessionOne signed-in browser, pointing at an account.Product

AccountWhoever a first claim created. Not a person, and there's no sign-up.Product

AlertA message about one of six state changes, by email or push.Product

Setup linkA link that can read one claim's record and ask for a check.Product

InviteA setup link sent by email, with the record in the message.Product

KilnThe product name used in earlier experiments.Product

ZoneA part of DNS that one party runs.DNS

Zone apexThe top of a zone, like example.com.DNS

Zone cutWhere one zone hands off to another.DNS

DelegationA zone saying who's in charge of the next level down.DNS

Authoritative serverThe server holding the real answer.DNS

Recursive resolverA server that looks things up for others, and caches.DNS

DoHDNS over HTTPS.DNS

TTLHow long an answer may be cached, in seconds.DNS

Negative cachingRemembering that something doesn't exist.DNS

PropagationCaches catching up. Nothing actually travels.DNS

rcodeThe status of a DNS response.DNS

NXDOMAINThis name doesn't exist.DNS

NODATAThe name exists, without a record of that type.DNS

SERVFAILThe server couldn't work it out.DNS

AD flagThis answer passed DNSSEC validation.DNS

Lame delegationNameservers that are listed but don't work.DNS

RegistrarWhere you bought the domain.DNS

DNS hostWho answers for the domain.DNS

LabelOne part between dots.Names

Public suffixAn ending people register under, like co.uk.Names

Registrable domainA public suffix plus one label. Also called eTLD+1.Names

IDNA domain in a non-ASCII script.Names

PunycodeThe ASCII encoding of an IDN.Names

A-labelAn encoded label beginning with xn--.Names

HomographA name that looks like another.Names

Pure functionSame input, same output, no side effects.Code

Discriminated unionA union told apart by one field.Code

BrandA type marker that makes a string a specific kind.Code

Composition rootWhere real implementations get wired together.Code

FixtureCanned data for tests.Code

MigrationA versioned schema change.Code

Shape constraintThe per-status CHECK on domain_claims.Code

Partial unique indexA unique index covering only some rows.Code

Optimistic concurrencyWrite only if the version hasn't changed.Code

SKIP LOCKEDIgnore rows another transaction has locked.Code

SSRFTricking a server into fetching something for you.Code

Domain ConnectAn open standard for one-click DNS setup.Code

Serverless functionCode that only runs while it's handling a request.Code

Vercel CronA schedule that calls a route on your production deployment.Code

Preview deploymentA private copy of the app, built from a branch.Code

Ignored Build StepA command that decides whether Vercel skips a build.Code

NeonThe hosted Postgres behind the deployed app.Code

CookieA small value the browser stores and sends back with each request.Web

HttpOnlyA cookie that page scripts can't read.Web

SameSite=LaxA cookie the browser leaves off cross-site POSTs.Web

SecureA cookie only ever sent over HTTPS.Web

CSRFAnother site making a request as you, using your cookie.Web

SHA-256A one-way hash. Easy to compute, not possible to reverse.Web

CapabilityA link or token whose possession is the permission.Web

Double opt-inAn address gets nothing but a confirmation link until it's clicked.Web

Best effortTried once. A failure is logged, not retried.Web

OutboxA table of messages to send, with retries. Not built here.Web

Web PushThe standard for sending a notification to a browser.Web

VAPIDA key pair that signs each push, so no account with Apple or Google is needed.Web

Push subscriptionA browser's endpoint and keys for receiving pushes.Web

Service workerA script the browser runs outside any page. Here it shows pushes.Web

PWAA site that can be installed like an app.Web

ManifestThe file that tells a browser how to install the site.Web

View transitionThe browser animating between two states of a page.Web

Shared elementOne element named on both pages, so it moves instead of fading.Web

Query cacheWhere TanStack Query keeps fetched data, by key.Web

Reduced motionA system setting asking sites to stop moving things.Web

WebGPUThe browser API for running code on the graphics card.Graphics

WGSLThe language WebGPU shaders are written in.Graphics

Fragment shaderA function that runs once per pixel and returns its colour.Graphics

UniformA value sent to a shader that's the same for every pixel.Graphics

OrthographicA view with no perspective: every ray is parallel.Graphics

Angular distanceHow far apart two points on a sphere are, as an angle.Graphics

Progressive blurA stack of blurs that get stronger toward an edge, each masked to a band, so the blur ramps up instead of starting at a hard line.Graphics

Yaw and pitchTurning around the vertical axis, and leaning toward or away from you.Graphics

Layout animationMotion animating a change of size or position between renders, with transforms.Code

background-clip: textA background shown only inside the text, so a gradient paints the letters.Code

Scroll timelineA CSS animation driven by a scroll position instead of time.Code

VignetteA gradient that darkens toward the edges of the frame.Graphics

Stacking contextA group of elements layered as one unit. A transform, opacity below 1, or a z-index on a positioned element creates one.Code

TargetThe JavaScript version TypeScript checks your code against.Code

Connection poolerA service that lets many short-lived clients share a few database connections.Code