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Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the words you'll meet in Buildliy, from build and preview to secrets, DNS and hosting credits.
Building an app comes with a lot of new words. This page explains the ones you'll see in Buildliy, in plain English, with a link to the page that covers each one in more detail.
A
API key
A long code a service gives you so your app can use it, a bit like a password for software. For example, an email service gives you an API key so your app can send emails through it. In Buildliy you usually add one as a connector or a secret, never by pasting it into your app's code.
App
The website or web app you're building: its pages, buttons, forms and the data behind them. Each app lives in its own project.
App AI
AI features inside your app that your visitors use, like a chatbot or a "summarize this" button. They run without you needing your own AI account or key. Each reply uses a small amount of your credits, after the free app AI credits your plan includes each month. You'll find the settings and limits under Manage → App AI. See AI in your app.
App map
A plain-English map of your app's pages and how they connect. Open it from the Workspace menu at the top right of a project, under App map. See The project workspace.
Authentication
See Sign-in.
B
Backend
The behind-the-scenes part of your app that visitors don't see: the database that stores information, user accounts, stored files and private keys. You look after it in the Manage tab. By default your app's backend runs on Buildliy hosting, with nothing to set up. See The Manage tab.
Build
One round of work by the AI: it reads your request, writes or changes your app's code, checks the result and saves a new version. Builds use credits. See How builds are checked.
Build mode
The chat mode where the AI makes changes to your app. Pick Build in the chat box when you want something built or changed. Compare with Discuss mode. See Chat with Buildliy.
Buildliy hosting
The built-in backend your app uses by default: its own private database and email-and-password sign-in, set up for you with nothing to configure, and paid from your credits. If you'd rather use your own Supabase or Neon account, you can switch under Manage → Backend. See Use your own backend.
C
Connector
A service, like an email or payments provider, that you connect to your Buildliy account once and then use in any of your apps by asking for it in chat. Open Connectors from the left sidebar of your dashboard. See Connectors.
Credits
What you spend in Buildliy. Credits pay for the AI's work (building, editing and chatting) and for keeping your apps running, after the free hosting credits your plan includes. Your plan gives you credits each month, and you can buy more with a top-up. On your own projects, you can see what each build cost. See Credits and usage.
Custom domain
Your own web address, like yourbusiness.com, used for your published app instead of the free Buildliy address. Custom domains are part of Pro: you can buy one through Buildliy or connect one you already own. See Custom domains.
D
Database
Where your app stores information, such as sign-ups, orders, bookings or messages, so it's still there tomorrow. Every app on Buildliy hosting gets its own private database, set up automatically. You can look inside it under Manage → Database. See Database.
Discuss mode
The chat mode for talking an idea through without changing your app. The AI answers and gives advice, but writes no code. Pick Discuss in the chat box. Answers still use a small amount of credits. See Chat with Buildliy.
DNS
The internet's address book. It tells browsers which server to visit when someone types your web address. To connect a domain you own, you add a few DNS records at the company where you bought it. Changes can take a while to spread across the internet. See Custom domains.
F
Fix it
A button Buildliy shows when something is broken, for example when your preview shows This preview hit an error or your live site stops working. Clicking it starts a build that asks the AI to find and fix the problem. It uses credits like any build. On an error in Manage → Logs, Fix it puts the request in the chat box for you to send instead. See How builds are checked.
G
GitHub
A popular website where developers store and share code. You can send your app's code to your own GitHub account from your project, to keep a copy or hand it to a developer. See GitHub.
H
Hosting
Keeping your app online and running once it's published: serving its pages to visitors, plus its database, stored files and any AI features inside it. Hosting is paid from the same credits as building, after the free hosting credits your plan includes each month. See Hosting.
Hosting credits
Free credits included with your plan each month just for running your apps. They're used before your regular credits and refresh every month (they don't roll over). Your plan also includes a small amount of app AI credits that work the same way. See Hosting.
K
Knowledge
Standing instructions the AI follows on every build of a project, such as your brand's tone or "never change the logo". Open it from the Workspace menu under Knowledge. See Project knowledge.
L
Launch checklist
A list of checks Buildliy runs on your app before it goes live, covering safety, sign-in, search engines and more. Most items are advice, but critical problems (like a private key visible in your code) must be fixed before you can publish. Open it from the Workspace menu under Launch. See Launch checklist.
M
Manage tab
The tab next to Preview and Code where you look after your app's backend: Database, Users, Storage, Secrets, Connectors, Logs, Usage and more. See The Manage tab.
P
Plan
Your Buildliy subscription. The Free plan gives you 30 credits each month and one live app. Pro lets you choose how many credits you get each month, invite teammates and use a custom domain, and has no limit on how many apps you can have live. See Plans.
Plan card
A card the AI can show before a bigger change, titled "Here's what I'll build". It lists what the AI is about to do. Nothing is built until you press Build it, and you can press Change the plan to adjust it first. See Plans and approvals.
Preview
The live, working copy of your app on the right side of a project. You can click around in it, fill in forms and try every page while you build. Anyone who has the preview's link can open it. If a project hasn't been used for a while, its preview goes to sleep, and Buildliy starts it again by itself when you come back (usually in about 30 to 60 seconds). See The project workspace.
Project
The home for one app in Buildliy: its chat, versions, preview, code and backend. All your projects are listed under Projects in your dashboard's sidebar. See Your dashboard.
Prompt
The message you type to tell the AI what you want. Clear, specific prompts get better results. See Write great prompts.
Publish
Putting your app on the web so people can visit it. Your app gets a free buildliy.app address, and on Pro you can add a custom domain. Publishing doesn't use credits, but you need at least 1 credit in your balance. Changes you make afterwards only reach your live site when you publish again. See Publish your app.
R
Repository
A folder of code on GitHub, often shortened to "repo". When you send your app to GitHub, Buildliy creates a private repository on your own account. See GitHub.
Restore
Going back to an earlier version of your app. Restoring is free (your live preview uses a little credit while it runs) and keeps your chat history, so you can move forward again. See Version history.
Roles
Who can do what in your app, for example customers, staff and admins. You'll find a plain-English summary in the Workspace menu under Roles. See The project workspace.
S
Secret
A private value your app needs, usually an API key, stored safely in Manage → Secrets. Secrets are encrypted and only used by your app's server, so they never appear in the code visitors' browsers download. See Secrets and API keys.
Sign-in
Letting people create an account in your app and log in, so they can see their own data. Also called authentication. Ask for it in chat, and see who has signed up under Manage → Users. See User sign-in.
Storage
Folders for files that belong to your app rather than its code, such as documents and photos. You create folders and upload files yourself under Manage → Storage, and choose whether each folder is private or public. When your app lets visitors upload files, the AI saves them there too (see Letting visitors upload files). See File storage.
Subdomain
The first part of a web address, before the main name. In juniper-yoga.buildliy.app, juniper-yoga is the subdomain. Your published app gets a free one on buildliy.app. See Publish your app.
T
Table
One list of related information in your database, like a spreadsheet tab. An online shop might have a table of products and a table of orders. See Database.
Team
People you invite to work on your projects with you, on the Pro plan. Their builds on your projects are paid from your credits, and each teammate has a role (Admin or Member) that decides what they can do. Invite them under Settings → Team. See Teams.
Template
A finished example app you can start from instead of a blank page. Starting from a template is free: no AI runs. While the app's live preview is running it uses a small amount of credit, and the changes you ask for afterwards are normal builds. See Start from a template.
Top-up
Extra credits you buy on top of your plan, for when you run low. Top-up credits stay valid for 12 months. See Credits and usage.
V
Version
A saved snapshot of your app. Every build that changes your app saves a new version, and so do saved click-to-edit changes and restores, so you can always go back. See Version history.
Visual editing
Changing your app by clicking on it instead of typing a prompt. Click the pencil icon above your preview, then click any text or element to change its words, colors and style. Edits you make yourself this way don't use the AI, so they don't use credits. See Edit by clicking.
W
Workspace
The screen you build in: the chat on the left, and your app's Preview, Code and Manage tabs on the right. Workspace is also the name of the menu at the top right of a project, which opens the app map, data, roles, launch checklist, analytics and knowledge. On a team, your workspace also means all the projects you share with your teammates. See The project workspace and Teams.
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