Glossary

Quick reference for App2 terminology. Find definitions for platform-specific terms, features, integrations, and development concepts.

Written By Nick Gatzoulis

Last updated 3 months ago

App2-Specific Terms

  • App2: AI-powered development platform that builds mobile and web applications from natural language descriptions and Figma designs.

  • Chat Mode: Setting that determines how the AI responds to your prompts. Five modes available: BUILD (write code), PLAN (create plans without code), DEBUG (fix issues), REVIEW (code feedback), and DOCS (write documentation).

  • Chat Session: Individual conversation thread within a project used to organize work by purpose or feature. Sessions can inherit context from parent sessions and maintain their own chat history.

  • Context Group: Collection of related files or components grouped together to provide focused context to the AI during code generation.

  • Quick Actions: Feature accessed via the "+" button that provides shortcuts to upload files, access docs, manage rulesets, browse project files, switch sessions, connect integrations, and start Figma import.

  • @mention: Syntax used in prompts to reference specific files (@file/path), documentation (@docs/path), or rulesets (@rules/path) to provide context to the AI.

  • Sandbox: Secure, isolated development environment where your code executes safely. Automatically installs dependencies, provides live preview URL, and persists files across sessions.

  • Workspace: Team collaboration space where you share projects, credits, and integrations with other members. Each workspace has its own billing and permission management.

  • Primary Workspace: Your first workspace created when you sign up. Receives 25 free credits per month (Free tier) and cannot be deleted.

  • Secondary Workspace: Additional workspace requiring Pro subscription. Has independent billing, separate team members, and no free credit allocation.

  • Predictive Prompting: AI-generated suggestions for next steps after code generation. Free tier gets 1 suggestion, Pro tier gets up to 3 suggestions.

  • Prompt Enhancement: Magic wand button feature that improves your prompts before sending them to the AI for better results.

  • Rulesets: Markdown files in the rules/ directory that instruct the AI how to write code for your project. Used to enforce coding standards, best practices, and project-specific conventions.

  • Autodocs: Automation feature that prompts the AI to maintain project documentation in the /docs/ folder as it writes code.

  • Project Freeze: Protection mechanism that prevents code generation when critical integrations (GitHub, Supabase) are disconnected or revoked. Prevents data loss and inconsistencies.


AI & Development

  • AI Code Generation: The process where AI models (Claude, OpenAI, Gemini) write production-ready code based on natural language descriptions.

  • Prompt: Natural language instruction or question you send to the AI to generate code, create plans, debug issues, or produce documentation.

  • LLM (Large Language Model): AI model trained on vast amounts of text data used for code generation. App2 uses Claude, OpenAI (GPT-5), and Gemini.

  • BYOK (Bring Your Own Keys): Lifetime tier feature that allows you to use your own API keys from OpenAI, Anthropic (Claude), or Google (Gemini) instead of consuming App2 credits.

  • Context: Information provided to the AI (files, docs, rulesets, chat history) that helps it make better code generation decisions.

  • MCP (Model Context Protocol): Standard protocol that enables AI models to access external tools and data sources. Used by Context7 for library documentation and Supabase for database operations.


Features & Tools

  • BUILD Mode: Chat mode where the AI writes and modifies code to implement features and functionality. This is the default mode.

  • PLAN Mode: Chat mode where the AI creates detailed implementation plans without writing any code. Useful for architectural discussions and saves credits.

  • DEBUG Mode: Chat mode where the AI troubleshoots and fixes issues by analyzing error messages, identifying root causes, and providing specific solutions.

  • REVIEW Mode: Chat mode where the AI provides code quality feedback, identifies potential bugs, suggests optimizations, and checks for security issues.

  • DOCS Mode: Chat mode where the AI creates or improves project documentation in Markdown format, saved in the /docs/ directory.

  • Default Rulesets: Automatically generated rulesets (rules/default/) that provide baseline code quality guidelines. Based on your project template and cannot be deleted.

  • Custom Rulesets: User-created rulesets (rules/custom/) that enforce team-specific conventions, coding standards, and best practices.

  • Figma Import: Feature that converts Figma designs into mobile app code. Analyzes designs, creates scenes, and implements frontend and backend phases. Currently mobile-only.

  • Scene: Individual screen or interface in a Figma import workflow. Each scene can be implemented independently in frontend and backend phases.

  • Category: Organizational grouping in Figma imports (e.g., Authentication, Profile, Settings) that helps structure the implementation process.

  • Community Showcase: Public gallery on the App2 homepage where public projects are displayed. Features filtering by Popular, Trending, and Recent, organized into 12 categories.

  • Security Center: Centralized dashboard for managing environment variables, Supabase secrets, and security audits. Restricted to workspace owners and admins. Access via Settings β†’ Security Center.

  • Environment Variables: Configuration values stored in .env files in your GitHub repository. Managed through Security Center with direct GitHub API integration. See Security Center.

  • Supabase Secrets: Environment variables stored securely in Supabase using the Management API. Values are never exposed after creation. Managed through Security Center β†’ Secrets tab.


Integrations

  • GitHub Integration: Automatic repository creation and code synchronization. Every project gets a GitHub repository with full version control.

  • App2-Managed Repository: GitHub repository hosted in App2's GitHub organization. Available to all tiers, created automatically.

  • User-Owned Repository: GitHub repository hosted in your own GitHub account or organization. Requires Pro subscription and is needed for custom domains.

  • Vercel Integration: Production deployment service that automatically deploys your project with custom domains and preview URLs. Requires Pro subscription and user-owned GitHub repository.

  • Supabase Integration: Backend database integration providing PostgreSQL, authentication, storage, edge functions, and real-time capabilities. Available to all tiers.

  • Stripe Integration: Payment processing integration for accepting payments, managing subscriptions, and handling billing. Requires Pro subscription.

  • Context7: MCP server that provides up-to-date library documentation to improve AI code generation. Available to all tiers.

  • Reddit Integration: Create App2 projects by posting in r/app2dev subreddit with "Create App" flair. Bot responds with project link and supports commands like /retry and /prompt.


Subscription & Credits

  • Free Tier: $0/month plan with 10 monthly credits (5 per day usage limit), public projects only, solo workspace, and basic integrations.

  • Pro Tier: $25/month plan (or $200/year) with 100 monthly credits, private projects, up to 5 collaborators, and full integration access.

  • Lifetime Tier: $400 one-time payment with 2,400 total credits (100/month for 2 years), permanent Pro status, BYOK support, and early access to features.

  • Credits: Currency that powers every action on App2 including AI code generation, Figma imports, deployments, and integration operations. Consumption varies based on complexity.

  • Subscription Credits: Monthly credits included with Pro or Lifetime plans (100/month). Roll over if unused and never expire.

  • Free Credits: Daily credits for Free tier users (5/day, 25/month max). Reset at midnight UTC and don't carry over.

  • Purchased Credits: One-time credit purchases available in packages (100-800 credits). Never expire and work across any project.


Roles & Permissions

  • Owner: Workspace role with full control including billing management, workspace deletion, and all Admin/Member permissions. Cannot be removed or leave their own workspace.

  • Admin: Workspace role that can invite/remove members, manage integrations, change settings, and create/edit/delete projects. Cannot manage billing or remove other Admins/Owners.

  • Member: Workspace role that can create and edit projects, use workspace credits, and access shared integrations. Cannot invite members, delete projects, or manage settings.

  • Collaborator: Any workspace member (Owner, Admin, or Member) who contributes to projects. Limits vary by tier: Free (1), and Pro/Lifetime (5)


Project Management

  • Project: Individual application built within a workspace. Includes chat sessions, sandbox, GitHub repository, optional Vercel deployment, and preview URL.

  • Web Template: Project template using React 19 + Vite for building websites, web applications, and dashboards. Includes Tailwind CSS and React Router.

  • Mobile Template: Project template using React Native + Expo for building iOS and Android apps. Includes React Navigation and native device features.

  • Prompt-Based Project: Project built through conversational prompts. The default and most flexible approach for creating applications.

  • Figma-Based Project: Project built from Figma design imports. Mobile-only feature with systematic scene-by-scene implementation workflow.

  • Project Status: Current state of a project. Stages include: PENDING (waiting to start), SCAFFOLDING (building infrastructure), BUILDING (setting up integrations), READY (fully operational), FAILED (setup error).

  • Public Project: Project visible to everyone on the internet. Listed in community showcase, anyone can view and fork. Available on all tiers.

  • Private Project: Project visible only to workspace members. Hidden from community showcase with restricted preview URLs. Requires Pro subscription.

  • Fork: Creating your own copy of a public project. Copies complete codebase and file structure but creates independent project with new GitHub repository.

  • Preview URL: Live URL where you can see your running app. Updates automatically when code changes and works without deployment.


Technical Terms

  • Repository: Git repository on GitHub where your project code is stored. Provides version control, collaboration, and ability to clone locally.

  • Deployment: Process of publishing your application to production hosting. App2 supports Vercel deployment with automatic builds and custom domains.

  • Custom Domain: Your own domain name (e.g., app.yourdomain.com) connected to your Vercel deployment. Requires Pro subscription, user-owned GitHub repository, and DNS configuration.

  • Domain Category: Classification of domain URLs. Types include: custom (your own domain), app2 (.app2.io), vercel (.vercel.app), and unknown.

  • Environment Variables: Configuration values (API keys, URLs) stored securely and accessible in your code. Auto-configured for Supabase and Vercel integrations.

  • RLS (Row Level Security): Supabase database feature that restricts which rows users can access based on policies. Essential for securing multi-user applications.

  • OAuth: Authentication standard used for connecting third-party services (Supabase, GitHub, Figma) to App2 without sharing passwords.

  • Webhook: HTTP callback that notifies your application when events occur in external services (e.g., Stripe payment completed, Vercel deployment finished).

  • Edge Function: Serverless function that runs close to users for low latency. Supported by Supabase and Vercel for backend logic.

  • Migration: Database schema change tracked in version control. Supabase uses migrations to manage table structures, columns, and indexes over time.

  • API Key: Secret credential used to authenticate with third-party services. Required for integrations like Context7, OpenAI, and Anthropic.

  • Anon Key: Supabase's public anonymous key safe to use in client-side code. Provides limited access controlled by Row Level Security policies.

  • Service Role Key: Supabase's admin key with full database access. Stored securely for edge functions, never exposed in client code.


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