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Glossary

Naming conventions and core terms used across Acolyte code and docs.

Naming conventions

SuffixExampleMeaning
Domain nounSession, TaskIn-memory domain entity used by core logic
*RecordSessionRecord, TaskRecordOne persisted entity record
*EntryMemoryContextEntry, queue entryOne runtime/pipeline item (non-persisted by default)
*StateSessionStateAggregate runtime/persisted state container
*ContractTaskContract, StatusContractBoundary shape for protocol/config/transport
*StoreSessionStore, TaskStoreBehavior interface for persistence operations
*SchemasessionSchema, taskSchemaZod runtime validator and source of truth for unions
*InputPhasePrepareInput, LifecycleInputOperation-specific input payload
*OutputCliOutputOperation-specific output payload

Core terms

TermDefinition
Base Agent InputImmutable prompt input created during prepare and used for the generation pass
ChatRowOne display block in the chat transcript; may render as many visual lines (e.g. a usage summary or status panel)
Cloud SyncFeature that syncs memory and sessions to a hosted cloud API for portable agent identity across machines
CloudClientHTTP client that implements MemoryStore and SessionStore against the cloud API
Context BudgetingToken allocation strategy that reserves system space first and fills the remaining budget by priority
DirectiveModel-to-host structured annotation emitted via @ prefix (e.g. @signal done, @observe project)
DistillMemory source that extracts observations from conversations at project, user, or session scope
Ecosystem DetectorPluggable rule that identifies the workspace type and resolves available tooling
EffectLifecycle-owned side-effect applied per-tool-result via callback (format, lint)
EmbeddingProvider-generated vector representation of a memory record used for semantic recall
EntryRuntime or pipeline item used during processing and not necessarily persisted
HostRuntime environment around the model that provides tools, lifecycle structure, and memory
Hybrid RecallRelevance-ranked memory selection using a weighted blend of cosine similarity and TF-IDF token overlap
Lifecycle PolicyCentralized limits and defaults for lifecycle behavior
Lifecycle SignalModel-to-host control signal emitted at generation completion (done, no_op, blocked)
Lifecycle StateInternal task-scoped runtime state used during the lifecycle pass
Memory DistillerExtracts and commits observations from conversations after each request
Memory EngineTop-level memory capability that maintains continuity across turns
Memory PipelineInternal memory flow from ingest through commit
Memory PolicyCentralized limits and defaults for memory behavior
Memory ToolkitOn-demand tools (memory-search, memory-add, memory-remove) the model invokes to access memory at runtime
Message KindSemantic message classification used by history handling (text, tool_payload)
Model JudgmentThe model’s responsibility for deciding how to complete the task within host constraints
ObservationMemory record kind for facts extracted from conversations via @observe directives
PolicyCentralized subsystem rules, limits, or defaults that make intended behavior explicit without owning the implementation
ProviderModel backend selected for a request (openai, anthropic, gemini, or openai-compatible)
RecordPersisted entity object stored by a persistence backend
RegistryComposition layer that wires implementations into an agent-facing surface under shared contracts
Resource IDTyped cross-session identity key used for memory and execution scoping
SessionOne chat session in memory, including messages, model, token usage, and timestamps
SessionRecordOne stored session record
SessionStateAggregate session state (sessions[], activeSessionId)
SessionStoreRead/write/create interface for session persistence
SkillDeclarative prompt extension defined in a SKILL.md file with metadata and compatibility constraints
Step BudgetPer-cycle and total tool-call limit inlined into tool execution to prevent runaway loops
TaskLifecycle work request moving through accept, queue, run, and terminal states
Task QueueRuntime queue policy that orders accepted tasks and enforces capacity and cancellation boundaries
TF-IDFTerm Frequency–Inverse Document Frequency; weights token matches by rarity across the memory corpus so uncommon terms score higher
Token OverlapKeyword matching component of hybrid recall that catches exact term matches embeddings miss
Tool CacheTwo-tier cache for read-only and search tool results across a task and session
ToolkitGroup of domain tools exposed through adapters and composition
Workspace CommandTyped shell command descriptor used for lint, format, and test commands
Workspace ProfileCached per-workspace detection result containing ecosystem, package manager, and commands