Glossary

Plain-English definitions of every vly term — agent, plan mode, prompt, revision, workspace, project, deployment, and more.

A reference for the terms you’ll encounter throughout the docs. Skim once; come back when something’s unclear.

A

Action (Convex action)

A Convex function that can call third-party APIs and use process.env. Use for sending email, calling OpenAI, charging Stripe — anything that touches the outside world. See Convex actions.

Agent

The AI coding model that writes your code. vly supports three: Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, and Gemini CLI. See Choosing an agent.

Agent mode

The default workflow in vly: you prompt; the agent decides what to change and writes code in one step. See Agent mode.

B

Branch

An isolated copy of your project where you can experiment without affecting the main version. Branches sync to GitHub if connected. See Branching.

C

Code mode

Hand-edit code directly in the editor; no prompt needed. The escape hatch for tiny tweaks. See Code mode.

Convex

The backend platform every vly app runs on. Real-time database with serverless functions. See Convex overview.

Credits

The unit vly meters agent runs in. See Credits.

Custom instructions

Always-on rules the agent follows across every prompt — coding style, brand voice, etc. See Custom instructions.

D

Deployment

A built version of your project running on a public URL. Preview deployments happen on every change; production is promoted manually.

E

Environment

A separate copy of your app with its own secrets and URL. By default: Preview and Production. You can add Staging or others.

I

Integration

A first-class connection to a third-party service (Stripe, Resend, OpenAI, etc.) with managed credentials and tested code patterns. See Integrations overview.

K

Knowledge base

Project-specific reference material the agent reads on every prompt. Useful for design system docs, brand voice, schema patterns. See Knowledge base.

M

Mutation (Convex mutation)

A Convex function that writes data, transactionally. Cannot call third-party APIs. See Convex mutations.

P

Plan mode

Agent mode with a deliberate review step — the agent shows you a plan before writing code. See Plan mode.

Project

A single vly app. Has its own schema, code, deployments, and (optionally) custom domain.

Prompt

The natural-language description of a change you want vly to make. The most important code you write. See Prompting fundamentals.

Q

Query (Convex query)

A Convex function that reads data, reactively. Clients subscribe and receive updates automatically when underlying data changes. See Convex queries.

R

Revision

A snapshot of your project after a single completed change. Every prompt produces a revision. See Version history.

S

Schema

The TypeScript file (convex/schema.ts) that defines your tables, fields, and indexes. Single source of truth for data shape. See Schema.

Secret

An encrypted value (API key, webhook secret) scoped per-environment, available to server-side code only. See Secrets management.

T

Template

A pre-built starting point for a new project — SaaS, marketplace, dashboard, etc. See Templates.

V

Visual edits

Click directly on UI elements to edit them, instead of describing the change in a prompt. See Visual edits.

W

Workspace

The top-level container for projects, members, and billing. A user can belong to many workspaces. See Workspaces.

Related

What is vly?

The bigger picture.

How vly works

The four-step loop.

FAQ

Common questions.