# Glossary

> Short definitions of the words these docs use - credit, workspace, project, static site, Cloud app, checkpoint, custom domain, agent, model, MCP and more.
> Source: https://playcode.io/docs/start/glossary - last reviewed 2026-10-09.

The words the other pages use, in alphabetical order. Each one links to the page that explains it.

| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Access token | A key that lets a tool or a script act as you through the API, the CLI or MCP, limited to what you allow. You create one on the **Developers** page of the workspace settings. See [Developers](/docs/developers) |
| Agent | Playcode's AI that builds and changes your project from your messages in the chat. Its product name is Playcode AI. See [How building with the agent works](/docs/start/how-building-works) |
| AI Gateway | Playcode AI Gateway gives the features of your own app access to AI models, and bills the workspace's credits. It is separate from the agent that builds the app. See [Add AI to your app](/docs/add-to-your-app/ai-in-your-app) |
| Always on | A setting of a Cloud app: its production computer never goes to sleep |
| Archive | Where a project goes when you archive it. Open **Archive** at the bottom of the left panel to restore it |
| Auto-recharge | An option that buys credits with the workspace's saved card when the balance falls below a level you set. See [Top-ups and auto-recharge](/docs/account-and-billing/top-ups-and-auto-recharge) |
| Background task | Work the agent hands to a helper that runs in its own chat. A task pauses when it has spent its task budget |
| Balance | The credits a workspace has left to spend |
| Browser project | A project whose preview runs in your browser and that publishes as a static site. These docs and the agent call it a static site. See [Browser and Cloud projects](/docs/build/browser-and-cloud-projects) |
| Build plan | In a Cloud app, the agent's written plan for a request with two or more parts. The chat shows it as **Your plan**, and building starts when you choose **Build** |
| Build quality | **Economy**, **Standard** or **Ultra**: how much the agent spends on a task. The Free plan has Economy only. See [Models and modes](/docs/build/models-and-modes) |
| Checkpoint | A saved point of a project that you can restore from **Checkpoint history…** in the project menu. In a Cloud app, a checkpoint holds one computer's code, installed packages, database and files. See [Undo and checkpoints](/docs/build/undo-and-checkpoints) |
| CLI | The Playcode command-line tool, `playcode`. Install it with `npm i -g @playcode/cli`. See [The Playcode CLI](/docs/developers/cli) |
| Cloud app | A project with its own computers on Playcode Cloud: a backend, a database, stored files and background work. It publishes on `playcode.run` and needs a Pro or Max plan. The agent calls it a full-stack app. See [Run a Cloud app](/docs/publish/cloud-apps) |
| Credit | The unit Playcode charges in: for the agent's work, generated media, Cloud computers, your app's AI requests, and your app's email past the included amount. Plans price credits at 4 credits per dollar. See [Credits and balance](/docs/account-and-billing/credits-and-balance) |
| Custom domain | A domain you own or buy, like `example.com`, that opens your project instead of the free Playcode address. It needs a Pro or Max plan. See [Connect a domain you own](/docs/publish/connect-a-domain) |
| Development computer | In a Cloud app, the computer where you and the agent build. It runs the preview and the terminal |
| DNS record | A setting at a domain's DNS provider that says where a name points, or what it proves. See [DNS records](/docs/publish/dns-records) |
| Free address | The address every published project gets for free: on `playcode.site` for a static site, on `playcode.run` for a Cloud app. See [Your Playcode address](/docs/publish/your-playcode-address) |
| MCP | Model Context Protocol. It lets coding agents like Claude Code and Cursor work with Playcode, through `playcode mcp` on your computer or Playcode's hosted server. See [Developers](/docs/developers) |
| Model | The AI model behind a build quality level. Each level has a default model, and you can pick another one. See [Models and modes](/docs/build/models-and-modes) |
| Nameservers | The servers that answer for all of a domain's DNS records. Moving them to Playcode lets Playcode run the domain's records for you |
| Plan | Free, Pro or Max. A plan belongs to a workspace, decides what it can do and adds credits each month. See [Plans and credits on one page](/docs/start/plans-and-credits) |
| Playcode Classic | The free code playgrounds and compilers, where you write and run code yourself. See [Playcode Classic](/docs/classic) |
| Preview | The live view of your project beside the chat while you build. Visitors see the published version, not the preview |
| Production computer | In a Cloud app, the computer that serves the published app. The first publish creates it |
| Project | One website or app, with its files, chats and settings. A project belongs to a workspace |
| Publish | Put the current version of a project on the internet. Visitors see the version you published last. See [Publish a website](/docs/publish/publish-a-website) |
| SDK | `@playcode/sdk`, the package your code uses to send email and run any Playcode operation. AI in your app goes through Playcode AI Gateway instead. See [The Playcode SDK](/docs/developers/sdk) |
| Secret | A key or a setting that a Cloud app needs, kept out of the code in **Settings**, **Secrets**. Development and production have separate sets. See [Secrets and environment](/docs/publish/secrets-and-environment) |
| Sleep | A Cloud computer that nobody uses goes to sleep and runs nothing. A visitor wakes the production computer |
| Snapshot | Another word for a checkpoint of a Cloud app's computer. See [Snapshots and rollback](/docs/publish/snapshots-and-rollback) |
| Static site | See browser project |
| Top-up | Credits you buy once, apart from the plan. They last 12 months from your latest purchase |
| Workspace | Holds projects, members, the plan and the credits. Every account has a personal workspace; a team workspace has its own projects, people and billing. See [Workspaces, members and roles](/docs/build/workspaces-members-and-roles) |