Glossary

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Zite essentials

• Zite: An AI app builder for businesses creating connected software, including internal apps, public apps, forms, databases, portals, dashboards, app workflows, and websites.
• App: A web application that can be internal or public, ranging from a full CRM to a simple public landing page.
• Internal app: An app for people in your Zite organization. Editors can open every internal app, while other organization members need Use Access to each app they use.
• Public app: An app shared outside your organization, such as a customer portal, partner portal, or booking flow. People who sign up are external users of that app.
• Workspace: The project container for a Zite build. Each workspace has one database and can contain multiple apps, forms, editors, app members, external users, and roles.
• Prompt: The instruction or request you give Zite. A clear prompt states where the change should happen, what should change, the desired outcome, any data or integrations involved, constraints to preserve, and what not to change.
• Preview: A view of your app inside the Zite editor while you work on it. Changes shown in Preview must be published before they appear at the app’s web address.
• Publish: The action that makes the latest version of an app, website, or public experience available at its shareable link or custom domain.
• Share to web: The setting that controls whether a Zite app or website is publicly accessible by link. See Share to web.
• Custom domain: A domain you connect to a published Zite app, website, or portal instead of using the default Zite link.
• Version history: A Git-backed log of meaningful project changes that lets you review what changed, connect updates back to prompts or agent actions, and return to an earlier working state. See History.
• Duplicate: A separate copy of an existing Zite project or app that you can modify without changing the original.
• Star: A dashboard action that pins a project to the top of your Home dashboard for quick access.
• Internal note: A private note you can add to a project for team context, reminders, or handoff details.

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Agent and editing terms

• Agent: The AI builder inside Zite that reads your instructions, understands your project, plans and makes changes, answers questions, and writes the code that powers your app and database.
• Build mode: The mode where Zite makes changes to your project or app. Use it when you want the agent to create, update, or fix something. See Build mode.
• Plan mode: The mode where Zite scopes the work before making changes. Use it for larger or unclear requests. See Plan mode.
• Chat mode: The mode where Zite answers questions or gives suggestions without editing the app. See Chat mode.
• Selective edits: Fast visual edits to text, images, colors, spacing, and other interface elements. Some selective edits do not use credits. See Selective Edits.
• Manual editor: The controls used to adjust selected UI elements directly, such as text color, font size, spacing, borders, and shadows.
• Credits: Usage units that power usage-based features in your Zite workspace, including building and modifying projects with AI, the database agent, and AI fields. See How credits work.
• Credit limit: An Enterprise setting that caps how many credits one person can spend building with AI in a billing period. Set for the whole organization or per member. See AI credit limits.
• LLM (Large Language Model): An AI model that understands and generates language and code. OpenAI’s GPT models and Anthropic’s Claude models are examples. See Model Selection.
• Fix it for me: A repair action that asks Zite to diagnose and resolve an app error. It is free to run and does not consume credits.

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App structure

• Page: A screen or route in an app or website, such as a dashboard, landing page, form, detail page, or settings page.
• Route: The URL path for a page, such as /dashboard or /customers/123.
• Navigation: Links, menus, tabs, sidebars, or buttons that help users move between pages and sections.
• Component: A reusable part of the interface, such as a button, table, form, card, modal, or chart.
• State: Information that can change while someone uses the app, such as a selected record, a filter value, or whether a modal is open.
• Responsive design: Layout behavior that adapts to different screen sizes, including desktop, tablet, and mobile.
• Mobile settings: Options that control how your Zite behaves on mobile devices, including home screen installation. See Mobile settings.
• Embed: Placing a Zite inside another website or product using an embedded frame. See Embedding.
• QR code: A scannable code that opens your Zite link. See QR codes.
• PWA (Progressive Web App): A web app that can be installed on a device and launched like a native app while still being delivered through the web.

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Code and development

• Mono-repo: The project code structure where code for multiple apps and shared packages lives together in one file tree.
• Code view: The file explorer and editor where you can inspect project code, including app folders, shared packages, configuration files, and generated Zite files.

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Data and databases

• Data source: The place your project reads from or writes to, such as Zite Database, Airtable, Google Sheets, or another connected service.
• Zite Database: Zite’s built-in database for storing project data in tables and records. It can act as the shared system of record for multiple apps, forms, and portals. See Zite Database.
• Database: A structured place to store information that apps and forms can query, display, update, or delete.
• Table: A collection of related records, such as Customers, Orders, Tasks, or Products.
• Record: One item inside a table, similar to a row in a spreadsheet.
• Field: A typed column on a table, such as text, number, date, file, select, or linked record. See Field types.
• AI Field: A database field with a prompt that lets AI fill in values automatically, such as categorizing, scoring, summarizing, or extracting information from other fields. See AI Fields.
• View: A saved way to filter, sort, group, or display records in a database table.
• Linked record: A relationship between records in different tables, such as linking an Order to a Customer.
• Lookup field: A field that shows information from a linked record.
• Formula: A computed value based on other fields or expressions. See Formulas.
• Backup: A saved version of a Zite Database that you can restore later. Manual backups do not expire, and point-in-time restore lets you roll back to a recent moment. See Backup and Restore.
• Point-in-time restore: A database recovery option that lets you choose a recent date and time, preview the database from that moment, and restore it if needed.
• Import: Bringing existing data into Zite Database from a file or connected source. See Import data.
• Export: Downloading database records for use outside Zite.

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App workflows and integrations

• Workflow: Backend logic inside an app, such as reading data, saving data, sending notifications, calling APIs, or running AI. Workflows are sometimes called endpoints or API routes. See Workflows.
• Workflow run: One execution of a workflow.
• Run history: Logs that show past workflow runs, inputs, outputs, and errors. See Workflow run history.
• Trigger: The event that starts a workflow, such as a button click, form submission, page load, or webhook.
• Action: A step a workflow performs, such as creating a record, sending a Slack message, or calling an external API.
• Input: Data passed into a workflow, such as a user ID, form values, selected filters, record ID, or search term.
• Output: Data returned by a workflow to an app, database, or another system.
• Integration: A connection between Zite and another service, such as Slack, Google Sheets, Airtable, OpenAI, Linear, or HubSpot. See Integrations.
• API: A structured way for software systems to communicate with each other. For example, a Zite workflow can call an API to look up shipping rates or update a CRM.
• Endpoint: A URL or workflow route that accepts requests and returns responses.
• Webhook: An event-based notification sent from one system to another when something happens. For example, Stripe can send a webhook when a payment succeeds.
• Streaming: Sending results back gradually as they are generated, commonly used for AI chat experiences.

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Access and security

• Authentication: Requiring users to sign in before they can access part or all of an app, portal, dashboard, or project experience. See Authentication.
• User: A general term for someone who uses a Zite app. Their access depends on whether they are an editor, internal app member, or external user.
• Editor: A person who can create, edit, and view the database and every app in a workspace.
• Internal app member: A person in your Zite organization with Use Access to a specific internal app.
• External user: A person outside your Zite organization who has signed up to use an externally shared app.
• Organization member: A person who belongs to your Zite organization. They may be an editor or have access to individual internal apps.
• Collaborator: A general term for a teammate who helps build or manage a Zite project. In a workspace, this normally means an editor.
• Role: A project or workspace access level that defines what someone can do.
• User group: A set of users that can share access rules or permissions. See User groups.
• SSO: Single sign-on, a way for users to sign in through an identity provider. See SSO.
• Permission: A rule that controls who can view, create, edit, delete, submit, use, or manage something.
• Data permission: A permission that controls access to database tables or record actions, such as viewing, creating, editing, or deleting data.
• Default policy: The fallback access setting for database tables that do not have specific rules. Allow makes tables without rules accessible, while Deny blocks access unless a role is explicitly granted.
• Private app: A Zite app that requires approved access, usually through login, project permissions, or workspace controls.
• Audit log: A record of security and account events for review. Audit logs are only available on Enterprise plans. See Audit logs.

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UI and product terms

• Dashboard: An app or collection of views that helps users monitor and work with data, often including tables, charts, filters, metrics, tasks, and record details.
• Portal: An app where clients, vendors, partners, members, or team members can view information and complete tasks.
• Client portal: A public or authenticated app for customers or clients to view records, submit updates, book services, upload files, or track progress.
• Internal tool: An app used by a team to manage operations, approvals, support, inventory, sales, or other business processes.
• CRM: Customer relationship management software used to track leads, customers, conversations, and next steps.
• Form: A data collection experience that gathers input from users and can create or update records in a Zite Database.
• Modal: A focused overlay that appears above the current page for a specific task or confirmation.
• Drawer: A side panel that slides in to show details, navigation, filters, or settings.
• Toast: A short status message that appears temporarily after an action.
• CTA: Call to action. A button or link that asks the user to do something, such as submit, approve, publish, or continue.
• Empty state: The screen or message shown when there is no data yet, often with a suggested next action.
• Loading state: The UI shown while data or an action is still in progress.
• Error state: The UI shown when something fails and the user needs context or a recovery path.

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Useful prompt terms

• MVP: Minimum viable product. The smallest useful version of an app that proves the workflow or idea.
• Acceptance criteria: Specific conditions that define when a requested change is complete.
• User story: A short description of a feature from the user’s point of view.
• Edge case: A less common situation the app should still handle correctly.
• Iteration: A round of changes that improves the app based on feedback or testing.
• Refactor: Improving the structure of code or logic without changing how the app behaves.
• Regression: A new bug where something that used to work stops working after a change.
• Validation: Checking that user input is complete, correctly formatted, and safe before using it.
• Accessibility: Designing an app so people can use it with keyboards, screen readers, sufficient contrast, and clear structure.
• Performance: How quickly and smoothly the app loads, responds, and completes actions.