Agent / agentic

An AI that doesn't just answer but acts — planning steps, using tools, checking its own work. Claude Code is Claude in agent mode.

Branch

A parallel copy of your project for trying something risky without touching the main version until you approve it.

Brief

Your plain-English description of the outcome you want: goal, audience, content, taste, boundaries. The one skill this guide teaches.

CLAUDE.md

A notes file Claude reads at the start of every session in a project — standing instructions like "explain in plain English" or "never change the logo." Ask Claude to create one with your preferences.

CLI / terminal

The text-only window developers use to talk to computers. Claude Code was born there, but the web and desktop versions mean you may never open it.

Commit

A labeled save point: the state of every file at one moment, plus a note about what changed. Your project's undo history is made of these.

Context

What Claude currently holds in mind within a session. Long sessions fill it up, which is one reason fresh sessions often work better than marathons.

CSS

The file that controls how a website looks — colors, fonts, spacing. When you say "make it calmer," Claude edits this.

Deploy

Copying your files to the server that shows them to the world. "Deployed" means "live on the internet."

Domain

Your address on the internet — yourname.com. Bought from a registrar for a small yearly fee, then connected to your site.

Favicon

The tiny icon in a browser tab. Small detail, big "this is a real site" signal.

Git

The underlying system that tracks every version of every file. You never touch it directly; Claude speaks it fluently on your behalf.

GitHub

The website where repositories live: your projects, their history, and free hosting. The GitHub chapter covers the working minimum.

GitHub Pages

Free website hosting built into GitHub. Right for first projects: ask Claude to "publish with GitHub Pages" and you get a public URL.

Hosting

The always-on computer that serves your site to visitors. GitHub Pages and Netlify are hosts; Claude does the wiring for either.

HTML

The file format web pages are written in — the structure and words of a page. Each page of your site is an HTML file.

JavaScript

The programming language that makes web pages interactive — menus that open, searches that filter. Claude writes it; you request the behavior.

Markdown

A simple way of writing formatted text in plain files — headings, bold, lists. README files and CLAUDE.md are written in it. If you can type an asterisk, you can read it.

Meta tags / SEO tags

Invisible lines in a page that tell search engines its title and summary. The difference between a link that looks official and one that looks abandoned.

Open Graph / social card

The tags and image that control the preview when your link is pasted into a chat or post. Ask for them in your polish pass.

Permission prompt

Claude asking, in one sentence, before doing something consequential. Read the sentence; slow down at "delete," "overwrite," and "publish."

Plan mode

Claude Code's look-before-you-leap setting: it proposes a plan you approve before any file changes. "Show me a plan first" gets you the same behavior anywhere.

Pull request (PR)

A branch formally asking to become the main version, with its changes laid out for review. The airlock between "trying" and "live."

Push

Sending your latest commits up to GitHub so the copy there matches your work. "Pushed" means "safely on the shelf."

README

A repo's front-page note explaining what the project is. GitHub displays it automatically. Ask Claude to write one for every project.

Repository ("repo")

One project's folder, with a memory: all its files plus the full history of changes. The unit your shelf is stacked in.

robots.txt

A one-line file telling search engines they're welcome (or not). Part of the standard polish pass; set and forget.

Session

One working conversation attached to one project. Fresh ones are free — start a new session per task and let the repo carry the memory.

Sitemap

A small file listing your site's pages so search engines find them all. Claude generates it in the polish pass.

Skill / slash command

A saved, reusable instruction a session can invoke — like teaching Claude a routine once and calling it by name after. A later-stage convenience; nothing in this guide requires one.

Static site

A website that's just files — no database, no moving parts on the server. Fast, cheap, hard to break, and what most personal and guide sites should be.

Token / usage

The unit AI work is measured (and billed) in. Long wandering sessions spend more of it than crisp ones — the practical takeaway from the habits chapter.