Knowledge Base
Launch Knowledge Base
Launch Glossary
Short definitions for common launch terms across web delivery, cloud runtime, backend services, data, security, observability, and release operations.
5 min readAudience: New builders who want quick definitions while reading the Launch Knowledge Base or product documentationUpdated 2026-05-20
This glossary defines terms used across the Launch Knowledge Base. It is not a replacement for the deeper guides. Use it when a word blocks your reading, then return to the article you were using.
Build and deployment
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Artifact | The output of a build that gets deployed, such as static files, a container image, or an app binary |
| Build | The process that transforms source code into a deployable artifact |
| Deploy | The act of placing an artifact into an environment where it can run or be served |
| Environment | A deploy target such as development, staging, or production |
| Production | The environment real users depend on |
| Runtime | The system that executes the app, such as a server, function, container, browser, or mobile OS |
| Rollback | Returning users or traffic to a previous known-good release |
| Smoke test | A small set of checks that proves a release is not obviously broken |
Web delivery
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Domain | A human-readable internet name such as example.com |
| Hostname | A full DNS name such as www.example.com or app.example.com |
| Apex domain | The root domain without a subdomain, such as example.com |
| DNS | The system that maps hostnames to routing information |
| A record | DNS record that points a hostname to an IPv4 address |
| AAAA record | DNS record that points a hostname to an IPv6 address |
| CNAME | DNS record that aliases one hostname to another hostname |
| TXT record | DNS record used to store text values for verification or policy |
| HTTP | Protocol browsers use to request web resources |
| HTTPS | HTTP protected by TLS encryption and certificate validation |
| TLS certificate | Credential that helps browsers trust the server for a hostname |
| CDN | Distributed delivery network that can cache and serve content near users |
| Cache | Stored response reused to make future requests faster |
Backend and data
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| API | Interface clients use to ask the backend to do work |
| Backend | Server-side capabilities such as APIs, auth, data, jobs, and integrations |
| Database | Durable system for storing structured application data |
| Schema | Structure and rules of stored data |
| Migration | Versioned change to a database schema or data structure |
| Index | Data structure that makes selected reads faster |
| Transaction | Group of database operations that succeed or fail together |
| Connection pool | Reusable group of database connections |
| Object storage | Storage for files such as images, videos, exports, and uploads |
| Queue | System for recording work that should run asynchronously |
| Cron | Scheduled task that runs at a fixed time or interval |
| Webhook | HTTP callback sent by one system to notify another system about an event |
Identity and security
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Authentication | Proving who a user or system is |
| Authorization | Deciding what an authenticated user or system may do |
| Session | Server-recognized login state for a user |
| Cookie | Browser storage mechanism often used for sessions |
| Token | Credential-like value used to authorize or identify a request |
| Secret | Sensitive configuration value such as a password, key, or signing token |
| Least privilege | Giving each user or credential only the access it needs |
| CORS | Browser security mechanism controlling which origins can call an API |
| Origin | Combination of protocol, hostname, and port |
| OAuth | Common authorization framework used by many login and integration providers |
Observability and operations
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Log | Record of something that happened in the system |
| Metric | Numeric measurement over time |
| Trace | Record of how a request moves through components |
| Error group | Collection of similar errors treated as one pattern |
| Request id | Identifier used to connect a user-visible failure to logs |
| Health check | Endpoint or probe that reports whether a service is available |
| Incident | User-impacting or production-impacting failure |
| Restore | Recovering data or service from a backup or known state |
| Backfill | Filling missing or newly required data after a schema or logic change |
Cloud and platform
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Control plane | Management layer that configures, records, and orchestrates resources |
| Execution plane | Runtime layer that actually serves traffic or runs workloads |
| Serverless | Runtime model where the platform manages much of the server provisioning and scaling |
| Container | Packaged runtime environment for an application and its dependencies |
| Load balancer | Network component that routes traffic to services |
| Secret manager | Managed service for storing and accessing secrets |
| Service account | Machine identity used by services and automation |
| Tenant | Isolated customer, workspace, or organization boundary |