Glossary

The words Reliquary uses, each in one or two sentences, with a link to where it is explained.

Access log. A vault's append-only record of every set, rotate, delete, read, reveal and refused attempt on its environment variables. See Environment variables.

Activity. The append-only log of every change: who, which agent, what and where. The top bar's Activity covers all your vaults, and a vault's Log (under Settings, Diagnostics) covers that vault. See Changes and the log.

Agent. An AI tool or program acting for a person through a connection. It has its person's role, minus the ceiling. See Agents and the ceiling.

App. A type of connection: an MCP client you allowed by signing in from it and choosing Allow, like Claude Code, Claude.ai or ChatGPT. It keeps its own short-lived tokens, so there is nothing to copy. See Connections.

Canon. A file policy: the file changes only through a proposal approved by enough people. See Canon, open and rules.

Ceiling. The actions no agent can do, however its person connected it: the ones that are irreversible, grant trust or reveal a secret. The list is on Agents and the ceiling.

Changes. A vault's plain-language list of what people and their agents changed: files written, deleted and erased, and proposals opened and decided. Newest first, by day, on the vault's Updates page. See Changes and the log.

Claim. A lease saying who is working on a path right now and for how long. A courtesy signal, never a lock: claiming a path doesn't stop anyone writing it. See Claims.

Connection. Anything that can act as you. It has a type: Token, App or Reliquary CLI. All are listed on the Connections page (the account menu), where you revoke them. See Connections.

Data fencing. Wrapping text people and agents wrote in random markers when it goes to an agent, so it reads as data and can't pose as instructions. See MCP tools.

Default policy. What a vault's paths are, canon or open, where no rule says otherwise. Set on Settings.

Diagnostics. The part of a vault's Settings for working out why something happened: its Claims and the full Log. Most people never need it. See Vaults, files and folders.

Display name. An optional name you set on Account settings, shown to people who share a vault with you next to your email. Only you set it, in the web app. See The top bar, inbox and account.

Environment. A named set of values for a vault's variables, like development, preview or production. See Environment variables.

Env API. The web app's HTTP API that the CLI uses to read variables and send imports. See Env API.

Erase. Blanking every version of a file's text, while the log keeps its entries. Owners only, in person. See Export, delete and erase.

Flag. Something in a vault that changed since you, or one of your connections, was last told: a new message in a thread for you, a proposal waiting on your review, a change to your own proposal, or a change on a path you watch. You see yours in a vault's Updates, under New for you. See Flags.

Import. A whole .env brought in at once, pasted in the web app or sent from the CLI, waiting for a person to apply it. See Imports.

Inbox. The top bar's list of what needs you: changes to review, your proposals sent back, .env imports to apply, invites and deleted-vault notices. See The top bar, inbox and account.

Invite. A single-use link for one email address and a role, the only way to join a vault. See Members and invites.

Link. A vault's credential to a remote MCP server, like Stripe or Linear, so a team shares a platform account with their agents without sharing the key. Not to be confused with a connection: a link is Reliquary reaching out, a connection is a client reaching in. See Links.

MCP. The Model Context Protocol, how AI tools call Reliquary's tools over one URL. See MCP tools.

Open. A file policy: owners, editors and their agents write the file directly, each write a new version. See Canon, open and rules.

Overview. The page a vault opens on, first in its sidebar: what waits on you, tasks in progress, recent changes and who is in the vault, built from what the vault records. See Vaults, files and folders.

Owners-only environment. An environment, like production, whose values only owners set or read.

Path owner. Someone named on a specific path's owner list: open for them there, whatever the path's own rule says for everyone else, and their approval is what its quorum counts. Anyone who is a member may be named, including a viewer, promoted for that one path only. See Path ownership.

Proposal. A suggested change to a file that waits for people to approve, request changes or reject it. See Proposals and review.

Push. Sending a .env with reliquary env push, often by an agent. It makes an import from the CLI, which a person applies in the web app. See Imports.

Quorum. How many different people must approve a canon change, 1 to 20, set by a rule. See Canon, open and rules.

Reliquary CLI. A type of connection: the reliquary CLI on one computer, connected with reliquary login. It reads variable values within your role, and may send .env files for approval. See Use the CLI.

Reveal. Showing one variable's value in the web app, to a person, once, logged. See Environment variables.

Revoke. Ending a connection, on the Connections page. It is refused on its next request. See Connections.

Role. A member's standing in a vault: owner, editor or viewer. See Permissions.

Rule. A policy (canon or open, with a quorum) on a folder or a file, set by an owner. See Set rules.

Side thread. A thread addressed to some members. Addressing decides who is told, never who can read: every member reads it. See Threads.

Snooze. Hiding a proposal from your own Inbox for a day, a week, or until it changes. Private to you. See Proposals and review.

Step. One entry in a work plan: a piece of work and the steps it waits on. People see steps as tasks. See Tasks.

Task. A work plan's step as a person sees it on a vault's Tasks page: in progress, ready, awaiting review, blocked, done or cancelled. See Tasks.

Thread. A conversation inside one vault between its members and their agents: a title and messages in order, never private. Not the same as the discussion on a proposal. See Threads.

Token. A type of connection: a secret you paste into an MCP client that can't sign in, which sends it in a header (Authorization: Bearer ...). Made with New token, scoped to vaults and access, always expiring. See Connections.

Updates. A vault's sidebar page for what happened while you were away: New for you (your flags) on top, then its Changes. See Changes and the log.

Vault. The container for one team, client or project: files, variables, members and activity. See Vaults, files and folders.

Watch. Asking to be flagged about changes on a folder or file in a vault. Yours only, set in person, and private to you. See Flags.

Work plan. A plan file in a vault with a work_plan block, registered by an agent (and registered again to gain new steps), so its steps are taken in order and nobody gets a step before the steps it waits on are done. See Tasks.