---
title: Glossary
description: Every Reed term in a sentence or two, each linked to the page that defines it.
---

A quick reference for the terms used across this site. For how the pieces fit together,
see [Concepts](/docs/concepts).

## A

### Analytics registry

The fixed list of providers `analytics` accepts: `ga4`, `plausible`, `posthog`, `fathom`,
`umami` and `matomo`. You configure a provider by value, never by pasting a script. See
[Analytics](/docs/site/analytics).

### ApiRef

A navigation entry of the shape `{ "label": "...", "api": true, "spec": "..." }` that
generates endpoint pages from one OpenAPI spec. It must be the only page in its group, and
that group the only group in its tab. See [navigation](/docs/reference/docs-json/navigation).

### Atomic output

How `reed build` writes `--out`: through a staged replacement, so the directory is never a
mix of old and new files, even when a build fails partway. See
[Build output](/docs/ship/output).

## B

### `base`

The path your site is mounted under, such as `/docs`. Reed prefixes links it emits from
`docs.json`. In page prose you write the prefix yourself. See
[site and base](/docs/site/addressing).

## C

### Capability identity

The one name Reed derives for each API operation, such as `coupons.redeem`, shared by the
MCP server and the Skill pack. `capabilityIdentity.<spec>.methodOverrides` renames them.
See [API and generation](/docs/reference/docs-json/api).

### Cascade

The four layers Reed's stylesheet is assembled from, lowest to highest: L0 token contract,
L1 template baseline, L2 generated tokens, L3 `customCss`. See
[Colors and the CSS cascade](/docs/design/colors).

### Catalog

The fixed set of 37 components available in every page with no import. A name outside
it is `DS-S06`. See [Using components](/docs/authoring/components).

### Compile pipeline

The fixed sequence every build runs: schema parse, template resolution, diagnostics,
Astro and Starlight synthesis, atomic output. `check` runs the first three. See
[Concepts](/docs/concepts).

### Concepts (Skill)

`skill.<spec>.concepts`: page references bundled verbatim into a Skill pack, so your prose
travels with the tools. An unresolvable reference fails the run. See
[Agent Skill generation](/docs/derived/skill).

### Content directory

The directory of `.mdx` pages, `<dir>/content` by default. A file's path determines its
page id. See [Project anatomy](/docs/project-anatomy).

### Contract

The rules a component is judged against: allowed children, required props, allowed enum
values. Every diagnostic names the contract it applied. See
[Diagnostics](/docs/reference/diagnostics).

### Corepack

Node's package-manager shim, which Reed uses to run its pinned pnpm. Node 25 and newer
no longer bundle it, so `prefetch` and `build` need it enabled. See
[Offline builds in CI](/docs/ship/ci-offline).

### `customCss`

Your own stylesheets, listed in `docs.json` and applied as the highest cascade layer.
The supported way to override a `--reed-*` token. See
[Logo, favicon and custom CSS](/docs/design/assets).

## D

### Derived surface

Anything Reed emits besides the HTML site: `llms.txt`, markdown mirrors, an MCP server,
a Skill pack. All come from one intermediate representation. See
[One source, every surface](/docs/derived/overview).

### Dialect

`content.dialect`: which platform's MDX conventions your content follows, `reed`, `fern`
or `mintlify`. It changes how markup is read. It does not convert files. See
[Content dialect](/docs/authoring/dialect).

### Diagnostic

A problem report with a code and a severity. Errors fail `check` and `build`. Warnings do
not, unless a strict flag escalates them. See [Diagnostics](/docs/reference/diagnostics).

### Doc IR

The single intermediate representation every derived surface is emitted from: a per-page
document plus an OpenAPI-derived capability layer. See
[One source, every surface](/docs/derived/overview).

### `docs.json`

The single configuration file for a Reed project. It is validated by a strict schema, so an
unknown key is an error. See [Project anatomy](/docs/project-anatomy).

### `docs.schema.json`

A self-contained copy of Reed's JSON Schema, written next to `docs.json` by `init` and
`import` for editor completion. Commit it. See [Project anatomy](/docs/project-anatomy).

### `DS-A*`

Accessibility diagnostics: missing `alt`, an H1 in the body or a skipped heading level,
an icon-only link with no label. Always errors. See
[Diagnostics](/docs/reference/diagnostics).

### `DS-D*`

Design and density diagnostics, such as too many components on a page or a dropped prop.
Warnings, escalated by `--strict-components`. See
[Diagnostics](/docs/reference/diagnostics).

### `DS-S*`

Structure diagnostics: disallowed children, missing required props, bad enum values,
unknown components, nesting too deep. Always errors. See
[Diagnostics](/docs/reference/diagnostics).

## F

### Fern importer

`reed import --from fern`: converts a Fern project's `docs.yml` and content into a
`docs.json` and a content tree. A first pass, not a finished migration. See
[Migrating from Fern](/docs/migrate/fern).

### Frontmatter

The YAML block at the top of a page. `title` becomes the H1 and `description` feeds meta
tags, `llms.txt` and structured data. See [Pages](/docs/authoring/pages).

### Frontmatter `slug`

A frontmatter field that sets a page's id outright, whatever its file path. See
[Navigation](/docs/authoring/navigation).

## G

### Generated API page

An endpoint page Reed synthesizes from an OpenAPI spec, one per operation. No MDX file
exists for it. See [OpenAPI specs](/docs/api/specs).

### Group

A labeled list of pages inside a tab. Groups can nest up to five levels, and an empty
group is a schema error. See [Navigation](/docs/authoring/navigation).

## H

### `_headers`

The response-header rules Reed writes into every build, so hosts serve `.md` as markdown
and `llms.txt` as text. It belongs at the root of the served tree. See
[Response headers](/docs/ship/headers).

### `head` injection

`head.meta` and `head.link`: data-only tags added to every page's `<head>`. There is no
script, style or raw field, by design. See [head injection](/docs/site/head).

## J

### `jsonLd`

JSON-LD objects you write in `docs.json`, copied verbatim onto every page. Independent of
`structuredData`. See [Structured data](/docs/site/structured-data).

## L

### `llms.txt`

One plain-text file listing every page with its title, URL and description, written by
every `reed build`. See [llms.txt and markdown mirrors](/docs/derived/llms-txt).

## M

### Markdown mirror

The `.md` copy of every page, emitted at the page's own path. `build` writes them, and
`dev` serves them. See [llms.txt and markdown mirrors](/docs/derived/llms-txt).

### MCP descriptor

The tool definition generated for each API operation: a name from its capability identity,
a description and an input schema. `reed mcp generate` writes them as server source. See
[MCP server generation](/docs/derived/mcp).

## O

### Offline guarantee

After one `reed prefetch`, `dev` and `build` run with no network. `check` never needs it.
It covers the platform, architecture and libc prefetch ran on. See
[Offline builds in CI](/docs/ship/ci-offline).

### OpenAPI spec key

A name under `api.specs`, such as `ingestion`. Navigation, `mcp`, `skill` and
`capabilityIdentity` refer to specs by this key. Keys must be unique case-insensitively.
See [OpenAPI specs](/docs/api/specs).

### Orphan file

A content file that no navigation entry references. `reed check` reports it as
`content-page-not-in-navigation`, an error. There are no hidden pages. See
[Concepts](/docs/concepts).

## P

### Page id

The identifier Reed derives from a page's file path, and the string you write in
navigation. `content/Guide/Intro.mdx` is `guide/intro`. See
[Navigation](/docs/authoring/navigation).

### PageRef

A navigation entry that is a bare string naming a page id. One that resolves to no file is
an error. See [navigation](/docs/reference/docs-json/navigation).

### Prefetch

`reed prefetch`: the only command that touches the network. It fills the dependency store
and the Corepack cache once per machine. See [reed prefetch](/docs/reference/cli/prefetch).

## R

### `.reed/`

The working directory Reed creates in your project root for build files and caches.
Gitignore it. Deleting it only slows the next build. See
[Project anatomy](/docs/project-anatomy).

### Redirect

An entry in `redirects`. `reed build` writes it as a line in `_redirects`, which
Cloudflare serves as a real 301 or 302, and as an HTML page with a meta refresh, the
fallback on other hosts. See [Redirects](/docs/site/redirects).

### Reserved fields

`versions`, `languages` and `products`: accepted by the schema and ignored. They survive
the unknown-key check and do nothing. See [Roadmap](/docs/roadmap).

## S

### Scaffold

The starter project `reed init` writes: `docs.json`, example pages and
`docs.schema.json`. `--template mint` scaffolds a full taxonomy. The others scaffold a
two-page stub. See [reed init](/docs/reference/cli/init).

### `site`

The absolute origin your site is served from. Setting it enables the sitemap, `robots.txt`,
canonical URLs and absolute URLs in `llms.txt`. See [site and base](/docs/site/addressing).

### Skill pack

A `SKILL.md` and supporting files generated from an OpenAPI spec by `reed skill generate`,
written into your repository. See [Agent Skill generation](/docs/derived/skill).

### Snippets

HTTP request examples generated from your spec in up to five languages. Author-written
`x-codeSamples` always win. See [Code snippets](/docs/api/snippets).

### Stage directory

The tree you actually serve when a site sets `base`: the mount directory holding the
contents of `dist/`, with `_headers` at the root. See [Deploy](/docs/ship/deploy).

### Store

The pinned dependency store `reed prefetch` fills, at `REED_STORE_DIR`, by default
`~/.reed/pnpm-store`. Machine-wide, shared by every project. See
[Environment variables](/docs/reference/env).

### `--strict-components`

Escalates `DS-D*` warnings to errors on `check` and `build`. `dev` does not honor it. See
[Diagnostics](/docs/reference/diagnostics).

### `--strict-tokens`

Escalates every warning that is not `DS-D*` to an error on `check` and `build`. Combine it
with `--strict-components` to fail on everything. On `dev` it only changes how warnings are
printed; `dev` refuses to start on real errors alone. See [Diagnostics](/docs/reference/diagnostics).

### `structuredData`

The switch for the JSON-LD Reed derives per page: an article object plus a
`BreadcrumbList`. On by default. See [Structured data](/docs/site/structured-data).

## T

### Tab

The top level of navigation. Each tab holds at least one group. See
[Navigation](/docs/authoring/navigation).

### Template

The visual design a site renders through: `mint`, `rapide` or `black`. The component
catalog is the same under all three. See [Templates](/docs/design/templates).

### Template baseline

A template's own stylesheet, with its own value for every dimension. A field you omit
leaves the baseline in control. See [Templates](/docs/design/templates).

### Time limits

`REED_BUILD_TIMEOUT_MS` (30 minutes) and `REED_INSTALL_TIMEOUT_MS` (15 minutes) turn a
hung build or install into an error. `0` removes a ceiling. See
[Environment variables](/docs/reference/env).

### Token

A design value from `docs.json`, such as a color, that becomes a CSS custom property in
the L2 layer. A template that cannot honor a token warns and ignores it. See
[Colors and the CSS cascade](/docs/design/colors).

### `type: changelog`

Frontmatter that lays a page out from its date-shaped `##` headings and emits it as an
`Article`. An invalid date is a diagnostic. See [Expandable, Icon, Tooltip, Update](/docs/reference/components/misc).

## U

### `unsupported-upstream-component`

An error, not a `DS-*` code: a page uses a component with no equivalent under the
configured dialect. See [Diagnostics](/docs/reference/diagnostics).