Glossary

Plain-English definitions of technical terms used in this workshop.

CLI (Command Line Interface)

A text-based way to interact with your computer by typing commands. The Terminal app on your Mac is a CLI.

Clone

To download a copy of a project from GitHub to your computer. Cloning creates a full copy of the project, including its history.

Component

A reusable building block of a user interface. A button, a card, a navigation bar — each of these is a component. Modern web apps are built by combining many small components together.

Dependencies

External libraries or packages that a project relies on. When you run pnpm install, you are downloading the project's dependencies.

Development server (dev server)

A local web server that runs on your computer and serves your project to your browser. When you run pnpm dev, you start a development server. It watches for file changes and automatically refreshes the browser.

Diff

A visual comparison showing what changed in a file. Added lines are typically shown in green, and removed lines in red. Kiro shows you a diff before you accept a change.

Directory

Another word for a folder on your computer. In Terminal commands, "directory" and "folder" mean the same thing.

Git

A version control system that tracks changes to files over time. Developers use Git to collaborate on projects and keep a history of every change.

GitHub

A website where developers publish and share Git projects. The admin project is hosted on GitHub.

Homebrew

A free package manager for macOS. It lets you install developer tools (like Node.js and Git) from the Terminal with simple commands.

Localhost

Your own computer, when it is acting as a web server. When you visit http://localhost:5173 in your browser, you are loading a website that is running on your own machine, not on the internet.

Node.js

A program that lets your computer run JavaScript code outside of a web browser. It is required to run most modern web development tools.

npm (Node Package Manager)

A package manager that comes bundled with Node.js. It lets you install JavaScript libraries. In this workshop, you use npm to install pnpm.

Package manager

A tool that automates downloading, installing, and updating libraries that a project depends on. Examples include npm, pnpm, and yarn.

PATH

A list of folders that your Terminal searches through when you type a command. If a program is not in your PATH, the Terminal will say "command not found." Adding a program to your PATH makes it available from anywhere.

pnpm

A fast, disk-efficient package manager for JavaScript projects. The admin project uses pnpm to manage its dependencies.

Port

A number that identifies a specific service running on your computer. When the dev server runs on port 5173, it means your browser can reach it at localhost:5173.

Prompt (AI)

A natural language instruction you give to an AI assistant like Kiro. For example: "Change the sidebar color to navy blue."

Prompt (Terminal)

The text that appears in Terminal before your cursor, usually ending with % or $. It indicates that Terminal is ready for you to type a command.

Repository (repo)

A project managed by Git. A repository contains all of a project's files, folders, and history. The admin GitHub page is a repository.

Terminal

The built-in macOS app that provides a command line interface. You type commands here to install software, navigate folders, and run projects.

Vibe coding

A style of software development where you describe what you want in natural language and an AI writes the code. Instead of writing syntax, you focus on communicating your design intent.