# Glossary

> The words the manual uses, each defined once, with a link to the page that explains it.

Source: https://wolos.pages.dev/manual/glossary

## What it is

Every term the manual uses in a fixed sense, defined once. When a page uses one of these words, it means exactly what is written here.

## Why

WolOS has a few words of its own (slot, module, Kit, helper) and borrows others (snapshot, seal, enrol) that mean something specific here. Using one word for one thing keeps the pages short.

## How

Find the word, read the definition, follow the link if you need the steps.

### The system

| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Slot** | One of the two copies of the system on the disk. WolOS runs one and builds updates into the other. If the new slot fails to start three times in a row, the other starts on its own. See [Updates](/manual/updates). |
| **Sealed system** | The running system is read-only and checked at every start. Packages you install go into a **layer** merged over it; `wol seal off` is developer mode. See [Packages](/manual/packages). |
| **Layer** | A package change merged over the sealed system at once, with no restart. The next release update folds layers into the new slot. |
| **Restore point** | An earlier state the system can start from, listed in Settings > Restore. See [Recovery](/manual/recovery). |
| **Release** | A whole version of WolOS (0.12.0). A release pins one **snapshot**. |
| **Snapshot** | A dated copy of the base distribution's package archive. Every repository WolOS reads is pinned to the release's snapshot, so `pacman -Syu` never leaves the release. See [Packages](/manual/packages). |
| **WolKernel** | The Linux kernel WolOS ships, with a short series of patches, each with an off switch. See [WolKernel](/manual/kernel). |
| **Window manager** | The program that draws and moves windows (the window server). WolOS ships its own patched build. See [The window server](/manual/hyprland-fork). |
| **Sound server** | The program that mixes sound for all apps and devices. WolOS runs one for speakers, microphones and Bluetooth. See [Sound](/manual/sound). |
| **Shell** | The part of the desktop made of the menu bar, Dock, Control Center, Search, Overview and other panels. Not to be confused with a terminal shell. |
| **System service** | `wold`, the program that serves requests from apps and decides what each app may do. |

### Installing and starting

| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **ISO**, **live stick** | The image you download and the USB stick you write it to. *Try WolOS* runs the desktop from memory and changes nothing; *Install WolOS* starts the installer. See [Installing WolOS](/manual/install). |
| **Plan** | What the installer writes before it touches a disk: every partition it may change. The install stops if anything else moved. See [ADR 0023](/manual/adr-0023). |
| **Startup partition** | The small partition your computer starts from (the EFI system partition). |
| **Alongside** | An install that shrinks another system's partition and puts WolOS next to it. See [Installing next to Windows](/manual/dual-boot). |
| **Security chip** | The TPM: a chip that can hold the disk's key so the disk opens on its own on this computer. See [Installing WolOS](/manual/install). |
| **Recovery key** | A long key shown once at the end of an encrypted install. It opens the disk if the password and the security chip both fail. See [Recovery](/manual/recovery). |
| **Secure Boot** | The firmware check that starts only signed code. In WolOS it is optional. See [Secure Boot](/manual/secure-boot). |
| **Key screen** | The blue screen the firmware shows once so you can trust a key (also called MOK enrolment). Use the arrow keys and Enter. The password is `boot`. |
| **Setup Mode** | A firmware state in which WolOS can write its keys directly, with no key screen. |
| **Enrol** | Add a key to the firmware's list of trusted keys. |

### Apps and packages

| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Package** | A software bundle installed with `pacman` or `wopkg`. |
| **wopkg** | The one tool for every source of apps: the WolOS and base-distribution repositories, Flatpak remotes, AppImages, recipes and the AUR. See [wopkg](/manual/wopkg). |
| **AUR** | The base distribution's community repository: packages anyone can publish. WolOS checks them against named laws first. See [AUR laws](/manual/aur-laws). |
| **`.wol` app** | A pacman package plus WolOS app metadata, opened by double-click in the Store's install sheet. |
| **Store** | The App Store on the desktop: apps, Kits and plugins. See [The Store](/manual/store). |
| **Module** | An optional stack of packages (Developer, AI Assistants, Local AI, Sessions, Creative, Gaming, Console) installed after the base and removable. Settings > Modules lists all seven; the installer offers five (not Sessions or Console). See [Optional modules](/manual/modules). |
| **Kit** | A named set shown on the Store's Kits page: Media Codecs and Craft Suite. A Kit is installed in one step. Modules are bigger and live in Settings > Modules. |
| **AppStream id** | The name an app carries in every source it comes from, written like `org.example.App`. The Store matches two sources of the same app by it. |

### Boot and disk words

| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **UEFI** | The firmware that starts the computer before any system does; the startup menu you reach with a key such as F12 belongs to it. WolOS starts through UEFI, and Secure Boot is a UEFI feature. |
| **GPT** | The modern way a disk is divided into partitions. Installing alongside another system needs it; a disk with an older layout can only be erased. See [Installing WolOS](/manual/install). |
| **btrfs** | The file system of WolOS's system partition. Both slots live on one btrfs partition. See [Boot](/manual/boot). |
| **Tier** | The Secure Boot setup this computer got at install, chosen from what its firmware allows: `own-keys` (WolOS's keys are in the firmware), `mok` (the blue key screen), `firmware` (a firmware setting has to change first) or `off`. `wol boot status` prints it. See [Secure Boot](/manual/secure-boot). |
| **Lockdown** | A kernel mode (`lockdown=integrity`) used on signed tiers: the kernel accepts only signed modules and refuses changes to itself while it runs. It blocks hibernation. |
| **Seal state** | Whether the running system is sealed (read-only and checked at every start) or has been unsealed with `wol seal off`. |
| **initramfs** | The small first program the kernel runs while starting; it unlocks the disk and mounts the system. WolOS signs it together with the kernel and the command line. |
| **Pending slot** | The other slot, where kernel, initramfs and systemd package changes are made. They take effect after the next restart. See [Updates](/manual/updates). |

### Customising

| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Theme** | A set of colour tokens (and a terminal palette) that restyles the shell and every app. See [Themes in every app](/manual/app-theming). |
| **Plugin** | A folder with a `plugin.toml` and Lua files that adds to the shell: menu bar and Dock items, widgets, tiles, search results, shortcuts, themes, web-app launchers. Runs in a sandbox. See [Plugin API](/manual/plugins). |
| **Widget** | A card on the desktop (clock, weather and so on). See [Desktop widgets](/manual/widgets). |
| **Tile** | A square control in Control Center. See [Control Center](/manual/control-center). |
| **Web app** | A website opened in its own window with its own launcher and icon: `wol webapp add`. |
| **Toggle** | One switch shared by the menu bar, Control Center, shortcuts and scripts (Night Shift, Stay Awake, Silence): `wol toggle`. |

### Permissions

| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **`wol`** | The command-line tool for the system. See [The wol command](/manual/cli). |
| **Helper** | A program or AI assistant that changes WolOS through `wol` instead of through you: a `wol mcp` client or a script. See [Assistants and automation](/manual/automation). |
| **Gate** | The rule every helper passes: reads run, changes ask on screen, administrator actions ask for your password. |
| **Sheet** | A window that asks you to confirm something (Allow Once, Always Allow, Deny; or a password). |
| **Capability** | One area a helper may be allowed to change (appearance, sound, display, network, focus, apps, notify, screen-capture, window-list, files, restore, modules). |
| **Always Allow** | A grant kept for one helper and one capability. Review it in Settings > Assistants & Automation. |
| **Administrator password** | The password of an administrator account, asked for changes that affect everyone on the computer. |
| **Enforced / advisory** | An enforced permission is stopped by the system. An advisory one is recorded and shown, but an app that ignores it is not stopped. See [Privacy and permissions](/manual/privacy). |

## If something goes wrong

| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| A word on a page is not here | Search the manual (press `/` or Ctrl+K) and report the gap on [GitHub](https://github.com/wonderlandos/wolos/issues). |