Glossary

Brisal uses each term to mean one specific thing across app and docs. Definitions are concise; follow links for the full picture.

A

Add — Pull a system model into a workspace: creates owned editable provider-bound copy. Providers: connect; agents: clone. Same mechanic. See Models.

Agent — Assistant you chat with: provider + model + system prompt + Thinking level + settings. Model = what answers; agent = who. See Agents.

Ahead / behind — Branch divergence from project trunk: commits ahead (branch has, trunk lacks) or behind (trunk has, branch lacks). Shown on worktree cards.

Annotation — Line-by-line review on session message: tagged Question/Edit/Note/Remove. Becomes new message when sent. From message-select; navigated in annotate. See Annotations and Keyboard shortcuts.

API key — Provider credential. Stored in OS secure store, never in config. Not all need one. See Providers.

Appearance — Workspace look: Mode (light/dark), Font size, Palette (color). Per-workspace. Prefer over “theme”. See Appearance & theming.

Archive — Set workspace or project aside to declutter, without deleting. Reversible for projects; lightweight marker for workspaces.

Attribution trailers — Optional Brisal-* commit lines. Toggled per workspace.

B

Breadcrumb — Location trail at pane top, from Brisal logo. Not header back/forward arrows. See Layout.

brisal-docs — Builtin skill letting in-app agent answer Brisal questions from this docs. Always on. See In-app help.

C

Capability chips — Tools/Vision/Streaming labels on model. Only supported show.

Chord — Key+modifiers (ctrl+p, mod+m). Sequence unit. See Keyboard shortcuts.

Clone — Copy system agent into workspace for owned editable copy.

Clone-then-own — Connect, add, clone mechanic: full independent clone, not live link or override. No auto-update; evolves separately.

Code theme — Per-workspace syntax coloring in file viewer. 5 families (one-dark-pro default, github, vitesse, catppuccin, night-owl), each light+dark pair following app mode. Colors code only. Distinct from palette. See Code theme.

Command palette — Searchable keymap actions with bindings. Ctrl+P. Fastest run/discover. See Keyboard shortcuts.

Conflict — Merge/rebase can’t apply cleanly. Brisal pauses, opens per-file resolution: keep one branch’s version, then Continue/Abort. See Worktrees.

Connect — Copy system provider into workspace for owned editable copy. Confirm dialog: “Login to ”.

Context window — Max tokens (prompt+reply) a model holds, e.g. “128k context”.

Current worktree — Worktree new sessions default to. Set with Set as current. One at a time.

Custom (provider / model / agent) — Defined from scratch, not from catalog. See Providers, Models, Agents.

D

Default agent — Agent workspace uses first for new sessions. Each workspace marks one of its own. Distinct from Le Chaton Fat.

Delete — Permanently erase workspace or project and contents. Irreversible. Can’t delete selected/locked. Providers/models/agents: disable only.

Delegation — An agent handing scoped work to subagents that run in parallel, then reasoning over their results. See Delegation.

Delegator — The parent agent that spawns subagents. See Delegation.

denied — Recorded trust decision that keeps a project’s own skills and hooks blocked. Same blocking effect as undecided, but explicit and saved.

Diff module — First Explorer module: working-tree diff of session worktree — +/- summary + per-file list, refreshed at turn end. See Explorer.

Disable / Enable — Set aside without removing. Disabled items drop from pickers; file preserved. Providers: only write action allowed on built-in.

disable-model-invocation — Skill frontmatter flag: off auto-menu but reachable when invoked.

E

Explorer — Session pane collapsible side panel (left/right) with modules (Diff, Files). Session-scoped: open/expanded state persists per session. Not second sidebar. Side via explorer_position. See Explorer.

F

File viewer — Files module overlay over transcript: syntax-highlighted text (line-paged, code theme colors), inline images, binary fallback. Scoped to transcript column; Escape dismisses without leaving Explorer mode. See Explorer → The file viewer.

Files module — Explorer module: lazy file tree of session worktree, all files including dotfiles, refreshed at turn end. Click to open in file viewer. Hotkey f in Explorer mode. See Explorer → The Files module.

First-class entity — Models as own records with own metadata/lifecycle, not provider strings.

Font size — Appearance axis: integer 12-20 (default 14). Out-of-range clamped.

Fork — Branch session into new independent one. Keeps parent’s worktree/tags, starts empty transcript. Parent/child independent.

Frontmatter — YAML at skill file top. Required: description. Optional: name, disable-model-invocation, allowed-tools (parsed, not enforced).

G

Git identity — Author name/email for workspace commits. Project local config overrides. Never reads ~/.gitconfig; fallback: Brisal <brisal@local>.

Global — Whole app. Controls in header: workspace switch, Settings. Contrast workspace-scoped.

GOTO — Keyboard jumper over sessions, workspaces, projects. Ctrl+K or pre-scoped leader. See Keyboard shortcuts.

H

Header — Full-width top bar: workspace selector, Skills/Tools, nav arrows, Settings. See Layout.

Hidden skill — Skill discovered but not offered, with reason (shadowed, invocation disabled, name mismatch). Surfaced, never silent.

Hint bar — Keymap live feedback after leader: next keys and actions. Position = hotkey menu position. See Keyboard shortcuts.

I

Inherit — Workspace setting unset → system default. Word for absence of override.

Interrupt — Stop running turn or !/!! command mid-flight. Transcript records it.

Invalid skill — Skill file failed parse or malformed id. Set aside with reason; never crashes list.

Isolation — See walled / isolated, organizational isolation.

K

Keybindings — Workspace overrides to default keyboard shortcuts. Edited on Hotkeys tab, stored as sparse keybindings.toml. Merge over defaults field-by-field. See Config files.

L

Le Chaton Fat — Primary built-in agent: sharp complete general assistant, clone seed. Distinct from workspace default agent. See also Le Lazy Chaton (builtin, terse).

Leader — Chord (Ctrl+B default) opening multi-key sequence and hint bar. Ctrl everywhere, tmux-style. See Keyboard shortcuts.

Liveness — Session state: Running (turn), Blocked (permission), Idle. Distinct from merely open.

Lock / Unlock — Freeze project against lifecycle changes. Locked can’t be selected/archived/deleted. Reversible; user-facing.

M

Merge — Combine worktree into target: Normal (keep commits) or Squash (one commit). Pre-flight check reports outcome. See Worktrees.

Message-select — Modal mode for session transcript messages: copy or open annotate. ⌘/Ctrl+M. See Keyboard shortcuts.

Mid-session switch — Change agent (and model) mid-session. Recorded; both count as participants.

Mode — Appearance light/dark: Light, Dark, System (OS, default). Each palette defines both.

Model — Specific LLM: context window, capabilities, pricing, wire name. Belongs to exactly one provider. See Models.

Module — Self-contained collapsible Explorer section: one session info kind (Diff, Files). Declarative, hotkey-addressable (d=Diff, f=Files). Not “panel”/“widget”/“card”. See Explorer → Modules.

N

New session funnel — Chip cascade at sidebar top: project → worktree → agent, setting new session target. Chip change doesn’t navigate.

O

Organizational isolation — Workspace wall: separates configuration, not security. Agent execution not sandboxed; not a security boundary.

Orphaned session — Session with deleted worktree. Archived, read-only, history preserved. Distinct from user-archived (keeps worktree).

P

Palette — Color identity by name (e.g. built-in mistral default), defined by token-only theme file. Canonical noun for color axis. Colors app chrome; code theme colors code in file viewer. See Appearance & theming and config-files reference.

Pane — Single content surface in PaneHost: workspace tabs, project, session. One pane today. See Layout.

PaneHost — Region right of sidebar hosting panes. One pane today; will split later.

Precedence — Same-id skills across tiers: project > workspace > external > builtin. Higher wins; loser becomes hidden (never dropped).

Private bash (!!) — Session worktree command: output saved but withheld from model. “Private” = hidden from agent.

Project — Work unit inside workspace: sessions, project-scoped agents/skills, source. May wrap codebase but need not. Not “repo” or “folder”. See Projects.

Prompt caching — Provider reusing unchanged prompt prefix, billing cached tokens at discount (Mistral: 1/10 input rate). Always-on for supported. Session meter shows cache-hit rate, applies discount via model’s Cached input rate. See Models and Sessions.

Provider — LLM service: endpoint, limits, API key (usually). Every model/agent/session runs on a provider. See Providers.

Public bash (!) — Session worktree command: output saved and in agent context next turn.

R

read_skill — Built-in tool agent calls to load skill body by id. Agent sees descriptions; reads body on call.

Reasoning level — Thinking effort per message in session composer: Off/Low/Medium/High. Distinct from agent’s default Thinking.

Rebase — Replay worktree unique commits on chosen base, rewriting hashes. Rewrites history — unlike merge. See Worktrees.

S

Select — Make workspace or project current, deselecting previous. Workspace select swaps context (sessions, agents, theme).

Selected project — Project you’re in within selected workspace; its sessions are visible/creatable. One at a time. Badged Selected.

Selected workspace — Workspace currently in; everything below header scoped to it. One at a time. Badged Selected.

Sequence — Ordered chords separated by spaces (ctrl+b w n). Multi-key shortcuts after leader. See Keyboard shortcuts.

Session — Conversation with agent inside project: messages, tool calls, shell runs as durable transcript. Created on first message; survives restarts. Not “chat”/“thread”. See Sessions.

Sessions jumper — Workspace-wide session list in sidebar, below new-session funnel: search, group-by, per-row actions.

Setting — Single config: mode, font size, palette, shortcut. See Settings.

Sidebar — Left column: jumper for starting/switching sessions across all workspace projects. See Layout.

Skill — Self-contained discoverable instructions agent can pull for tasks: Markdown with always-visible description, on-demand body. System prompt always on; skill pulled when relevant. See Skills.

SKILL.md — Canonical package-style skill filename (skills/<id>/SKILL.md); flat skills/<id>.md also works.

Source — Project files origin, fixed at creation: Scratch (empty), Local (isolated import: bare clone for Git, fresh commit for non-Git, never live mount), Remote (git clone: HTTPS or SSH via your agent). See Cloning a repository over SSH.

Spawn-and-return — The delegation model: delegate starts a child and returns its handle immediately rather than blocking. See Delegation.

Subagent — A child session an agent spawns to run scoped work in parallel; depth-1 (a subagent cannot itself delegate). A subagent’s token cost is counted on the subagent, not rolled into the parent’s stats meter (v1). See Delegation.

System (tier / layer) — App-wide built-in read-only providers/models/agents every workspace uses as templates. Workspace above this.

System (provider / model / agent) — Built-in read-only shipped version as template. Enable/disable but never edit/delete. See Providers, Models, Agents.

System default — Machine-wide baseline settings. Workspace starts from it, overrides per field; unset fields inherit.

System prompt — Agent standing instructions: role, tone, rules. Optional Markdown. In every conversation.

T

Tab — Pane switcher: workspace Details/Projects/Providers/Agents/Sessions/Skills/Tools. Within pane only; not top-level. See Layout.

Theme file — CSS defining palette (themes/<name>.css): :root (light) + .dark (dark) tokens. “Palettes are data”: palette = theme file. See config-files reference.

Thinking — Agent reasoning-effort: Off (default), Low, Medium, High, XHigh. Agent-wide; distinct from per-message reasoning level.

Tier (skill) — Skill location by precedence: builtin (ships in Brisal, always on), external (~/.agents/skills, opt-in), workspace, project (loaded once project trusted). Not ownership. See Skills.

Tool — Concrete action agent can take (read_skill, run command…), vs skill (guidance it reads). Reading skill = tool call.

Tool policy — Agent allowed actions beyond chat. Governs tool use, not skill allowed-tools.

Toolbar (Explorer) — Fixed row at Explorer top above modules: annotated-messages dropdown, Commit (dialog, commits worktree), Push (to remote). Not collapsible, no hotkey. See Explorer → The toolbar.

Transcript — Full ordered session history: messages, tool calls, results. Persisted as what happened.

Trunk — Project base branch (usually main/master). Main worktree, undeletable, reference for every worktree’s ahead/behind.

Trust — Per-project gate: load project’s own skills/hooks (run as you). Deny-by-default. Gates loading, not execution; not sandbox.

Trust decision — Project verdict: trusted/denied, remembered by location. Re-pointing source path makes old decision stale (reverts to deny).

Turn — Session loop round: your message + agent response (thinking, tool calls, results, reply).

Turn rail — Thin right-edge strip in session transcript: one pill/turn; hover to preview, click to jump. Appears at 2+ turns. See Jumping between turns.

U

Unread — Session with activity newer than last open — sidebar “background finished” signal.

Usage tier — Model cost: Free, Paid, Enterprise, Experimental, with per-token pricing.

W

Walled / isolated — Scoped to one workspace, invisible to others. Projects, keys, agents, skills, theme all walled. Cross-workspace leak = bug.

Wire name — Provider-side model name sent on request (e.g. mistral-medium-3.5), distinct from model internal id.

Workspace — Brisal’s top container. Everything (projects, providers, models, agents, skills, sessions, theme) lives inside, walled from others. Purpose: compartmentalization. See Workspaces.

Workspace (provider / model / agent) — Owned by single workspace, fully editable, isolated. From connect/add/clone built-in or custom. See Providers, Models, Agents.

Worktree — Isolated git checkout+branch for session changes. Bound at creation. Managed from Worktrees tab: create, switch, diff, merge, rebase, delete.

Workspace-scoped — Selected workspace only. Controls inside pane (workspace tabs). Contrast global.