Glossary¶

Project-specific terms used throughout bc-subscriptions docs, code, and substrate. Reference this when a term in another doc isn't obvious from context.

Substrate + methodology terms¶

Synthesis¶

A Hive issue that ratifies one or more [Spec] / [Decision] proposals into a unified plan. Synthesizing N source proposals collapses them into a single ratified direction; PRs implementing the work cite (synthesis #N) in the commit subject + closes #PROPOSAL_NUMBER for every source proposal. Substrate cascade then closes the synthesis once all sources close. Per ADR-0055.

Wedge¶

A coherent batch of work — usually a synthesis + its implementation PRs — landed together so the cascade closure is clean. Distinct from a single PR or a single proposal. Example: the "security/compliance GA-blocking wedge" (synthesis #1522) bundled STRIDE + GDPR DSR Art-15/17/20/21 + Slice G operator attestation. Wedges are the natural dispatch unit.

Substrate¶

A coordinated set of tools + data + workflows that together act as one mechanical surface. bc-subscriptions has multiple distinct substrates: - Hive substrate — proposal lifecycle (Hive D1 + GH issues + reconcile workflow per ADR-0055) - State substrate — capability state (tools/state-derive/ + _state.json + workflows) - Archaeology substrate — append-only event log (sessions + commits + issues + ADRs + docs + RAG) - Human-attestation substrate — operator-curated lifecycle state (docs/attestations/ + tools/attestation-derive/)

When someone says "the substrate," ask which one — context usually disambiguates.

Cascade¶

The automatic state-update flow that fires when a substrate event happens. Example: a PR with closes #1320 merges to main → GH auto-closes #1320 → hive-reconcile.yml workflow re-derives proposal state → if #1320 was the last open source of synthesis #1522, the synthesis cascade-closes too. Per Hive #978 + ADR-0055.

Dispatch¶

The act of handing a Hive task to an agent (Sonnet session) for implementation. Multiple dispatches in parallel = a "dispatch wave." Coordinated via tools/dispatch-handoff-wave/ for fan-out, or per-task via hive_claim_task for single-session work. Dispatched agents inherit the operator's Claude Pro/Max subscription via ~/.claude.json (not API credits).

OWNER-SPEC¶

A canonical doc at tools/<x>/OWNER-SPEC.md (or apps/<x>/OWNER-SPEC.md) capturing durable expert knowledge about a substrate tool: purpose, design rationale, failure modes seen, coupling, maintainer playbook, danger zones. Read by humans, future sessions, and skill-mediated expert agents. Convention at docs/methodology/owner-spec-convention.md.

Lifecycle terms¶

Slice¶

A coherent unit of implementation work within a larger epic or wedge. Sliced so each slice can be dispatched independently to an agent. Conventional sub-naming: "Slice A scaffold," "Slice B derive tool," etc.

Attestation¶

A Markdown file at docs/attestations/<category>/*.md capturing operator-async lifecycle state (e.g., pen-test status, GDPR review status). Carries frontmatter (status, human_owner, gating, last_attested, evidence_url) that the operator manually flips as the underlying human work progresses. Per Hive #1269 human-attestation substrate.

Operator¶

The person (or team) running bc-subscriptions — building, deploying, supporting merchants who install the app. Distinct from "merchant" (BC store owner using the app) and "subscriber" (the merchant's customer with a subscription). The operator surface lives at APP-ADMIN-SPEC.md + the future apps/operator-console/.

Synthesis-cited PR¶

A PR whose commit subject includes BOTH (synthesis #N) (links the synthesis ID for the substrate cascade) AND closes #PROPOSAL_NUMBER for every source proposal the synthesis ratified (triggers GH's native auto-close). Both load-bearing per CLAUDE.md.

Surface terms¶

Chat island¶

The agentic chat surface in the portal (apps/portal/) — powered by the archaeology Worker at subs-archaeology.bigcommerce-testing-7727.workers.dev. Queries the full event log + embeddings to answer natural-language questions spanning sessions, commits, Hive issues, ADRs, and docs.

Status page¶

A static HTML site at subs-status.pages.dev rendering current GA-readiness, gate state per epic, and aggregate attestation health. Generated by tools/gate-dashboard/ + tools/attestation-dashboard/.

Hive board¶

The bucketed view of open Hive proposals at docs/hive/_board.md. Buckets: shipped-not-closed, in-flight, awaiting-dispatch, awaiting-synthesis, reference, stale. Generated by tools/hive-board-derive/.