Glossary & FAQ
The terms behind AI building, in plain language. And straight answers to the questions I get every week.
Core AI concepts
- AI Agent
- A digital helper that can decide what to do next within rules you set. It might draft replies, update records, or trigger other automations. Like a junior teammate that never sleeps.
- LLM (Large Language Model)
- The type of AI behind ChatGPT and Claude, trained to understand and generate human-style text.
- Prompt
- The instructions you send to an AI model to get a specific answer back. A question, a paragraph, a whole spec.
- Context window
- How much a model can keep in mind at once. When a conversation outgrows the window, the model starts forgetting the beginning.
- Token
- The unit AI models read and bill by. Roughly three quarters of an English word.
- Hallucination
- When an AI states something false with full confidence. The reason you verify names, numbers and links before shipping.
- MCP (Model Context Protocol)
- An open standard that lets AI assistants connect to your real tools and data, like databases, email or project boards, so they can act instead of just chat.
- RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)
- A technique that lets an AI pull up-to-date info from a knowledge base before writing its answer, so it stays accurate and factual.
- Fine-tuning
- Teaching an existing AI model with your own examples so its responses fit your domain or style better.
Vibe coding & app building
- Vibe coding
- Building software by describing what you want to an AI instead of writing every line yourself. You steer, the AI types.
- Lovable
- An AI app builder that turns plain-language prompts into full web apps with auth, database and hosting built in.
- Supabase
- An open-source backend platform: Postgres database, auth, storage and edge functions. What most Lovable apps run on underneath.
- RLS (Row Level Security)
- Postgres rules that decide which rows each user can see or change. The reason your users can't read each other's data. Most "my data disappeared" panics are RLS filtering the view, not actual deletion.
- Edge Function
- A small piece of server-side code that runs close to your users. Where secrets and payment logic belong, because anything in browser code can be read by anyone.
- Anon key
- Supabase's public API key. It is designed to be public. Row Level Security is what actually protects your data.
- Migration
- A versioned change to your database structure. The reason you can evolve a schema without losing data.
- Deploy
- Publishing your latest code so real users see it. In most builders, saving code and deploying it are separate steps.
Connecting things
- API
- A menu of commands one piece of software exposes so another program can ask for data or tell it to do something.
- Webhook
- A real-time push notification one app sends to another when something happens. Like a doorbell for your workflows.
- No-code / Low-code
- Platforms that let you build apps or automations with visual blocks instead of writing code.
- Vector database
- A database that stores numeric fingerprints of text or images so AI can search by meaning instead of exact words.
- Automation
- Letting software handle repetitive tasks like emails, data entry or filing docs, so humans can focus on higher-value work.
- Workflow
- The step-by-step path a task follows. A recipe for your business processes.
AI providers
- OpenAI
- Makes ChatGPT and the GPT models. The broadest consumer ecosystem.
- Anthropic
- Makes Claude and Claude Code. Known for its safety focus and strong coding models.
- Makes Gemini, natively multimodal and wired into Search and Workspace.
- Meta
- Makes Llama, the open-weight model family much of the ecosystem builds on.
- Mistral
- European lab making open-weight models, good for local and private deployments.
- Hugging Face
- The hub where open-source models live. Think GitHub for AI models.
Business terms
- SaaS
- Pay-as-you-go web software, no installs. Bills monthly or annually.
- Inference cost
- What you pay each time an AI model generates an answer.
- GPU
- The specialized chip AI models run on. Scarce and expensive, which is why AI compute costs what it costs.
- Self-hosted
- Running software on your own servers for privacy, control or compliance.
FAQ · Working with me
How does working with you start?
You write me two lines about where you're stuck, and I answer with a plan and a date. No discovery calls, no pressure.
What can you build in 24 hours?
One product: auth, database and one core flow, live by end of day. It comes with a handoff doc and one week of fixes. It's the same system I use to ship my own products.
My project broke. Can you fix it?
That's what Project Rescue is for: diagnosis plus live fixing, about 90 minutes. If the problem turns out bigger than the session, you leave with an exact plan and a quote instead of an open bill.
Do you teach, or just build?
Both. 1:1 sessions run 60 to 90 minutes, recorded, with tailored resources and two weeks of async follow-up. Topics include AI agents, Claude Code, Supabase, vibe coding and AI governance.
How do prices work?
Every service has its price listed on the services page, and I confirm scope before we start. No surprise invoices. See services
FAQ · Questions I answer every week
Do I need to know how to code to build an app?
No. Tools like Lovable turn plain-language prompts into working apps. What helps is understanding how the pieces fit together: auth, database, deploys. That part you can learn while you build, and it's exactly what my sessions cover.
Is my Supabase anon key exposed?
The anon key is designed to be public, so seeing it in your code or network tab is not a leak. What actually protects your data is Row Level Security. If something is exposed, the fix is almost always an RLS policy, not hiding the key.
My app's data disappeared. Is it gone?
Usually it's still there. Most of the time an RLS policy or a stale login session is filtering rows out of view, which looks identical to deletion. Check the row counts in your database before assuming loss.
Can I move off Lovable Cloud to my own Supabase?
Yes. You can export your data, remove Lovable Cloud from the project, and connect your own Supabase. It's a migration I do regularly. Migration guide
Can my Lovable app go on the App Store?
Yes. It needs a native wrap plus store assets and the review process. I offer it as a fixed-price service, submission and one resubmission included.
Still lost on a term, or have a question that isn't here? Write me and I'll translate the geek-speak. This page grows with your questions.