withastro/astro
Glossary
Project-specific vocabulary used throughout the codebase. Where a term is the name of a class or module, a path is given.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
.astro file |
A component format with a TypeScript-like frontmatter and a JSX-ish template. Compiled by @astrojs/compiler (out of repo). |
| Adapter | A package that adapts a built Astro app to a specific runtime (@astrojs/node, @astrojs/vercel, @astrojs/netlify, @astrojs/cloudflare). |
| Action | A type-safe form/RPC handler defined in src/actions/index.ts and consumed via the astro:actions virtual module. Implementation in packages/astro/src/actions/. |
App |
The runtime entry point used by adapters in production. packages/astro/src/core/app/. |
AppPipeline |
Pipeline implementation for production runtime. packages/astro/src/core/app/pipeline.ts. |
AstroBuilder |
Orchestrator for the astro build command. packages/astro/src/core/build/index.ts. |
AstroConfig |
The user-facing configuration object validated by Zod schemas in packages/astro/src/core/config/schemas/. |
astro check |
Type-checking CLI delegated to @astrojs/check (packages/language-tools/astro-check/). |
astro sync |
Generates .astro/types.d.ts, content collection types, env types. packages/astro/src/core/sync/. |
astro-scripts |
Internal CLI in scripts/cmd/ used by package build, dev, prebuild, and test scripts. |
bgproc |
Internal helper for managing long-running dev servers. Used in agent automation. |
BuildPipeline |
Pipeline implementation used during astro build (and prerendering). packages/astro/src/core/build/pipeline.ts. |
| Changeset | Markdown file under .changeset/ describing a release-affecting change. The release PR aggregates changesets and bumps versions. |
client:* directive |
A hydration directive (client:load, client:idle, client:visible, client:media, client:only) that opts a framework component into shipping JS to the browser. |
| Container | The programmatic component-rendering API (packages/astro/src/container/) — used in tests and external tools. |
| Content Collection | Typed grouping of markdown/MDX/data files declared in src/content/config.ts. Implementation in packages/astro/src/content/. |
| Content Layer | The newer pluggable loader API for content collections. packages/astro/src/content/loaders/ and content/content-layer.ts. |
| CSP | Content Security Policy generation. packages/astro/src/core/csp/. |
| Dev toolbar | The in-browser UI for the dev server. packages/astro/src/runtime/client/dev-toolbar/. |
DevPipeline |
Pipeline implementation used while running astro dev. packages/astro/src/vite-plugin-astro-server/pipeline.ts. |
| Endpoint | A non-page route exporting GET/POST/etc. handlers. Differs from a page in that it returns a Response. |
| Entrypoint | An npm exports subpath. packages/astro/package.json lists many. |
experimental_* flag |
A user config flag for an unstable feature. Configured in packages/astro/src/core/config/schemas/base.ts. |
| Hybrid output | Historical name for mixing static and SSR. Largely subsumed by prerender = true/false on a per-route basis. |
| Integration | An npm package that hooks into Astro via the AstroIntegration interface. Lives in packages/integrations/. |
| Island | A component that hydrates on the client. Each client:* directive produces an island. |
loadFixture |
Test helper that boots a real Astro instance from packages/astro/test/test-utils.ts. |
locals |
Per-request mutable object accessible from middleware, endpoints, pages, and actions. Lives on RenderContext. |
| Middleware | A function exported from src/middleware.ts that wraps every request. Built on packages/astro/src/core/middleware/. |
Pipeline |
The cross-cutting interface for "everything that does not change during a server lifetime". packages/astro/src/core/base-pipeline.ts. |
| Prerender | A page configured to render at build time (export const prerender = true). |
RenderContext |
Per-request context. packages/astro/src/core/render-context.ts. |
| Renderer | A framework integration's entry point exporting check, renderToStaticMarkup, and a client entrypoint. |
| Route manifest | Serialized list of routes used by the production runtime. packages/astro/src/core/app/manifest.ts. |
| Server Island | A lazily server-rendered component embedded in a static page. packages/astro/src/core/server-islands/. |
| Session | Server-side per-user state with pluggable drivers (memory, redis, …). packages/astro/src/core/session/. |
| SSR | Server-side rendering. In Astro this means rendering on every request with an adapter. |
| Static build | The default output mode where every page is rendered at build time. |
SSRManifest |
The serialized manifest emitted by the build and consumed by App. packages/astro/src/core/app/types.ts. |
| Toolbar app | A user-defined plugin for the dev toolbar. packages/astro/src/toolbar/. |
transitions |
The view-transitions runtime in packages/astro/src/transitions/. |
triage/ |
Workspace folder where reproductions go. Linked via pnpm-workspace.yaml. |
| Virtual module | A Vite virtual module name beginning with astro: (astro:content, astro:actions, astro:assets, etc.) backed by packages/astro/src/virtual-modules/. |
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