Glossary
Every Alcove console term and what it means. Alcove uses story-console language, never software jargon.
Alcove uses story-console language throughout. This page maps each term to what it means.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Cartridge | A reusable story world and engine. Many save files can be created from one. See Cartridges. |
| Save File | Your private timeline in a cartridge — chapters, canon, cast, route. See Save Files. |
| Main Save | Your canonical run of a story. |
| Test Save | An experimental run for trying a direction without risking your Main Save. |
| Canon | The current structured state of your world — characters, relationships, facts, routes. |
| Canon Lock | The deliberate action that turns an approved draft into permanent canon. See Canon Lock. |
| Writers Room | Where you turn a move into a scene brief and a drafted or generated chapter. See the Writers Room. |
| Scene Brief | The plan for a chapter — who, where, stakes, and what should change — that you approve before generating. |
| State Update | A proposed change to canon emitted by a draft. You review them before locking. |
| Auto Route | Your story compass — it suggests your next three moves after each lock. See Routes & the Route Lab. |
| Route Lab | Where you explore alternate directions for your story. See Routes & the Route Lab. |
| Nexus Event | A pivotal crossroads in a story's route, where things could genuinely go two ways. |
| Story Codex | The facts, places, and lore revealed in your save file so far. See Story Codex & Cast Board. |
| Cast Board | The characters you've met or developed this playthrough. See Story Codex & Cast Board. |
| Reward | Something earned from the canon you locked — never a random pull. |
A note on language
Alcove never uses software or version-control words in the product. You won't see "fork," "branch," "merge," "commit," or "pull request" — those concepts show up as Test Saves, routes, Canon Lock, and the Route Lab instead.