#Glossary

The vocabulary of Nourva in one place — every surface and key concept, defined in a line.

#Overview

This glossary gathers the words you will meet across this library and gives each a short, plain definition. It is a quick reference, not a tutorial: when a term in another page is unfamiliar, look it up here and follow the link to learn more.

The terms below are the ones you actually experience — the surfaces you work in, the concepts behind how Nourva behaves, and the forms your results take. Each is defined at the level of what it does for you.

#Surfaces

These are the places you work inside Nourva.

Term	Definition
Nourva	The desktop assistant (Windows & macOS) whose promise is "Your will, My hands." — you describe the outcome, Nourva does the work and shows you the result.
Chat	The simplest surface: ask anything and get a clear, direct answer, with live web search and file or image attachments when you need them.
Arachne	Nourva's hands on the open web — give it a goal and it browses, researches, builds, and acts across real sites and apps, verifying every step.
the Shell	A real command line inside Arachne where you run commands and tools safely, with live output and full control around it.
Deep Research	The surface for serious, long-form investigations that return a structured report with its sources gathered.
Office	Creates real Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF documents from a description — finished, formatted, and ready to download.
Workplace	A dedicated space for ongoing professional work — keeping documents, collaborating with specialists, and carrying a body of work forward over time.
Axiom	The surface for formal mathematics, producing a checked, verifiable solution rather than a guess.
Memory	Where Nourva keeps what it knows about you and your work — layered, encrypted, and private to you, fully under your control.
Hiring	Hire the best in every field — a roster of independent specialists you can bring in for a specific kind of work, with a live interview to pick the right one.
Nourva Mind	Nourva's personality — the consistent, considered character behind how it talks and works with you.

#Concepts

These are the ideas that shape how Nourva behaves.

Term	Definition
Outcome	The result you want, described in plain language; you tell Nourva the outcome, not the steps to reach it.
Verification	The principle that every action is automatically checked before it is reported done, so a "done" from Nourva is confirmed, not just attempted.
Permission level	How much freedom you give Nourva for a task — one of five levels you can change at any time.
Look only	The level where Nourva reads and inspects but never changes anything.
Plan first	The level where Nourva proposes a plan and waits for your approval before acting.
Ask before acting	The level where Nourva pauses for your permission before each change.
Work in your workspace	The level where Nourva acts freely inside your project or workspace, and nothing outside it.
Act automatically	The level where Nourva carries the whole task through on its own.
Artifact	A thing Nourva produces — a document, research, site, media, or result — kept so you can find it again, reopen, reuse, and export or download it.
Credits	What Nourva's heavier work draws from; you have a balance that updates as you use Nourva and as you add to it.

#Result formats

Nourva presents what it produces in whichever of these eight forms best fits the work. It chooses automatically, and you can ask for a different one.

Format	Definition
Table	Rows and columns for structured data you can scan and sort.
Chart	A visual graph for when the shape of the data matters.
Report	A written, organized document with sections and findings.
Comparison	A side-by-side of options against the things you care about.
Dashboard	Several related views gathered into one at-a-glance panel.
Media gallery	A collection of images, video, or audio you can browse.
Alert	A short, prominent notice when something needs your attention.
Source pack	The gathered references and links behind a piece of research.

#Shell terms

These are the terms specific to working in the Shell.

Term	Definition
Session	A unit of work in the Shell that keeps its history and running state, so you can leave and return exactly where you were.
Durable receipt	The lasting record a session keeps of what it did — preserved even if you close the window or your machine restarts.
Workspace	The project or folder a session is confined to, so its actions stay where you intend and do not reach outside that boundary.
Run environment	Where a session's work runs — locally on your own machine, or in a secure, isolated environment kept separate from your system.
Command palette	A quick way to find and run the things the Shell can do without remembering exact names.
Re-attaching	Reconnecting to a still-running session to watch its live output again, even after navigating away.

#How to use it

Skim the table that matches what you are looking for — a place to work, an idea, a result form, or a Shell term.
When a page links a term here, follow the link to see the full definition in context.
Use this page as a quick check when a word is unfamiliar, then return to what you were reading.

#Examples

text

What does "durable receipt" mean?

You see: a one-line definition — the lasting record a session keeps of what it did, preserved even if you close the window or restart.