Building apps with Claude
Jargon Buster.
Don’t be bamboozled by jargon. Learn the top ten first, and pick up the rest as you go.
Level 1: The ten you need from day one
10 terms- Claude Code
- Claude working directly on your computer. It writes code, creates files and runs commands for you while you approve each step.
- Terminal
- A text window where you type commands to your computer instead of clicking. Claude Code runs here.
- Project folder
- The single folder on your computer that holds everything for one app or website.
- GitHub
- An online home for your code. It keeps every saved version so you can go back if something breaks, and it’s your backup.
- Repository (repo)
- One project’s storage space on GitHub. One app = one repo.
- Firebase
- Google’s platform for running apps. It puts your app online and gives you a database and a login system, with no server of your own.
- Cloudflare
- Manages your domain name and points it to the right place. It also hosts simple websites and adds speed and security.
- API
- A doorway that lets one piece of software talk to another, for example your app asking Stripe to take a payment.
- API key
- A secret password that lets your app use an API. Never paste it into a chat or share it.
- Deploy
- Putting the latest version of your app or website live on the internet.
Level 2: You’ll meet these as you build
23 terms
Saving and publishing your work
- Commit
- Saving a snapshot of your work with a short note about what changed.
- Push and pull
- Push sends your saved work up to GitHub. Pull brings the latest version down to your computer.
- Hosting
- Where your app or website lives online so people can visit it.
- Localhost
- Your app running privately on your own computer for testing, before it goes live.
Push, deploy and go live are not the same thing. Push sends your work to GitHub as a backup; nothing changes on your live site. Deploy puts the new version on the internet. Go live is the everyday phrase for deploying, usually the first launch. Two exceptions: if a Cloudflare site is connected to GitHub, a push deploys it automatically, and clasp push updates your Apps Script at Google straight away.
Keeping things safe
- .env file
- A private file on your computer that holds your API keys and other secrets.
- .gitignore
- A list of files that must never be uploaded to GitHub, such as your .env file.
- Environment variable
- A named setting, like STRIPE_API_KEY, that your app reads instead of having the secret written into the code.
- Security rules
- Firebase’s rules for who can see and change the data in your app.
Google tools
- Firestore
- The database inside Firebase where your app stores its information.
- Firebase Authentication
- Firebase’s login system, for example “Sign in with Google”.
- GAS (Google Apps Script)
- Google’s built-in coding tool for automating Sheets, Gmail and other Google apps.
- clasp
- A tool that lets Claude Code edit your Apps Script projects on your computer and send them back to Google.
- Trigger
- An instruction that runs a script automatically, on a schedule or when something happens.
- Script Properties
- The safe place to store secrets inside Google Apps Script.
Connecting things
- Domain
- Your web name, such as yourbusiness.co.uk.
- Subdomain
- An extra name in front of your domain, like bookings.yourbusiness.co.uk. Each one can point to a different app.
- DNS
- The internet’s address book. It turns your domain name into the place where your site or app actually lives.
- Webhook
- An automatic message one service sends to another the moment something happens, like “new booking just came in”. With an API you ask; with a webhook you’re told.
- Health check
- An automatic test that checks something is still working and warns you if it isn’t.
Working with Claude
- CLAUDE.md
- A briefing file in each project that tells Claude what the app does and how you like to work.
- Skill
- A reusable set of instructions Claude follows automatically, like your house rules for building apps.
- Plan mode
- A Claude Code setting where Claude explains its plan before changing anything. Switch it on with Shift+Tab.
- Connector
- A link that lets Claude work with your other apps, such as Google Drive, Gmail or your calendar.
Level 3: Good to know, look up when needed
13 terms
- URL
- A web address, the full link to a page.
- SSL
- The padlock in the browser. It means the connection to your site is secure. Firebase and Cloudflare set it up for you.
- npm
- A tool for installing ready-made bits of code that your project uses.
- CLI
- Short for command-line interface: any tool you use by typing commands in the terminal.
- Service account
- A login for software rather than a person, so apps and scripts can access Google services on their own.
- MCP
- The technology behind connectors that lets Claude plug into other tools and services.
- Cloudflare proxy
- The orange cloud in Cloudflare. When it’s on, traffic goes through Cloudflare for extra speed and protection.
- CNAME record
- A DNS entry saying “this name is another name for that one”, often used to point a subdomain at an app.
- MX record
- A DNS entry that tells the internet where to deliver your email.
- TXT record
- A DNS entry holding a short piece of text, mainly used to prove you own a domain.
- SPF
- An email setting listing which services are allowed to send email for your domain.
- DKIM
- A digital signature on your outgoing emails proving they really came from you.
- DMARC
- Tells other mail servers what to do with fake emails pretending to come from your domain.