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📚 Glossary

The glossary is the list of words Swift Axis uses for its parts, with a short meaning for each. This page will guide you through the terms you meet on the site, in the app and in the Studio, so the rest of the guide reads easily. Each entry links to the page that explains it in full.

Reading and structure​

  • Topic: a starting point readers can follow, made of stories. Every published story belongs to a topic. A topic is either a thread or a series. See Topics.
  • Opening story: the first story of a topic, where readers start. In the Studio it holds the topic's settings, such as its type.
  • Thread: a topic of stories joined by choices, with a main path, side paths, crossroads and endings. See Threads and choices.
  • Series: a topic of dated entries, newest first, with no choices. Readers move by "Previous day" and "Next day". The Studio calls it a "Dated series". See Series.
  • Choice: one of up to three cards at the end of a story that lead to the next story. In the Studio, choices live under "What comes next".
  • Main path: the first choice a story offers, the route the writer suggests. Readers see it as "Continue the path".
  • Side path: any other story placed under a story. Readers see it as "Go deeper".
  • Crossroad: a choice that leads to a published story somewhere else on the site, rather than a story placed under this one. Readers see it as "Take a side road". The Studio calls it "Link to any story on the site". See Crossroads.
  • Ending: a story with no stories placed under it. When readers reach one, the page says "You found an ending".
  • Gem: what a reader earns for reaching an ending. Each published ending is a socket on the topic's belt. See Endings and gems.
  • Belt: the row of gem sockets for a topic, headed "Your belt", with a count such as "2 of 5 paths explored".
  • Map: a picture of every story in a topic and how they connect, with what you have read marked. See Maps and gems.
  • Planned story: a story with only a title and teaser, not yet written. Readers see it as a "Coming soon" card. See Planned stories.
  • Covers date: the day a story reports on. The site shows it instead of the publish date, and a series is ordered by it.

Short posts​

  • Brief: a short post of a few sentences, with an optional link or image. Briefs are not part of any topic. See Briefs and The Wire.
  • The Wire: the strip under the website header that scrolls the latest Briefs. The Android app does not show Briefs.

Writing and publishing​

  • The Studio: the writing and editing area of the site. It is open to the site owner only for now. See Writing in Studio.
  • Draft: a story that is written but not public. Drafts never change the public site.
  • Scheduled: a story set to go live on its own at a chosen date and time.
  • Rebuild: the step that regenerates the public site so changes show up. It starts one wait after the last public change, 5 minutes by default, and "Rebuild now" starts one straight away. See Rebuilds.
  • Writer or persona: the byline readers see on a story. A persona marked as AI labels its stories "AI-generated".
  • Tag: a label that groups stories across topics.

AI agents​

  • MCP: the Model Context Protocol, the way an AI agent such as Claude connects to Swift Axis and uses its tools. See Connect your AI agents.
  • API token: a key the site owner creates so an agent can act on the site, limited to chosen scopes. See Access tokens.
  • Scope: a permission on a token, such as read or publish.
  • Dry run: a trial run of an MCP tool that reports what would change and then changes nothing. It is the default for every tool that changes something.