---
title: Glossary
description: Look up Presswork's canonical domain terms and wording to avoid.
sidebar:
  label: Glossary
  order: 8
---

The repository's `CONTEXT.md` remains canonical for Presswork domain language. This page projects every canonical term for user-facing lookup without replacing that source.

**Repository Root**:
The nearest ancestor of the working directory containing a `.git` file or directory. It is the sole boundary for repository-wide documentation, configuration, and validation.
_Avoid_: Project folder, working directory, target folder

**Documentation Directory**:
A directory within the repository root whose documentation is governed by a profile. A repository may contain more than one documentation directory.
_Avoid_: Docs folder, folder contents

**Root Document**:
A profile-recognized agent document located directly in the repository root. Repository configuration may add root documents to those declared by the selected profile.
_Avoid_: Top-level agent file, special file

**Profile**:
A complete repository-wide documentation policy containing rules, defaults, templates, documentation directories, and root documents. Selecting a profile replaces the default profile rather than extending or merging with it.
_Avoid_: Preset, ruleset, configuration

**Built-in Profile**:
A complete profile distributed with Presswork and selectable by name.
_Avoid_: Default rules, bundled config

**Profile Version**:
The explicit contract version of a built-in profile. A configured repository selects a profile version so upgrading Presswork does not silently adopt new documentation requirements.
_Avoid_: Presswork version, schema version

**Basic Profile**:
The built-in profile Presswork applies when repository configuration does not select another profile.
_Avoid_: Default profile, fallback profile

**Matt Pocock Profile**:
The complete Built-in Profile selected as `mattpocock@1` by repositories using Matt Pocock agent-skill documentation conventions.
_Avoid_: Matt profile, skills profile

**Presswork Configuration**:
The repository-root `presswork.json` document that selects one complete Profile and may add repository-specific documentation locations, declarative Document Types, index policies, and Markdown semantics.
_Avoid_: Profile, manifest

**Configuration Version**:
The required version of the `presswork.json` contract, independent of the selected Profile Version.
_Avoid_: Profile version, schema URL

**Recognized Document**:
A root document or a non-ignored document discovered recursively within a documentation directory. A directly encountered symbolic link is eligible when it resolves to a regular file inside the Repository Root. Discovery does not traverse directories reached through symbolic links. Rules inspect recognized documents as sources, while links may target other resources inside the repository.
_Avoid_: Input file, Markdown file

**Rule**:
A read-only check that evaluates documentation against one requirement of a profile.
_Avoid_: Validator, check

**Rule Scope**:
The recognized repository-relative documents to which a rule applies. Repository-wide rules cover every recognized document, while path-specific rules cover only matching locations.
_Avoid_: Glob, target files

**Template**:
A readable Markdown definition of a document's required shape, ordering, and authored inputs, augmented only by Presswork template directives. The same format validates existing documents and initializes new drafts.
_Avoid_: Scaffold, text fixture

**Template Directive**:
A non-executable `presswork:` HTML comment that marks optional sections or unresolved authoring instructions. Every directive must be resolved and removed before a document is complete.
_Avoid_: Template code, embedded configuration

**Strict Template**:
A template that permits only its declared headings in their declared order, while still allowing authored prose and omission of declared optional sections.
_Avoid_: Exact template, locked document

**Document Type**:
A repository-specific document convention defining its location, naming, template strictness, required creation inputs, index membership, and preferred creation workflow.
_Avoid_: Document format, file type, template

**Document Creation**:
Atomic initialization of one new document draft and its index entry from a template and explicitly supplied identifying and discovery inputs. Creation never overwrites an existing document and does not claim the draft is complete.
_Avoid_: Generation, scaffolding, authoring

**Document Draft**:
A newly created document that satisfies naming and index requirements but retains explicit template instructions for an agent to resolve before validation can pass.
_Avoid_: Generated document, completed document

**Creation Policy**:
A Document Type's preferred creation workflow: Presswork, an external workflow, or manual creation. It guides agents without making one creation mechanism mandatory for validity.
_Avoid_: Creation rule, generator

**Validation**:
Read-only evaluation of repository documentation against a profile's rules, defaults, and templates.
_Avoid_: Enforcement, linting system

**Check**:
A repository validation run that discovers the repository root, applies the selected profile, and reports violations.
_Avoid_: Scan, test run

**Violation**:
A failed rule evaluation identified by a stable rule identifier, repository-relative source location, relevant target, explanation, and recovery guidance.
_Avoid_: Error, warning, finding

**Operational Diagnostic**:
A structured explanation of a condition that prevented Presswork from completing a check, distinct from a violation in documentation that was successfully evaluated.
_Avoid_: Violation, crash

**Markdown Dialect**:
The repository-wide link and heading semantics used when validating documents, such as GitHub or Obsidian Markdown.
_Avoid_: Markdown flavor, Markdown mode, parser

**Index Document**:
The document containing a documentation directory's index section. It defaults to the directory's `README.md` but may be configured as another document, including a root document.
_Avoid_: Index file, generated index

**Index Section**:
An explicit authored section that references every document and child documentation directory relevant to its directory and explains when readers should load them.
_Avoid_: Link list, generated section

**Orphaned Document**:
A direct child document relevant to an index but omitted from its containing directory's index section.
_Avoid_: Unlinked page, unreachable document

**Check Report**:
The complete or explicitly incomplete result of a check, containing deterministically ordered violations and any operational diagnostics.
_Avoid_: Lint output, command result

See [Concepts](/concepts/) for how these terms work together and [Check Report](/check-report/) for the public report contract.