For the complete Netlify documentation index, see llms.txt. Markdown versions of this page are available by appending .md to the URL. If you are new to Netlify and web development, here is a glossary just for you. This glossary introduces you to key Netlify terms and web development basics.
Key terms to understand Netlify
Section titled “Key terms to understand Netlify”verb and noun
As a verb, to build means to process and prepare your website’s files so they’re ready to be published. Netlify runs your build to assemble your site for you. If the build fails, Netlify cannot publish or deploy your site. Once your build is successful, Netlify deploys or publishes your site and makes it available through our global CDN (Content Delivery Network) so it is fast no matter where you are in the world.
Verb example: "Netlify builds changes to my site so I can preview them and catch errors early."
As a noun, a build is the result of the building process, a packaged version of your site at a specific point in time. You can view the status of each build in your Netlify dashboard. Build as a noun can also modify other terms to associate them with the build process, such as build command.
Noun example: "Netlify ran a build of my site changes but the build failed because of a missing file."
Deploy
Section titled “Deploy”verb and noun
As a verb, to deploy means to publish your site so it’s live and accessible on the web. Deploying always follows a build: first Netlify processes and assembles your files, then it publishes the result to Netlify’s Content Delivery Network (CDN), making your site instantly available to visitors everywhere unless you’ve added some kind of authentication to your site. If the build fails, nothing gets deployed.
Verb example: "I’ll be ready to deploy a new version of my app once I set up a password and add my members-only features."
As a noun, a deploy is a version of your site that was successfully built and deployed to Netlify’s global CDN (Content Delivery Network). Every time you make changes, Netlify runs a new build and, if it succeeds, creates a new deploy. You can roll back to a previous deploy or version of your site if something goes wrong. You can also retry a deploy if it seems stuck or isn’t working and lock a deploy to freeze a version of your site until you unlock it.
Learn more about deploys on Netlify.
Noun example: "I updated the copy on my landing page and Netlify created a new deploy. When my client said they preferred the original wording, I rolled back to the previous deploy in one click."
Deploy Preview
Section titled “Deploy Preview”noun
A Deploy Preview is a type of deploy that allows you to investigate and share a preview of changes for feedback and review before launching your updates to the live production version of your site or app. Learn more about Deploy Previews.
Example: "I shared a Deploy Preview link with my designer so they could review the new layout before anything went live."
How the web works
Section titled “How the web works”Domain
Section titled “Domain”A domain is the web address people use to visit your site, such as yoursite.com. When you deploy a site on Netlify, it automatically gets a default Netlify subdomain, such as yoursite.netlify.app. You can also connect a custom domain you own so visitors can find your site at your preferred address.
Example: "My site was live at a Netlify subdomain right away, but I connected my own domain so visitors could find it at myportfolio.com."
Subdomain
Section titled “Subdomain”A subdomain is a prefix added to a domain name, such as blog in blog.yoursite.com. Netlify uses subdomains to customize preview URLs for your project. You can customize a subdomain for your main site’s domain or for Preview URLs. Learn more about subdomains on Netlify.
Example: "I set up a subdomain so my blog lives at
blog.mysite.comwhile my main site stays atmysite.com."
DNS (Domain Name System)
Section titled “DNS (Domain Name System)”DNS is the system that translates a human-readable domain name like yoursite.com into the numeric address computers use to find your site on the internet. When you connect a custom domain to Netlify, you may need to update your DNS settings to point your domain to Netlify’s servers. This is one of the most common steps that trips up beginners, but Netlify can simplify this process for you, especially if you set up your custom domain with Netlify DNS.
Example: "After buying my domain, I updated my DNS settings to point it at Netlify so visitors would reach my site."
HTTPS and SSL
Section titled “HTTPS and SSL”When you visit a site that has https:// in its web address, this means that it is using a secure protocol to transfer data between a browser and your site. SSL is the technology that enables that security by encrypting the connection. Netlify offers SSL (or https://) security for every site. Learn more about turning on SSL for your site or app.
Example: "Netlify offers HTTPS for my site, so site visitors see
https://in their browser and a lock icon, which helps them trust they are on a secure site on the web."
CDN (Content Delivery Network)
Section titled “CDN (Content Delivery Network)”A CDN or Content Delivery Network is a network of servers distributed around the world that delivers your site’s files to visitors from the location closest to them. Netlify deploys every site to its global CDN automatically, which means your site loads faster no matter where your visitors are located.
Example: "Netlify’s CDN meant my site loaded quickly for visitors in Tokyo and Toronto without me configuring any servers."
Publishing on Netlify
Section titled “Publishing on Netlify”Netlify Drop
Section titled “Netlify Drop”Netlify Drop is the simplest way to publish a site on the web. You drag and drop a folder of files directly onto the Netlify Drop page and your site goes live instantly, no account or configuration required. It’s a great way to publish a quick project or experiment without setting up a full workflow. You can also use this method to update your project. Learn more in our docs on Netlify Drop.
Example: "I dragged my project folder to Netlify Drop and had a live URL to share in seconds."
Build command
Section titled “Build command”A build command is the instruction Netlify runs to prepare your site’s files before deploying them. It tells Netlify how to compile, bundle, or process your project. The right build command depends on the tools and framework your site uses. Netlify auto-detects your framework and build commands for you, but you can also set or update them in your project configuration. Learn more about configuring your build settings.
Example: "My build command tells Netlify to compile my project files into a finished site ready to be published."
Publish directory
Section titled “Publish directory”The publish directory is the folder that contains the finished files Netlify should deploy after running your build command. It’s the output of your build, the version of your site that visitors will actually see. You specify which folder this is in your project’s configuration. Most often beginners don’t need to know this, but sometimes it helps with troubleshooting. Learn more about configuring your build settings.
Example: "After my build command ran, Netlify published the files from my publish directory to the web."
Deploy log
Section titled “Deploy log”A deploy log is a record of everything that happened during a build and deploy. It shows each step Netlify took, any errors that occurred, and whether the deploy succeeded or failed. When something goes wrong, you can check your deploy log or run our AI-powered analysis "Why did it fail?" to diagnose build and deploy errors for you.
Example: "I checked the deploy log and found the error that caused my build to fail."
Working with AI Agents
Section titled “Working with AI Agents”Agent Runners
Section titled “Agent Runners”Agent Runners is an AI coding tool that makes changes to your site on your behalf with zero setup through the Netlify dashboard. You can create a whole new project or update an existing project. Netlify supports several agents including Claude Code, Google Gemini, and OpenAI Codex. You choose which one to use when you prompt a new task. The agent reads your project’s context, writes or updates code, and saves the changes to a new branch, all without you needing to write any code yourself.
Example: "I used Agent Runners to update my homepage. I prompted the Claude agent to update the homepage layout by including some examples and a design system for reference."
Agent run
Section titled “Agent run”An agent run represents a single task or batch of tasks you or a team member prompted. Once you prompt a task, the agent reads project files, configuration, and context. Next, the agent follows your prompt instructions and makes changes to your project. When the task is complete, Netlify creates a Deploy Preview so you can review the results before any updates go live.
Example: "I started an agent run to fix broken links and had a Deploy Preview ready to review in minutes."
A task is the unit of work you assign to an agent, made up of your prompt and any additional context you provide. Each task that changes your project’s files gets its own Deploy Preview. Your agent run can have many tasks.
Example: "I prompted a task to redesign my contact page and the agent completed it in a single run with the right context."
Security basics
Section titled “Security basics”Authentication
Section titled “Authentication”Authentication is the process of verifying who someone is. On the web, it’s what happens when a user enters a username and password, and the site confirms their identity before letting them in. Authentication is distinct from authorization, which controls what an authenticated user is allowed to do. Many sites use a third-party service to handle authentication so they don’t have to manage passwords directly. Netlify allows you to require your site visitors to authenticate to your site with the following options:
- a shared password you set in the Netlify dashboard with Password Protection
- Netlify Identity, our customizable authentication service
- Netlify team login, which requires Netlify login protection
- authentication through external identity providers such as GitHub, Google, or Okta
Example: "I added authentication to my site so only registered users could access the members-only section."
Environment variables
Section titled “Environment variables”Environment variables are named values stored outside your code that your site can read at build time or runtime. They can hold configuration settings or sensitive credentials (like an API key or password). Because they live separately from your code, you can change them without editing your files, which helps keep them out of version control systems where they can be leaked. They also make it easy for teams to share configuration across a project without each person needing to manage sensitive values locally. You can mark an environment variable as a secret, which makes the hidden value write-only (can’t be changed or edited, you can only remove and add a new one). When you mark an environment variable as a secret, Netlify will scan your builds for accidental exposure of that value. Learn more about environment variables on Netlify.
Example: "I stored my API key as an environment variable on Netlify so it wasn’t exposed in my code."
Secrets
Section titled “Secrets”Secrets are a specific category of environment variable: sensitive credentials like passwords, API keys, and tokens that must be kept private. The difference is purpose and risk. A timezone setting is an environment variable, but it’s not a secret. A database password is both an environment variable and a secret, because exposing it could give someone unauthorized access to your data. Any value that would cause harm if made public counts as a secret and should be treated with extra care.
For your most sensitive secrets, Netlify’s Secrets Controller adds extra protection: secret values become write-only, and Netlify scans your builds for accidental exposure of those values. On Personal and Pro plans, smart detection also automatically scans for secrets you haven’t explicitly flagged.
Example: "I accidentally committed my database password to GitHub, so I rotated it immediately and moved it to an environment variable."
API key
Section titled “API key”An API key is a unique code that identifies your app when it makes requests to an external service, like a mapping tool, payment processor, or AI provider. It tells the service who is making the request and whether they’re allowed to do so. API keys should be treated like passwords: kept private and stored as environment variables rather than written into your code.
Example: "I wanted to show a Google Map on my contact page, so I got a Google Maps API key and stored it as an environment variable on Netlify to keep it out of my code."
Personal access token (PAT)
Section titled “Personal access token (PAT)”A personal access token is a credential tied to your personal user account that lets tools and scripts act on your behalf without using your password. On Netlify, you use a personal access token to authenticate the Netlify CLI or make requests to the Netlify API. Unlike an API key, which identifies an application, a personal access token identifies you as a person. Treat it like a password: store it as an environment variable and never share it or commit it to your repository. Learn more about how to generate a personal access token on Netlify.
Example: "I generated a personal access token in my Netlify account settings and used it to log in to the Netlify CLI."
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