Glossary
Da8a glossary
Plain-English definitions of the Postgres and backend terms you’ll meet on Da8a and Supabase-compatible stacks: RLS, PITR, pgvector, edge functions and more.
anon key · auth.uid() · Auto REST API · Backend as a service (BaaS) · Connection pooler · Dedicated server · Edge function · Embedding · Extension · Function secret · HNSW index · jsonb · JWT · Magic link · Migration · OAuth · pgvector · Point-in-time recovery (PITR) · Policy · PostgREST · Read replica / standby · Realtime · Row Level Security (RLS) · SAML SSO · Schema · Service key (service_role) · Signed URL · Storage bucket · supabase-js · WAL (write-ahead log)
- anon key
- The public API key for browsers. Safe to ship when RLS is on.
- auth.uid()
- A SQL function returning the signed-in user’s id, used inside policies.
- Auto REST API
- An HTTP API generated from your schema, in the style of PostgREST, that supabase-js talks to.
- Backend as a service (BaaS)
- A hosted backend that provides database, auth, storage and APIs so you write less server code.
- Connection pooler
- A service that shares a small number of database connections among many clients.
- Dedicated server
- A server used by one customer only. Every Da8a project runs on one.
- Edge function
- A small Deno handler deployed to your project, used for webhooks and code that needs secrets. See edge functions.
- Embedding
- A list of numbers representing the meaning of text or images, used for semantic search and AI features.
- Extension
- An add-on that adds features to Postgres, such as pgvector.
- Function secret
- An encrypted environment variable readable by edge functions with
Deno.env.get. - HNSW index
- A fast approximate nearest-neighbour index type for vectors.
- jsonb
- Postgres’s binary JSON type, letting you store flexible documents inside relational tables.
- JWT
- A signed token identifying a signed-in user; the API uses it to evaluate policies with
auth.uid(). - Magic link
- A passwordless sign-in link sent by email. See magic links.
- Migration
- A versioned SQL file that changes your schema; applied in order.
- OAuth
- The protocol behind “Sign in with Google/GitHub”. See social sign-in.
- pgvector
- A Postgres extension for storing embeddings and running similarity search. See semantic search.
- Point-in-time recovery (PITR)
- Restoring a database to an exact moment using continuously archived changes. See PITR.
- Policy
- A rule attached to a table that decides which rows a role can read or write, using
usingandwith checkexpressions. - PostgREST
- Open-source software that turns a Postgres schema into a REST API; the model behind the auto API.
- Read replica / standby
- A second server streaming a copy of the database, usable for reads and promotable on failure.
- Realtime
- Pushing database changes to connected clients over WebSockets. See realtime subscriptions.
- Row Level Security (RLS)
- A Postgres feature that checks each row against policies on every query. It makes browser access with the anon key safe. See the RLS guide.
- SAML SSO
- Enterprise single sign-on through an identity provider such as Okta or Entra ID.
- Schema
- A namespace of tables, views and functions in Postgres, such as
publicorauth. - Service key (service_role)
- A server-only key that bypasses RLS. Keep it in secrets.
- Signed URL
- A time-limited link to a private file.
- Storage bucket
- A container for files with its own access rules. See file uploads.
- supabase-js
- The official JavaScript client for Supabase APIs. Da8a works with it unchanged.
- WAL (write-ahead log)
- Postgres’s log of every change, which powers PITR and replication.