Plain English, no jargon
A few words come up a lot around here. None of them are as scary as they sound — here’s each one, with an everyday example. Come back any time.
Fork
Making your own copy of something to keep and change.
Like this: Like getting your own copy of a book — free — that you can scribble in, cross bits out and rewrite the ending. The original stays exactly as it was. Your copy is yours.
Terminal
The text window where you type instructions to your computer instead of clicking buttons.
Like this: Every computer has one, tucked away. It looks bare, but it is just a place to talk to your machine — and your AI shows you how to open it.
Agent (your AI)
An AI that can actually do things on your computer — open files, run steps — not just chat back.
Like this: Like a helpful assistant sitting next to you. It asks before each move, and you say yes or no. You stay the boss.
Prompt
The instructions you paste in to tell your AI what to do.
Like this: Like handing someone a recipe card: "here’s what I want, here’s how to do it." We write the recipe; you just paste it in.
GitHub
A free, safe online home for your projects.
Like this: Think of it as a locker on the internet: your work is backed up there, and it is where "forking" actually happens. Free is all you need.
Repo (repository)
One project’s folder, with its safe backup copy on GitHub.
Like this: Just the project’s home — everything for that one thing kept together in one place.
Commit & push
Saving a backup of your work to GitHub as you go.
Like this: Like hitting "save" — except the save also travels to your safe locker online, so nothing is ever really lost.
Open source
Software anyone can look inside, use and change — for free.
Like this: The opposite of a locked box. Someone did the hard part and gave it away; you get to build on it.
CLI
An app that lives in the terminal (text) rather than having buttons to click.
Like this: The AI helpers we use in Fork Along are this kind — you type to them, they do the work.
Missing a word? Tell us and we’ll add it — hi@forkalong.com.