Reference
Arcane OS glossary
Plain-language definitions for Arcane applications, Core, Shell, Provisioner, capabilities, lifecycle labels, hosts, policy, and platform boundaries.
Arcane application
An interface and workflow composed from shared Arcane runtime capabilities. In Arcane OS it may use explicitly granted native capabilities; in a standard browser package it has no implicit native authority.
Arcane Core
The packaged runtime and capability broker between an Arcane application and a native host. Applications call typed Arcane APIs rather than invoking privileged system tools directly.
Arcane Provisioner
The system surface for installation, repair, and bounded account-management work. Machine-changing operations remain behind the applicable host authorization and verification boundary.
Arcane Shell
The user-facing Arcane OS shell that reports the current host identity and presents the verified application catalog. It is not a separate username-and-password service.
Capability
A declared, typed operation with defined inputs, outputs, host support, authorization, and failure behavior. An application cannot grant itself new capabilities.
Candidate-unverified
Implementation or development evidence exists, but the exact release candidate has not completed the required production signing, independent review, platform acceptance, operational, and go/no-go gates.
Development-only
The current lifecycle. There is no staging or production environment, public release, or production deployment claim. Development artifacts use synthetic or disposable data and proportionate checks.
Development-signed
Signed by a local contributor identity for development convenience and integrity checks. It does not establish The Wizard Nexus as a production publisher or provide release continuity.
GitHub Pages site
The public, static Arcane OS documentation artifact. It contains only a reviewed positive inventory and has no native Arcane bridge, repository authority, account management, shell, or hidden AI credential.
Intent
A person's goal expressed separately from a particular application or sequence of clicks. Arcane's product direction is to interpret intent and select approved capabilities and context while preserving policy and human accountability.
Microsoft NT
The repository's platform-neutral name for the Microsoft Windows NT family used by the primary native development host.
Native host
The platform-specific process that renders Arcane interfaces and connects bounded application API requests to Arcane Core and operating-system adapters.
Positive inventory
An explicit list of files, applications, documents, or capabilities admitted to a package. Unlisted material is excluded rather than discovered and included automatically.
Pre-RC
An informal way to say the project has not entered release-candidate acceptance. It must not be read as “nearly production” or as a release schedule.
Renderer
The web-content engine used for Arcane interfaces, such as Microsoft Edge WebView2 or WebKitGTK. Renderer content is not treated as native authorization.
Scoped storage
Data storage separated by user, application, machine, organization, or policy boundary so one context does not silently inherit another context's data.
System Platform
The replaceable underlying operating-system boundary that owns low-level services such as drivers, accounts, access controls, processes, sessions, and hardware access. Current development hosts target Microsoft NT and Linux; Android work is experimental.
TWiN Compass
Arcane's moral, ethical, safety, and governance foundation. Its intended architectural role is to supply policy hooks for planning, memory, capability use, reporting, and data movement—not to substitute model advice for authorization.
Unsigned-local
A development artifact intentionally limited to explicit local use without a production publisher signature. Current Linux builds use this label.