# _VOCAB.md — RelayCTX Canonical Vocabulary
*Session 0 complete — June 3, 2026*
*Governs UI labels, MCP tool descriptions, marketing copy, email, and agent-facing text.*
*Updated after each V&V session. This file is the source of truth.*
*2026-07-10: legal entity → Relay Context Inc.; wordmark treatment updated (Outfit 600); Pulse → Stream (feature noun).*

---

## Product Name & Verb

### RelayCTX
**What it is:** The product name and brand.
**Usage:** Use in brandmarks, formal references, domain (relayctx.com), and when the full product name is needed.
**Wordmark:** `RelayCTX` in Outfit 600, letter-spacing -0.02em — one treatment everywhere (Syne retired v3.4; see `brand/relay-brand-guide.html`).
**In prose:** "RelayCTX is a context layer for AI." Not "The RelayCTX."
**Don't say:** RelayContext · Relay Context · relay-ctx

### relay *(verb)*
**What it is:** The core action — to move context from one party to another.
**Usage:** Lowercase always when used as a verb. "relay a Code" · "relay context to your team" · "relay it forward."
**Also:** The informal noun people use for the object. "send a relay" is natural and fine in user-facing copy. Formal: "a transfer."
**Don't say:** handoff · pass · send (when relay is more precise)

---

## Core Object Nouns

### a relay / a transfer
**What it is:** The object created when context is packaged and sent.
**Two forms — use by context:**
- **a relay** — user-facing, marketing, conversational copy. "Send a relay." · "Create a relay."
- **a transfer** — API, technical docs, agent-facing, MCP tool names. `relay_transfer_create`
**Don't say:** a handoff · a package · a message · a note

### Code
**What it is:** The **seal on a package**, not the package. A Code makes packaged context
transportable — it is how a thing crosses a gap intact. Uppercase alphanumeric. The platform
does not depend on it: context is stored, referenced and retrieved without one.
**Usage:** Always capitalised. "Share your Code." · "Enter the Code." In UI: JetBrains Mono 600, teal, 0.15em tracking.
**Pairs with the verb:** "relay a Code" — product verb + identifier, no redundancy.
**Don't say:** PIN · relay ID · relay key · Relay Code (retired — redundant with the verb)
**Lifecycle:** a Code is *minted* when someone hands context over, never on everything by
default. "Every relay has a Code" is wrong — say "a Code means someone shared it." Absence of a
Code is a real, normal state and must never be written as missing, pending, or an error.
**Never imply a Code confers value.** All packaged context is valuable; a Code only means it has
been wrapped for transport. Avoid "important enough to share", "elevated", "promoted", or any
copy that reads as coded = real and uncoded = draft. The wrapper is not the gift.
**Never state a length in copy.** Not "your 6-digit Code" — Codes vary in length, the server
owns the number, and interfaces accept a wide range. Write "your Code".

---

## Actions

### relay *(verb — also covers forwarding)*
**Covers both:** creating a new relay AND passing an existing one on. "relay it to someone" works in both cases.
**Don't say:** forward · pass · re-send

### receive
**What it is:** The action on the other end — getting a relay and opening it.
**Usage:** "Receive a relay." · "You've received a relay from Erik."
**Don't say:** claim · accept · open (for the receiving action)

---

## Product Concepts

### context layer
**What it is:** The canonical description of what RelayCTX is.
**Usage:** "RelayCTX is a context layer for AI." Add qualifier when needed: "context layer for AI" with audience context.
**Don't say:** context platform · context vault · memory store · AI tool · assistant

### Context *(the thing being moved)*
**Definition:** The substance of work — decisions, state, and intent — that needs to travel between sessions, tools, agents, or people.
**Usage:** "Context gets to who needs it, when they need it." Not just data, files, or logs — the substance of the work itself.
**Don't say:** memory · data · information (when "context" is more precise)

### Stream
**What it is:** A persistent, subscribable focus area. A live feed of items for a topic or workstream. **Replaces "Pulse" as the product noun.** (Note: the wire/DB layer still says `pulse` — `pulse_id`, the `/api/user/v1/pulses` alias — until the endgame migration; see relay-platform `docs/DESIGN-NOTE.pulse-to-stream.md`.)
**Usage:** "Add it to a Stream." · "Check the Stream." Capitalised as a product noun.
**Distinct from the pulse motion system:** the Stream feature is not the brand's pulse motion family (`--rly-pulse` `#00D9C8`, motion-only — `briefs/SPEC.pulse-motion.md`). "Stream" = the feature; "pulse" = the motion.
**Don't say:** Pulse (retired feature name) · thread · channel (for this specific object) · board

### Item
**What it is:** A single piece of content added to a Stream.
**Usage:** "Add an item to your Stream." · "9 items."
**Don't say:** contribution · entry · note · post

### Series
**What it is:** A linked set of relays (transfers). Can be short-lived or ongoing.
**Usage:** "Create a Series." Agents use Series to orientate via MCP. Not the same as a recurring channel.
**Don't say:** recurring relay · relay chain · relay thread

### Channel
**What it is:** A subscribable feed of updates — relays, Streams, or a mix — that someone can follow.
**Usage:** "Subscribe to a Channel." Broader than a Stream (which is one focus area).

### Space
**What it is:** A persistent container for relay objects. Org-scoped shared context.
**Usage:** "Add to a Space." · "Shared in the team Space."
**Distinct from:** Workspace (org structure), Stream (focus area feed), Org (trust boundary)

### Workspace
**What it is:** A structural layer in the org hierarchy: org → workspace → team. May not be named or user-visible.
**Usage:** Internal/structural references. Not a synonym for Space.
**Don't say:** workspace when you mean Space

### Agent
**What it is:** Any AI participant that can send, receive, or relay context. MCP is the current mechanism, not the definition.
**Usage:** "An agent that relays context." Not tied to a specific protocol.

---

## App UI Change Set — Session 1 (relay-app #145)

| Surface | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Nav | Send Relay | Send |
| Nav | Claim Relay | Receive |
| Nav | Relay Status | Status |
| Button | Send Relay | Relay It |
| Status badge | Claimed | Received |
| Visibility | Org-visible | Org |
| Success toast | Relay created — ID {pin} | Relay created {code} |
| Toast | ID copied | Code copied |
| Tips | handoffs | relays |
| Tips | claim the same context | receive the same context |
| Tips | context windows | sessions |
| All | PIN / relay ID | Code |

---

## Retired Terms

| Retired | Use instead | Why |
|---|---|---|
| handoff | relay (verb) / transfer | Imprecise, generic |
| PIN | Code | Retired May 2026 |
| relay ID / relay key | Code | Redundant |
| context platform | context layer | Evolved — "layer" is more precise |
| contribution | item | Simplified |
| Relay Code | Code | "Relay" is the verb — redundant |
| Pulse (feature name) | Stream | Renamed; wire/DB layer still says `pulse` until the endgame migration. Not the pulse *motion* system (`--rly-pulse`), which keeps its name |
| claim / accept | receive | For the receiving action |
| enterprises | orgs, teams, operators | Too narrow, wrong direction |
| persistence / memory | continuity | Wrong category |
| seamless / AI-powered | — | Hype language, never |
| Little Rocket Ltd. | Relay Context Inc. | Legal entity updated (EC, 2026-07-10) |
| context windows | sessions | Outside Session 0 vocab |

---

## Copy Rules

**Capitalisation:**
- RelayCTX — always as written
- Stream, Space, Channel, Series, Code, Item — capitalised as product nouns
- relay — lowercase when used as verb or informal noun
- context, transfer, workspace — lowercase

**The verb in CTAs:**
- "relay it →" · "create a relay →" · "get access →" · "Relay It" (button)
- Never: "Click here" · "Learn more" · "Find out more"

**Audience language:**
- Say: orgs, teams, operators
- Don't say: enterprises, companies, clients

**Memory framing:**
- "RelayCTX stores context so it can move — intentionally, on demand."
- Never: "memory store" · "remembers your context" · "context vault"

---

## Session Log

| Session | Status | Relay | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 — Core vocabulary (14 terms) | ✓ Complete | KD8684 | 2026-06-03 |
| 1 — Product / App UI layer | ✓ Complete | QZWMEB | 2026-06-03 |
| 2 — Platform & API layer | Pending | — | — |
| 3 — Comms & Email layer | Pending | — | — |
| 4 — Brand & Marketing layer | Pending | — | — |
| 5 — Agent & AI layer | Pending | — | — |
| 6 — Spaces layer | Gated on Spaces v1 | — | — |

*Stream: pc_97fd97b78f99 — Relay — Voice & Vocabulary*