Glossary¶

The FireBreak dictionary. No jargon without explanation.

A¶

ADR (Architecture Decision Record)¶

A documented record of an architectural decision made for the project. We track these in docs/adr/. Think of them as "why we chose this" memos.

Example: ADR 001 - Cloudflare Workers Platform

API Key¶

A secret token used to authenticate API requests. Starts with fb_live_ for production or fb_test_ for testing.

C¶

Cloudflare Pages¶

Static site hosting service by Cloudflare. We use it for frontend deployment and documentation hosting.

URL: https://pages.cloudflare.com

Cloudflare Workers¶

Serverless edge compute platform. Our entire backend runs on Workers.

Cold Start¶

The delay when a serverless function starts up for the first time. Cloudflare Workers don't have this problem. Others do.

D¶

D1¶

Cloudflare's serverless SQL database. Built on SQLite, distributed globally.

Pricing: Free tier includes 10 GB storage, 5 million reads/day.

DEM (Digital Elevation Model)¶

Terrain data showing ground elevation. We use this to calculate slope and aspect for wildfire risk.

Format: GeoTIFF raster files

E¶

Edge Compute¶

Running code at Cloudflare's data centers (300+ locations worldwide) instead of a central server. Faster for users, no matter where they are.

Environment¶

One of: local, staging, or production. Each has separate config and data.

F¶

FireBreak¶

That's us. A wildfire risk assessment platform. Also: a gap in vegetation to slow wildfire spread.

G¶

Geospatial¶

Data with location information (latitude, longitude, elevation). We process geospatial data to analyze terrain and vegetation.

Libraries: rasterio, shapely, geopandas

I¶

Isolation (Tenant)¶

Ensuring one tenant's data never touches another tenant's data. Critical for security and compliance.

Implementation: Separate subdomains, KV namespaces, and database tables per tenant.

K¶

KV (Key-Value) Store¶

Cloudflare's global key-value storage. Fast, eventually consistent, perfect for config and cache.

Use Cases: - Tenant configuration - API key lookups - Session data - Cache for weather API responses

M¶

Monorepo¶

One Git repository containing backend, frontend, multi-tenant configs, and QA tests. Easier to coordinate changes across teams.

Alternative: Multi-repo (separate repos for each component). We chose monorepo.

Multi-Tenant¶

Serving multiple clients (tenants) from one codebase. Each tenant gets: - Dedicated subdomain (e.g., acme.firebreakrisk.com) - Custom branding - Isolated data - Separate resource limits

O¶

OpenAPI¶

Specification format for describing REST APIs. We maintain an OpenAPI 3.0 spec that powers our interactive API docs.

File: backend/docs/api/openapi.yaml

R¶

R2¶

Cloudflare's S3-compatible object storage. No egress fees (unlike S3).

Use Cases: - Generated PDF reports - Map tiles and imagery - User uploads - Backup data

Risk Score¶

A number from 0 (minimal risk) to 10 (extreme risk) representing wildfire danger for a property. Calculated from vegetation, terrain, weather, and proximity to wildland.

Algorithm: See Risk Calculation

S¶

Serverless¶

Code that runs on-demand without managing servers. You deploy functions, the platform handles scaling and infrastructure.

Providers: Cloudflare Workers, AWS Lambda, Vercel Functions

Subdomain¶

A prefix to a domain name. We use subdomains for tenant isolation: - acme.firebreakrisk.com - ACME Insurance tenant - wildguard.firebreakrisk.com - WildGuard tenant - alpha.firebreakrisk.com - Alpha staging environment

T¶

TDD (Test-Driven Development)¶

Write tests before code. Red (failing test) → Green (passing test) → Refactor (improve code).

Workflow: See TDD Workflow

Tenant¶

A client using the FireBreak platform. Each tenant is completely isolated from others.

Examples: ACME Insurance, Property Guardian, WildGuard

V¶

V8 Isolate¶

Lightweight JavaScript runtime used by Cloudflare Workers. Much faster startup than containers or VMs.

W¶

White-Label¶

Software that can be rebranded and sold as your own product. FireBreak's multi-tenant architecture supports full white-labeling.

Customizable: - Logo and colors - Domain name - Email templates - Report branding

Wrangler¶

Cloudflare's CLI tool for deploying and managing Workers.

Installation:

npm install -g wrangler

Common Commands: See Wrangler Cheatsheet

Z¶

Zero Trust¶

Security model where nothing inside or outside the network is trusted by default. All requests must be verified.

Implementation: API key authentication, tenant verification, rate limiting

Related Pages: - Cheatsheets - Quick reference for common commands - Configuration Reference - All config options explained - CLI Tools - Command-line tool documentation