No-code & Automation Glossary A to Z — No-code & Automation

No-code & Automation Glossary — 136 definitions

All the terms defined in the guide's 28 sections, in alphabetical order.
Tip: Ctrl + F to search for a term on the page.

Action: Operation executed by the scenario in an app (create, send, update, search).
AI agent: AI that, to reach a goal, reasons and chains actions itself (pick a tool, call it, observe, repeat).
Aggregator: Module gathering several items/results into a single value (merge, sum, concatenation).
Airtable: No-code relational database platform: linked tables, typed fields, formulas, views, automations, interfaces.
API: Interface letting two programs communicate: you send a request, you get a response (often JSON).
App builder: Platform (Bubble, Glide, Softr) to build a real web or mobile app without coding.
Business application: User-facing tool (dashboard, portal) built on structured data.
Decision tree: Structure of a scenario with branches and conditions, mirroring business rules.
Authentication (API key/token): Mechanism proving your identity to an API (key, token), to pass in the request and keep secret.
Automation: Automatic execution of a chain of actions (triggered by an event) to remove a repetitive manual task.
Backend: The "data" part of an app (here the Airtable/Sheets base) feeding the interface.
Base: Airtable container grouping linked tables around a domain (CRM, project management); equivalent of a file.
Database (Bubble): Data types and fields storing the app's information (users, content, transactions).
Relational base: Set of linked tables where information is not duplicated but linked (the key to data robustness).
Vector database: Database storing embeddings and quickly retrieving the passages closest to a question.
Block: Basic unit of a Notion page (text, heading, image, list, checkbox, embed…); everything in Notion is a block.
Reasoning loop: "Think → act → observe" cycle repeated by the agent until the goal is reached.
Bubble: No-code platform for building complete web apps (interface, database, logic) without coding.
Bundle: Individual item produced at each iteration round, to which actions apply.
Callout / Toggle: Formatting blocks: callout (highlighted box) and toggle (collapsible block to hide/show).
Process mapping: Representation of a process's steps (inputs, actions, decisions, outputs) to analyze it before automating.
Center of gravity: Dominant nature of the need (content/documentation vs structured data) guiding the tool choice.
Field: Column of a table, with a strict type (text, select, date, number, link, attachment…).
Calculated field: General term for a field whose value comes from a calculation (formula, rollup, lookup) rather than input.
Formula field: Airtable field whose value is automatically computed from the record's other fields.
Path: Zapier equivalent of the router: conditional A/B/C branches per rules.
Chunking: Splitting documents into right-sized pieces before indexing, for relevant search.
Citizen developer: A business person (non-developer) building their own no-code tools to meet their needs.
"/" command: Notion shortcut: typing "/" opens the insert menu for any block type.
Connector (app): Ready-made integration to an app (Gmail, Airtable, Slack…) providing triggers and actions.
Cost at scale: Price increase when volumes (records, operations, users) exceed free/low plans.
Maintenance cost: Time and money to keep a workflow alive (fixes, adaptations, subscriptions) after setup.
Avoided cost: Expense you don't have to incur thanks to automation (hours, hiring, costly errors).
Database: Notion database: a table where each row is a page and each column a typed property.
Database (Airtable): No-code relational database tool: linked tables, typed fields, formulas, views.
Relational database: Set of databases linked together forming a coherent system, without duplicated information.
DATETIME_DIFF: Function computing the gap between two dates (in days, hours…); useful for delays and countdowns.
Trigger: Event launching an automation (new email, new row, date reached, submitted form).
Vendor dependence (vendor lock-in): Risk of being stuck with a tool (price, shutdown, changed terms) without easy migration.
Traditional development: Creating software by writing code (programming languages), by developers; more powerful but slower/costlier.
Documentation: Description of each workflow (role, trigger, dependencies, owner) enabling takeover and maintenance.
Element / page: Visual components (buttons, fields, lists) placed on pages to build the interface.
Embed: Block integrating external content (video, PDF, Figma file, tweet…) directly into a page.
Embedding: Numeric (vector) representation of a text for measuring meaning similarity between pieces.
Record: Row of a table (a client, a project, a task); can open as a detailed card.
Member area: App zone reserved for logged-in users, where each accesses their own data per their rights.
AI step: LLM call module inserted in a workflow, between the trigger and the final action.
Fallback: Backup path executed when the main action fails, to avoid total blockage.
Filter: Condition hiding rows that don't meet it (e.g. Status = In progress); specific to each view.
Function: Computation brick of a formula (IF, CONCATENATE, DATETIME_DIFF, ROUND…), grouped by family (logic, text, date, number).
Form: Data collection interface (signup, request, survey) feeding a base or triggering a workflow.
Form (Form view): Public or internal input view feeding the table directly, with possible conditional logic.
Glide: No-code tool turning a base (Airtable/Sheets) into a smooth mobile/PWA app, with generated screens.
Governance: Shared framework (naming conventions, access rights, responsibilities) organizing a team's no-code practice.
Hallucination: Invented answer by an LLM; RAG reduces it by grounding the answer in provided sources.
Human in the loop: Checkpoint where a person validates a sensitive action before the agent performs it.
IF (condition): Logic function returning one value if a condition is true, another otherwise (basis of computed statuses).
Integration: Connecting the form to your tools (Airtable, Notion, Make/Zapier) to automatically route responses.
Data integrity: Consistency guaranteed by information existing in only one place and referenced via relations.
Interface: Mini-app built on an Airtable base: pages, charts, buttons, forms, guided navigation.
Interface (Airtable): Mini-app built on an Airtable base to present/enter data in a guided way.
Iterator: Module walking a list and executing the following actions for each item (one by one).
JSON: Standard text format for structured data exchange (key/value pairs, lists) returned by most APIs.
Kanban (board): View in columns by status (to do / in progress / done) for dragging cards with drag-and-drop.
Linked record: Airtable field linking a record to one (or more) records of another table (the relation).
LLM (language model): Text-trained AI (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) able to summarize, classify, extract, generate, translate.
Conditional logic: "If… then… else…" rules steering the scenario's behavior per the data.
Lookup: Field reporting (displaying) a linked table's field value (e.g. the client's email in the invoice).
Low-code: Approach close to no-code allowing, for advanced cases, a little code (formulas, API calls, scripts).
Make: Visual automation tool (ex-Integromat): diagram "scenarios" (linked modules), rich logic, good cost/volume ratio.
Mapping: Linking trigger data to action fields (the received email feeds the "Contact" field).
Memory: Context kept between steps (conversation history, intermediate results) to guide the agent.
Data model: Overall structure of tables and their relations, mirroring business reality without duplication.
MVP: Minimum Viable Product: minimal but functional version of a product, to test an idea quickly.
n8n: Open source, self-hostable automation tool with node logic; sovereign alternative to Make/Zapier.
No-code: Creating apps/automations without writing code, by visually assembling blocks and connecting services.
Node: Brick of an n8n workflow performing an operation (trigger, action, HTTP call, transformation, code).
Notion AI: AI built into Notion: summarizes, generates, rephrases, translates, extracts actions, or fills database properties.
Open source: Software whose code is open and freely usable/modifiable; here, a guarantee of transparency and independence.
Operation (task): Billing unit: each step/action executed by a scenario consumes one operation.
Tool: Action the agent is allowed to use (search, call an API, send a message); its "toolbox".
Automation tool: Service (Make, Zapier, n8n) linking apps: a trigger in one causes actions in the others.
Page: Notion content unit, which can contain others (sub-pages) and form a wiki-like tree.
Sharing & permissions: Settings defining who sees/edits what: read-only shared view, public form, reserved interface.
Recovery plan: Procedure planned to recover/rebuild workflows and data in case of incident or departure.
Polling / instant: Trigger modes: periodic check (polling) or real-time (webhook/instant).
Data portability: Ability to export/recover your data to switch tools or guard against shutdown (recovery plan).
Prioritization: Choosing automation projects by their ROI (impact/effort), to invest where it's most profitable.
Process: Chain of repeated steps to get a result (e.g. process an order, onboard a client).
Prompt: Instruction sent to the model (directive + data) determining the answer's quality and shape.
Property (field): Column of a database, with a type (text, number, date, select, checkbox, person, file, relation…).
AI-generated property: Database field automatically filled by Notion AI (summary, category, key points).
PWA: Progressive Web App: installable web app usable like a mobile app, without going through a store.
RAG: Retrieval-Augmented Generation: search relevant passages in your documents then feed them to the AI to answer on them.
Business rule: Explicit condition deciding behavior ("if amount > €1000 then approval").
Relation: Link between two databases (Projects ↔ Tasks): a record of one points to one or more of the other.
HTTP request: API call (GET/POST method…, URL, headers, body) to read or send data.
Retry: Automatic new attempt after a transient failure (temporarily unavailable service).
GDPR: European regulation on personal data: requires legal basis, information, location and subcontractor framing.
ROI: Return on investment: ratio between benefits (time, quality, avoided costs) and costs (subscriptions, build, maintenance).
Rollup: Property aggregating linked records' information (count, sum, take min/max date…).
Router: Module (Make) creating several branches; each branch has its condition and its own chain of actions.
Scalability: A tool's ability to hold the load as data and user volumes grow.
Secret: Sensitive authentication data (API key, token, password) never to expose in plain text.
Data security: Protecting information (access, encryption, hosting) transiting through no-code tools and their subcontractors.
Self-hosting: Hosting the software on your own server to control data, costs and customization.
Shadow IT: Tools created outside any framework, undocumented and unsupervised — a source of risks and hidden dependencies.
Softr: No-code tool building websites and portals from an Airtable base (lists, details, member areas).
Structured output (JSON): Formatted answer (e.g. JSON) requested from the model to be cleanly reused in the workflow.
Single source of truth: Principle: data exists in only one place, displayed everywhere via views; avoids desynced copies.
Data sovereignty: Total control over where and how data is stored/processed (key for sensitive data/GDPR).
No-code stack: Combination of no-code tools combined to cover a need end to end (collection, data, app, automation).
Monitoring / alerting: Watching runs and notifying on error, to react fast rather than fail silently.
Table: Sheet of a base representing an entity (Clients, Projects…); made of fields and records.
Array: List of data (order lines, API response items) that the iterator unfolds.
Repetitive task: Action redone regularly identically (copy-paste, notification, update) — ideal automation candidate.
Tally: No-code form tool known for its generous free plan and simplicity.
Time saved: Savings = (task duration × frequency) − automation supervision time.
Test / run: Launching the scenario with real data to check the result before activation.
Token: Text-splitting unit used to bill model calls (input + output).
Transformation: Operation reshaping data in passing (format a date, extract text, convert, compute).
Sort: Display order of rows per one or more properties (by date, priority…); specific to each view.
Field type: Nature of a field constraining and validating data (a date stays a date, a number a number).
Property type: Nature of a field, conditioning what you can do with it (filter by date, sum numbers, link…).
Typeform: Form tool with a conversational experience (one question at a time), polished and engaging.
Environment variable: Secure location storing a secret outside the visible scenario, referenced by name.
Versioning: Tracking a workflow's changes, with the ability to compare, test and revert to an earlier version.
View: Display of a database: Table, Kanban, Calendar, Gallery, Timeline, List — same data, different angle.
View (Airtable): Filtered/sorted display of a table (Grid, Kanban, Calendar, Gallery, Timeline, Form), without duplicating data.
Filtered view: Database view configured with filters/sorts for a precise use ("My tasks this week").
Linked view: Display of an existing database on another page, with its own filters, without duplicating data.
Webhook: URL provided by your scenario; receiving data on it triggers it instantly (universal, real-time trigger).
Workflow (Bubble): Logic triggered by a user event ("when click → then action") driving the app's behavior.
Workspace (Notion): All-in-one tool for notes, wikis, documentation and small databases; organization brick.
Zap / Scenario: The automation itself: the trigger → actions chain (Zap at Zapier, scenario at Make).
Zapier: Mainstream automation tool: linear "Zaps" (trigger → actions), vast app catalog, very simple.