Short definitions for the terms you will see across these docs and in the Dosu app. Where a term was renamed, the older name is noted so you can match it to what you see in older threads or internal surfaces.
Agent#
How Dosu shows up on a platform (GitHub, Slack, Microsoft Teams) to answer questions and take action. Each Agent connects a platform location to a Library and controls when and how Dosu replies. Previously called Deployments, so older threads may say "deployment." See Agents.
Changelog Generation#
A generated summary of what changed, built from merged pull requests in a connected GitHub Source and grouped by category. Use it to produce release notes or a recap of recent activity without writing them by hand.
CLI#
The dosu command-line tool that brings Dosu knowledge into a coding agent's workflow. It installs hooks that inject relevant knowledge into agents like Claude Code at the right moments (on prompt submit, after tool use, and at turn end). See Dosu CLI.
Dispatch (Weekly Digest)#
A weekly, AI-generated summary of activity across GitHub, Slack, and Dosu, delivered to your team so everyone stays informed without chasing updates. Also referred to as the Dosu Dispatch. See Weekly digest.
Document#
A saved knowledge artifact that lives inside a Library, the kind of page that Save This Answer and Generate Docs produce. Documents can be published, organized into Topics, and kept current by Monitors. See Generate Docs and Save this answer.
Knowledge Base#
The Documents, Topics, Templates, and approved answers that Dosu keeps current and serves back to people and coding agents. In Dosu, each Library has its own knowledge base. See Libraries.
Knowledge Review#
The capability that watches a Source for code changes affecting your published documentation, then flags stale pages and proposes updates. It powers the in-PR or in-MR review comment and is on by default. See Knowledge reviews.
Library#
A knowledge base for a project, team, or product area. Sources, Documents, Topics, Templates, and settings all live inside a Library, and each one is configured independently (name, visibility, and knowledge behaviors). Previously called Spaces, so older threads may say "space." See Libraries.
MCP Server#
Dosu's Model Context Protocol server, which lets coding agents (Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code Copilot) search your Dosu knowledge base through tools like init_knowledge, search_documentation, and ask. See Dosu MCP Server.
Monitor#
A watcher you turn on for a Source so a Library tracks it for changes worth documenting and flags knowledge that has gone stale. Monitor is the complement to Read (which lets a Library reference a Source when answering). See Sources and Monitors.
Preview Mode#
Running Dosu without enabling public responses, so you can see how it would answer before it posts to your team or community. Use it to build confidence in Dosu's behavior first. See Quick Start.
Review#
Where your team approves, edits, or declines Dosu drafts before they post or publish. It refers to both the Review page in the app and the in-PR or in-MR review comment with Accept, Edit, and Decline actions. See Review.
Self-Documenting PR#
A pull request (or merge request) where Dosu comments with the affected documentation, proposes updates for review, and applies accepted updates when the PR merges. This is Knowledge Review applied to your code workflow. See Self-documenting PRs.
Source#
A connected tool that Dosu learns from, such as a GitHub repository or a Slack workspace. You add and manage Sources inside a Library, and one Source can feed more than one Library. See Sources.
Template#
A reusable structure (title, description, and body) that shapes generated Documents. When Dosu generates a Document, it matches the content against your published Templates so pages follow a consistent shape. See Templates.
Topic#
A grouping that organizes related Documents within a Library, usually around a product feature or an engineering area. Each Topic has a title, a description, and a single overview page. See Topics.
