Glossary

Key terms used across the Reast platform.

Platform Terms

Term	Description
Reast	A packaged interactive story — the file format (.rea / .reast) and the content it contains.
REA	The markup language used to write interactive stories. Stands for "Read, Experience, Act."
Story	A complete interactive narrative written in REA, published on the platform.
Chapter	A top-level section of a story, defined by a # heading in REA.
Scene	A subsection within a chapter, defined by ## or deeper headings.
Choice	A decision point where the reader selects from options that affect the narrative.
Command	A {keyword} instruction in REA that controls logic, media, or behavior.
Variable	A named value ({set name = value}) that stores state during a reading session.
Reader	A person consuming/playing an interactive story.
Author	A person who writes and publishes interactive stories on the platform.
Player	The runtime component that renders and executes REA stories in the browser.
Shelf	A reader's personal collection of saved/bookmarked stories.
Reading group	Multiple readers experiencing the same story together with synchronized decisions.
Role	A character assignment in cooperative reading — each reader takes a different role.
Progress	The reader's current position and state within a story (auto-saved).
Bookmark	A named save point within a story that the reader can return to.

Story Tiers

Term	Description
Free story	A story available to all readers without payment.
Premium story	A story that requires a platform subscription to access.
Paid story	A story with a one-time purchase price set by the author.

Technical Terms

Term	Description
Parser	The component that reads REA source text and produces a structured document tree.
Runtime	The execution engine that processes commands, manages state, and drives the narrative.
Renderer	The component that converts parsed REA content into visible HTML/UI elements.
Web Component	The <reast-player> custom element that can embed stories on any website.
Offline mode	The ability to read downloaded stories without an internet connection.
Snapshot	A serialized capture of the reader's complete state at a point in time.
Slug	A URL-friendly identifier for a story (e.g., the-lantern-of-arath).
TUI	Text-based Unique Identifier — a short, human-readable ID using a safe character set.