# Glossary

> Plain definitions of the terms used in the product and these docs.

Source: https://retoque.xyz/docs/glossary
Markdown: https://retoque.xyz/docs/md/glossary

## Adapter

A small set of extra weights, here a LoRA adapter, that changes a model's behaviour when loaded on top of the base weights. Stored as `adapter_model.safetensors`.

## Base model

The open-weight checkpoint a patch was trained and evaluated on, identified by a Hugging Face repository and a full commit hash. Retoque never redistributes it.

## Canonical JSON

JSON with sorted keys, no extra spaces and UTF-8 text, so the same data always produces the same bytes and the same sha256.

## Compatibility preflight

The CLI's comparison of your `--model` reference with the manifest. The outcome is `SUPPORTED_EXACT`, `UNKNOWN_UNTESTED` or `INCOMPATIBLE`. See [Concepts](https://retoque.xyz/docs/concepts#base-model-compatibility).

## Entitlement

Retoque's record that an account holds a license to one version. The download route checks it. See [Licenses and entitlements](https://retoque.xyz/docs/licenses).

## Escrow

The period after a paid onchain purchase when the funds stay in the license market contract and can still be refunded. Seven days by default.

## Evidence state

The single label each version carries about how far its results have been checked: `VERIFIED_FOR_SCOPE`, `IMPROVED_ON_SCOPE`, `EVALUATED`, `EXPERIMENTAL`, `DEGRADED` or `WITHDRAWN`. See [Concepts](https://retoque.xyz/docs/concepts#evidence-states).

## Experimental override

The `--experimental-override` flag, which installs a patch outside its tested compatibility envelope. It is recorded in `retoque.lock`.

## Family

A label on each dataset row naming the template or source it came from. Splits are made by whole families so near-duplicates never cross a split.

## Held-out suite

The evaluation cases kept out of training and development. The only result a published version may cite. Sealed: the cases aren't published, their sha256 is.

## Install ticket

A short-lived response to `POST .../install-tickets` holding a single-use download link that expires after five minutes.

## License terms

The written terms for a version, shipped as `LICENSE.txt`. Their sha256 is the terms digest you accept.

## Lockfile

`retoque.lock`, written in the current directory by install and rollback. It pins each patch to exact digests.

## LoRA

Low-rank adaptation. A way to fine-tune a model by training small extra matrices instead of the full weights.

## Manifest

`retoque.manifest.json`: the canonical JSON description of a version, including every file's sha256 and size. Its sha256 is what the publisher signs.

## Patch

A named fix for one task on one base model, distributed as signed versions.

## PEFT

Hugging Face's Parameter-Efficient Fine-Tuning library, which loads LoRA adapters. The runtime published evaluations use.

## Prompt-only control

An evaluation arm that runs the base model with three worked examples in the system prompt, to show whether a cheaper prompt change matches the patch.

## Registry key

A key starting with `rtq_` that authenticates the CLI to the Retoque registry. Not a model API key.

## Regression suite

`general-regression-v1`, 60 unrelated cases used to count behaviour a patch breaks.

## Rollback

Switching the active version back to an earlier installed one, or disabling the adapter so the base model runs alone.

## Safetensors

A weights file format that holds only tensors and can't execute code when loaded, unlike pickle.

## Settlement

Moving a paid purchase out of escrow so the creator and the treasury can withdraw their shares. Anyone can trigger it after the window.

## Version key

The registry contract's identifier for one version: a hash of the chain ID, publisher, patch ID, semver and adapter digest.