Glossary

Every technical word used in this handbook, in plain language.

Computer basics

Terminal - A window where you type commands instead of clicking. On Windows it is called Terminal or PowerShell, on Mac it is called Terminal.

Command - One line you type into the terminal and confirm with Enter, for example git pull. The first word is the program, the rest tells it what to do.

Prompt - The text at the start of the terminal line (ending in > on Windows or % on Mac). It means the terminal is ready for the next command.

Folder / path - A folder is a directory on your disk. A path is its address, written as folder names joined by \ (Windows) or / (Mac), for example ~/goa-modkit/mods. The ~ is short for your personal home folder.

cd - "Change directory". Moves the terminal into a folder, so the next commands work there. cd ~/goa-modkit goes into the modkit.

PATH - The list of places where the terminal looks for programs. That is why you sometimes need to reopen the terminal after installing something.

Package manager - A program that installs other programs with one command. On Windows this handbook uses winget, on Mac Homebrew (brew).

Admin rights - Permission to install programs on a computer. Your own PC or Mac usually has them. A work or school computer may not.

File types

JSON - A plain-text format for data, with "name": value pairs in curly braces. Mission numbers (stats, outcomes, timings) are JSON files ending in .json.

Python - A programming language. Mods use it for texts and for logic that reacts to what happens in the game. Script files end in .py. The game runs them with IronPython 3.4, an older Python built for .NET, so very new Python syntax does not work.

CSV - A table saved as plain text, one row per line, values separated by commas. Mods use CSV files to change game data such as building or plane stats.

Text editor - A program for editing plain-text files like JSON and Python. This handbook recommends Visual Studio Code. Word processors like Word are not text editors.

Git and GitHub

Git - A program that downloads a project and keeps track of every change to it.

GitHub - The website where the modkit is published. You need a free account to use the GitHub CLI.

Repository (repo) - A project folder that Git tracks, with its full history. The modkit is a repository.

Clone - Downloading a repository to your computer for the first time: gh repo clone blindflugstudios/goa-modkit.

Pull - Fetching the latest changes of a repository you already cloned: git pull. Your own mods in mods/ are never touched.

CLI - "Command-line interface". A program you use by typing commands in the terminal instead of clicking.

GitHub CLI (gh) - GitHub's own terminal program. You use it to log in (gh auth login) and to clone the modkit.

Release - A published, numbered version of a project on GitHub, with ready-made files to download. The ready-made validator comes from the modkit's releases.

AI agents

Agent - An AI program that can read files, write files and run commands on your computer to finish a task you describe. Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode are agents.

Claude Code - Anthropic's agent that runs in the terminal. Needs a paid Claude subscription (Pro or higher).

Codex - OpenAI's agent that runs in the terminal. Needs a paid ChatGPT plan.

OpenCode - An open-source agent that runs in the terminal. Free to install; you choose the AI model, which usually costs money per use. A few free models are offered for a limited time.

Model - The AI that does the thinking inside an agent, for example Claude or GPT. Stronger models make fewer mistakes; many cost money per use.

Prompt (for an agent) - What you type to the agent: a request in plain English, like "make me a mission where...".

Skill - A written set of instructions in the modkit that teaches the agent one job, for example new-mission, validate or install-mod. The agent picks the right skill by itself.

AGENTS.md - The rulebook for agents in the modkit: folders, pitfalls, and the build, check, copy routine.

Modding

Mod - A folder of files that adds to or changes the game: missions, quests, scripts, maps, objects, airplane skins or data tables.

Mods folder - Where the game looks for installed mods. Open it from the main menu: Mods → Open folder.

mods/ folder (in the modkit) - Where you and your agent build your own mods before they are copied to the game's Mods folder. Git ignores it, so updates never change it.

Content folder - A folder inside a mod whose name tells the game what is in it: Missions, Quests, Maps, Objects, CSV, Biomes, Airplanes. New mission locations go one level deeper, in Missions/Locations.

Id - The unique name of a thing in the game, for example the mission id coastal_patrol. Ids must not contain spaces and must be unique: two missions with the same id replace each other.

Localization key - The name of a text, like missions/coastal_patrol/mission_name. The game looks up the key to find the text in the player's language. If the text is missing, you see the key itself.

Validator - The modkit's checker (goa_validate). It reads your mod and reports what would break in the game, without starting the game and without running your scripts.

Outcome - One of the four possible results of a mission (as planned or gone wrong, skill passed or failed). Every mission has exactly four.

Handler - A function in a mission or event script that the game calls at a certain moment, for example when a mission sends a radio message.

Mission Editor - The in-game tool, in the main menu, for creating missions without any files or tools.

Console / cheat console - A small window in the game where you type commands such as create_mission. Switch it on in Options → Cheats. See Cheat console.

Player.log - The text file where the game writes its errors (development builds also write what it does). The first place to look when a mod misbehaves. See When nothing happens.

Steam Workshop - Steam's page for sharing mods. Players subscribe to a mod there and Steam installs it for them.

Subscribe - Clicking Subscribe on a Workshop mod. Steam downloads it, and the game loads it next time.