Glossary

Action

A Convex function for work that may call external services or use runtimes unavailable to queries and mutations. Actions are not the normal path for database writes.

Authentication mode

The per-query or per-server-call policy: required, optional, or none. It determines whether execution waits for and uses identity.

Better Auth session

The canonical Better Auth record describing the current signed-in session and session user. It is not the application's complete user profile or permission model.

Convex identity

The identity visible to a Convex function through ctx.auth.getUserIdentity(). Better Convex Nuxt coordinates it from the Better Auth session when auth is enabled.

Hydration

Vue attaching client behavior to server-rendered HTML. Nuxt payload data lets query composables begin with the server result.

Identity generation

The runtime boundary that changes when the stable user identity changes. Identity-owned client and query state cannot cross this boundary.

Mutation

A transactional Convex function that reads and writes Convex data. Mutations are the default choice for database changes.

Nuxt payload

Serialized request data sent with server-rendered HTML and reused by the client during hydration.

Optimistic update

A temporary client-side query result applied before the server confirms a mutation. Failure rolls it back.

Projection

Derived, rebuildable application data copied from a canonical source for product-specific querying. A user projection does not replace Better Auth session truth.

Query

A read-only Convex function. A live client subscribes to its result and receives new values when its dependencies change.

Real-time subscription

A browser WebSocket listener for a Convex query and arguments. The subscription updates the composable when Convex publishes a new result.

Server call

A request-scoped query, mutation, or action executed from Nitro through serverConvex. It is distinct from a browser subscription.

Server-side rendering (SSR)

Nuxt rendering the page on the server for an incoming request. Better Convex Nuxt can execute queries during this phase.

Stale data

The last successful result intentionally kept visible while changed arguments load. isStale never permits data to cross an identity boundary.

Transform

A function that maps a Convex query result into the shape exposed by a particular composable state.

User projection

An application-owned Convex document derived from Better Auth user data. It exists only when the product needs fields or query patterns beyond the canonical auth component.

Call status

The shared state used by regular queries, mutations, and actions: idle, pending, success, or error.

Paginated query status

The pagination-specific state: idle, loading-first-page, ready, loading-more, exhausted, or error.