Glossary

Key terms and concepts used throughout ButterStack.

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Asset Lineage: The complete history and traceability of a game asset from creation through deployment, tracking its journey through the 5-stage pipeline.
Asset Manifest: A generated report showing all assets processed during a build, including cook times, file sizes, and success status.
API Key: Authentication credential for REST API access, formatted as bsk_live_* for production or bsk_test_* for testing.
Approval Workflow: The process of reviewing and approving asset manifests before deployment to production.

Build Artifact: Files generated during a build process, such as executables, packages, or deployment files.
Build Configuration: Settings that define how builds are triggered, which platforms to target, and build parameters.
Build Run: A single execution of a build job, tracked from start to completion with associated metadata.

Changelist: A Perforce concept representing a collection of file changes submitted together. Similar to a Git commit.
CI/CD: Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment - automated testing and deployment pipelines.
Cooked Asset: Game assets converted from their source format to an optimized runtime format by the game engine.
Core Integrations: Essential integrations available on all plans: Perforce, Jenkins, Jira, Steam, Unreal Engine, Unity, Discord.

DDC (Derived Data Cache): Unreal Engine’s cache system for processed assets, improving build times through asset reuse.
Deployment: The process of publishing a build to a distribution platform like Steam or app stores.
Depot: A Perforce repository structure representing a collection of files and directories.

Game Engine Integration: Stage 4 of the asset pipeline, tracking build processes within Unreal Engine, Unity, or other engines.

Integration: A connection between ButterStack and an external tool or service (e.g., Jenkins, Perforce, Jira).
Integration Helper Setting: Configuration data for integrations that require additional setup or credentials.

Job: A Jenkins build definition that can be triggered manually or automatically.

PAK File: Unreal Engine’s packaged asset format, containing compressed and optimized game assets.
P4 (Perforce): Command-line client for Perforce version control system.
Pipeline: The 5-stage asset lineage system: Task → Version Control → CI/CD → Game Engine → Deployment.
Project: A ButterStack workspace containing integrations, builds, and team members for a single game or application.

SCM (Source Control Management): Version control systems like Perforce, Git, or SVN.
Shader Permutation: Variations of shader code compiled for different rendering scenarios and platforms.
Steam App ID: Unique identifier for your game on Steam, used for deployment tracking.

Task Linking: Automatic connection between commits/changelists and project management tasks (Jira, Linear, Trello).
Trigger: Automated action that initiates a build based on commits, schedules, or manual requests.

Version Control: Stage 2 of the asset pipeline, tracking file changes in systems like Perforce or Git.

Webhook: HTTP callback mechanism for real-time event notifications between tools and ButterStack.
Webhook Token: Authentication credential for webhook endpoints, formatted as wh_*.
Workspace: A Perforce client workspace defining which files are available locally.