Concepts, defined
Short, straight definitions of the ideas behind collaborative AI-built apps: artifacts, collaboration layers, CRDTs, version history.
Human + agent version history, explained
When people and AI agents edit the same artifact, the history must record both on one timeline: who or what changed it, when, and how to roll back. Here's the model.
What is a Claude artifact?
A Claude artifact is standalone content Claude builds in a panel beside your chat: an app, document, or diagram you can iterate on, publish, and share. A definition, with edges.
What is a collaboration layer?
A collaboration layer is software that sits on top of the tools that create work and adds sharing, feedback, editing, and version history for everyone who needs to work on the output together.
What is a CRDT, and why it matters for collaborative apps
A CRDT is a data structure that lets several people edit the same thing at once and always end up with the same result, no server referee needed. The plain-English version.
What is an AI-built app?
An AI-built app is a small working piece of software (a calculator, dashboard, or tool) created by describing it to an AI instead of programming it. A definition, with edges.