Glossary

A complete reference of all technical terms and concepts. If you come across an unfamiliar term, you will find a quick explanation here.

A

Action

An operation that the system performs (e.g. "send command to Minecraft"). Actions are triggered by events and configured in actions.mca.

Example: The gift event "Rose" triggers the action "play_sound".

Async / Asynchronous Programming

Programming in which multiple tasks run concurrently rather than sequentially. One process does not have to wait for another to finish.

In this project: TikTok events arrive (Async 1) while the main loop processes Minecraft commands (Async 2).

API (Application Programming Interface)

An interface through which two programs communicate with each other.

In this project: We use the TikTokLive API (to receive events) and the RCON API (to send commands to Minecraft).

C

Combo Gift

A gift that can be sent multiple times in a row. The viewer sees an animation showing the total number of gifts.

Example: Someone sends the same rose 5 times → the viewer sees "Rose ×5".

In code: event.gift.combo == True and event.repeat_count == 5

A security mechanism in web servers that determines which external websites are allowed to send requests.

In this project: Our Flask server uses CORS to give plugin GUIs access to the APIs.

Command-Line Argument / Flag

A value passed when starting a program.

Example:

python main.py --gui-hidden --register-only

Here, --gui-hidden and --register-only are flags.

D

DCS (Direct Control System)

A communication protocol in which data is transmitted directly via HTTP.

Advantage: Fast & reliable.
Disadvantage: Requires open HTTP ports.

Alternative: ICS (Interface Control System).

Decorator

A Python feature (@...) that "decorates" a function with additional behavior.

Example:

@client.on(GiftEvent)
def handle_gift(event):
    pass

The @client.on(...) decorator registers this function as an event handler.

Dependency

An external package that your project needs.

In this project:

TikTokLive – dependency
Flask – dependency
All are listed in requirements.txt.

E

Event

An occurrence that happens in the system.

Examples:

Someone sends a gift
Someone follows
A player dies in Minecraft
The server starts

All events have properties (data), e.g. event.user, event.gift.name.

Event Handler

A function that reacts to an event.

Example:

@client.on(GiftEvent)
def on_gift(event):
    print(f"Gift received: {event.gift.name}")

on_gift is the event handler for GiftEvents.

F

Flask

A Python web framework for building web servers.

Usage in our project:

Webhooks (receiving Minecraft events)
GUIs (pywebview uses Flask for the backend API)

Not to be confused with: Django (different framework), FastAPI (newer standard).

Function

See Handler / Function.

G

Glossary

This document! A reference of technical terms.

H

Handler

See Event Handler.

HTTP / HTTPS

Network protocols for transferring data over the internet / network.

HTTP = unencrypted (but faster)
HTTPS = encrypted (but more complex)

In this project: We use HTTP locally (not over the internet).

I

ICS (Interface Control System)

A communication protocol in which data is transmitted via GUI / screen capture.

Advantage: Works everywhere (including TikTok Live Studio).
Disadvantage: Slower & more complex.

Alternative: DCS (Direct Control System).

Import

Loading external code into your program.

Example:

from core import load_config

This loads the load_config function from the core module.

J

JSON

A data format for storing and transmitting structured data.

Format:

{
    "name": "John",
    "age": 30,
    "gifts": ["Rose", "Diamond"]
}

In this project: Used for configurations, window states, and data.

L

Logging / Logs

Recording program operations to a file or as output.

Purpose: Debugging & monitoring.

Example:

logging.info("Gift received")
logging.error("Connection failed")

Logs end up in logs/debug.log.

M

main.py

The main program file of the project. It connects TikTok to the rest of the system.

Middleware

Software that mediates between two other systems.

In our project: main.py contains the webhook endpoint and acts as middleware between Minecraft and the plugins. server.py, on the other hand, starts the Minecraft server itself.

Migration

The process of transferring data from an old format to a new one.

In this project:

Config migration: Old config.yaml is updated to match the new structure
See Config for details.

Module

A reusable code building block that other files/projects can use.

In this project:

core/models.py – data structures module
core/paths.py – path module
Always located in the src/core/ folder.

O

Overlay

A visual element that is overlaid on the stream / screen.

Example: A counter on the screen shows "Deaths: 5", "Likes: 200".

In this project: Plugins use overlays to display data visually.

P

Parameter

A value passed to a function.

Example:

def create_client(user):  # 'user' is the parameter
    ...

create_client("my_streamer")  # 'my_streamer' is passed

Path

A file path in the file system.

Windows: C:\Users\...\config\config.yaml
Linux: /home/.../config/config.yaml

Plugin

An independent program that integrates into the Streaming Tool.

Examples:

Timer (countdown timer)
DeathCounter (counts deaths)
Your custom plugin

Port

A virtual "port" through which a server accepts connections.

Example: http://localhost:8080 – the port is 8080.

Config: All ports are configurable in config.yaml.

Pseudo Code

Simplified code that is not syntactically correct but illustrates the logic.

Example:

1. When gift arrives
2. Find configuration
3. Execute action

Q

Queue

A data structure that stores elements in the order in which they were added (FIFO: First-In-First-Out).

In our project:

trigger_queue: Stores the triggers to be processed
like_queue: Stores like updates for the overlay

R

Race Condition

A bug that occurs when two threads access the same resource at the same time.

Example: Thread 1 reads event.total, Thread 2 changes it → inconsistency!

Solution: Lock (Mutex) – only one thread may access at a time.

Danger: Race conditions (two threads modifying data in parallel).

Trigger

A condition that causes an action to execute.

Example:

gift_1001 is a trigger (when this gift arrives)
follow is a trigger (when someone follows)
When a trigger fires → the action is executed

TikTokLive API

The external library through which we access TikTok live streams.

Based on: Reverse engineering (unofficial).

Usage: from TikTokLive import TikTokLiveClient

U

Update

A new release / version of the project.

Process:

New version is uploaded to GitHub
User starts the program
Update script downloads the new version
Old data is retained (config/, data/ are not overwritten)

Details: See Update.

Minecraft server sends a webhook to our tool (when a player dies, spawns, etc.)
Our tool then processes the webhook

Format: Typically HTTP POST with JSON data.

timer:
  enable: true
  start_time: 10
  max_time: 60

In this project: config.yaml is written in YAML.

Event, Event Handler, Trigger, Action
Webhook, RCON

Technology

API, HTTP/HTTPS, Port
Thread/Threading, Race Condition
Async, Middleware

Python & Code

Import, Module, Decorator
Parameter, Variable, Handler
Function, Logging

Data Formats

JSON, YAML, Database

Structure & Organization

Registry, Migration
Queue
Path

Control & Communication

DCS, ICS, Flask
CORS

Debugging & Development

Logging, Validator
Pseudo Code, Reverse Engineering

"I still don't understand term XYZ!"

That's OK. Here are your options:

Re-read: Simply read it again
Context: Search for the term in the documentation – context helps
Read code: Look at how the term is used in actual code
Ask: Other developers or an AI for help

Streaming Tool Dev