diff --git a/tinygrad/viz/index.html b/tinygrad/viz/index.html
index d7ff8f9114..a44e113e8e 100644
--- a/tinygrad/viz/index.html
+++ b/tinygrad/viz/index.html
@@ -82,10 +82,10 @@
     position: relative;
     height: 100%;
   }
-  .metadata > * + *, .rewrite-container > * + *, .kernel-list > * + * {
+  .metadata > * + *, .rewrite-container > * + *, .ctx-list > * + * {
     margin-top: 12px;
   }
-  .kernel-list > ul > * + * {
+  .ctx-list > ul > * + * {
     margin-top: 4px;
   }
   .graph {
@@ -93,12 +93,12 @@
     inset: 0;
     z-index: 1;
   }
-  .kernel-list-parent {
+  .ctx-list-parent {
     width: 15%;
     padding-top: 50px;
     border-right: 1px solid #4a4b56;
   }
-  .kernel-list {
+  .ctx-list {
     width: 100%;
     height: 100%;
     overflow-y: auto;
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@
         </svg>
       </button>
     </div>
-    <div class="container kernel-list-parent"><div class="kernel-list"></div></div>
+    <div class="container ctx-list-parent"><div class="ctx-list"></div></div>
     <div class="graph">
       <div class="progress-message">Rendering new layout...</div>
       <svg id="graph-svg" preserveAspectRatio="xMidYMid meet">
diff --git a/tinygrad/viz/js/index.js b/tinygrad/viz/js/index.js
index d54c2b69d1..a2042e7529 100644
--- a/tinygrad/viz/js/index.js
+++ b/tinygrad/viz/js/index.js
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ async function renderDag(graph, additions, recenter=false) {
   if (timeout != null) clearTimeout(timeout);
   const progressMessage = document.querySelector(".progress-message");
   timeout = setTimeout(() => {progressMessage.style.display = "block"}, 2000);
-  worker.postMessage({graph, additions, kernels});
+  worker.postMessage({graph, additions, ctxs});
   worker.onmessage = (e) => {
     progressMessage.style.display = "none";
     clearTimeout(timeout);
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ async function renderDag(graph, additions, recenter=false) {
     const STROKE_WIDTH = 1.4;
     const nodes = d3.select("#nodes").selectAll("g").data(g.nodes().map(id => g.node(id)), d => d).join("g")
       .attr("transform", d => `translate(${d.x},${d.y})`).classed("clickable", d => d.ref != null)
-      .on("click", (_,d) => d.ref != null && setState({ expandKernel: true, currentKernel:d.ref, currentUOp:0, currentRewrite:0 }));
+      .on("click", (_,d) => d.ref != null && setState({ expandSteps: true, currentCtx:d.ref, currentStep:0, currentRewrite:0 }));
     nodes.selectAll("rect").data(d => [d]).join("rect").attr("width", d => d.width).attr("height", d => d.height).attr("fill", d => d.color)
       .attr("x", d => -d.width/2).attr("y", d => -d.height/2).attr("style", d => d.style ?? `stroke:#4a4b57; stroke-width:${STROKE_WIDTH}px;`);
     nodes.selectAll("g.label").data(d => [d]).join("g").attr("class", "label").attr("transform", d => {
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ document.getElementById("zoom-to-fit-btn").addEventListener("click", () => {
   const svg = d3.select("#graph-svg");
   svg.call(zoom.transform, d3.zoomIdentity);
   const mainRect = rect(".main-container");
-  const x0 = rect(".kernel-list-parent").right;
+  const x0 = rect(".ctx-list-parent").right;
   const x1 = rect(".metadata-parent").left;
   const pad = 16;
   const R = { x: x0+pad, y: mainRect.top+pad, width: (x1>0 ? x1-x0 : mainRect.width)-2*pad, height: mainRect.height-2*pad };
@@ -265,25 +265,29 @@ hljs.registerLanguage("cpp", (hljs) => ({
 
 var ret = [];
 var cache = {};
-var kernels = null;
+var ctxs = null;
 const evtSources = [];
-const state = {currentKernel:-1, currentUOp:0, currentRewrite:0, expandKernel:false};
+// VIZ displays graph rewrites in 3 levels, from bottom-up:
+// rewrite: a single UOp transformation
+// step: collection of rewrites
+// context: collection of steps
+const state = {currentCtx:-1, currentStep:0, currentRewrite:0, expandSteps:false};
 function setState(ns) {
   Object.assign(state, ns);
   main();
 }
 async function main() {
-  const { currentKernel, currentUOp, currentRewrite, expandKernel } = state;
-  // ** left sidebar kernel list
-  if (kernels == null) {
-    kernels = await (await fetch("/kernels")).json();
-    setState({ currentKernel:-1 });
+  const { currentCtx, currentStep, currentRewrite, expandSteps } = state;
+  // ** left sidebar context list
+  if (ctxs == null) {
+    ctxs = await (await fetch("/ctxs")).json();
+    setState({ currentCtx:-1 });
   }
-  const kernelList = document.querySelector(".kernel-list");
-  kernelList.innerHTML = "";
-  for (const [i,{name, steps}] of kernels.entries()) {
-    const ul = kernelList.appendChild(document.createElement("ul"));
-    if (i === currentKernel) {
+  const ctxList = document.querySelector(".ctx-list");
+  ctxList.innerHTML = "";
+  for (const [i,{name, steps}] of ctxs.entries()) {
+    const ul = ctxList.appendChild(document.createElement("ul"));
+    if (i === currentCtx) {
       ul.className = "active";
       requestAnimationFrame(() => ul.scrollIntoView({ behavior: "auto", block: "nearest" }));
     }
@@ -293,27 +297,28 @@ async function main() {
       return `<span style="${`color: color-mix(in srgb, ${colors[(parseInt(code)-30+60)%60]} 60%, white)`}">${st}</span>`;
     });
     p.onclick = () => {
-      setState(i === currentKernel ? { expandKernel:!expandKernel } : { expandKernel:true, currentKernel:i, currentUOp:0, currentRewrite:0 });
+      setState(i === currentCtx ? { expandSteps:!expandSteps } : { expandSteps:true, currentCtx:i, currentStep:0, currentRewrite:0 });
     }
     for (const [j,u] of steps.entries()) {
       const inner = ul.appendChild(document.createElement("ul"));
-      if (i === currentKernel && j === currentUOp) {
+      if (i === currentCtx && j === currentStep) {
         inner.className = "active";
         requestAnimationFrame(() => inner.scrollIntoView({ behavior: "auto", block: "nearest" }));
       }
       inner.innerText = `${u.name ?? u.loc[0].replaceAll("\\", "/").split("/").pop()+':'+u.loc[1]} - ${u.match_count}`;
       inner.style.marginLeft = `${8*u.depth}px`;
-      inner.style.display = i === currentKernel && expandKernel ? "block" : "none";
+      inner.style.display = i === currentCtx && expandSteps ? "block" : "none";
       inner.onclick = (e) => {
         e.stopPropagation();
-        setState({ currentUOp:j, currentKernel:i, currentRewrite:0 });
+        setState({ currentStep:j, currentCtx:i, currentRewrite:0 });
       }
     }
   }
   // ** center graph
-  if (currentKernel == -1) return;
-  const kernel = kernels[currentKernel].steps[currentUOp];
-  const cacheKey = `kernel=${currentKernel}&idx=${currentUOp}`;
+  if (currentCtx == -1) return;
+  const ctx = ctxs[currentCtx];
+  const step = ctx.steps[currentStep];
+  const cacheKey = `ctx=${currentCtx}&idx=${currentStep}`;
   // close any pending event sources
   let activeSrc = null;
   for (const e of evtSources) {
@@ -323,11 +328,11 @@ async function main() {
   if (cacheKey in cache) {
     ret = cache[cacheKey];
   }
-  // if we don't have a complete cache yet we start streaming this kernel
-  if (!(cacheKey in cache) || (cache[cacheKey].length !== kernel.match_count+1 && activeSrc == null)) {
+  // if we don't have a complete cache yet we start streaming rewrites in this step
+  if (!(cacheKey in cache) || (cache[cacheKey].length !== step.match_count+1 && activeSrc == null)) {
     ret = [];
     cache[cacheKey] = ret;
-    const eventSource = new EventSource(`/kernels?kernel=${currentKernel}&idx=${currentUOp}`);
+    const eventSource = new EventSource(`/ctxs?ctx=${currentCtx}&idx=${currentStep}`);
     evtSources.push(eventSource);
     eventSource.onmessage = (e) => {
       if (e.data === "END") return eventSource.close();
@@ -341,20 +346,20 @@ async function main() {
     };
   }
   if (ret.length === 0) return;
-  if (kernel.name == "View Memory Graph") {
+  if (ctx.name == "View Memory Graph") {
     renderMemoryGraph(ret[currentRewrite].graph);
   } else {
     renderDag(ret[currentRewrite].graph, ret[currentRewrite].changed_nodes || [], recenter=currentRewrite === 0);
   }
   // ** right sidebar code blocks
   const metadata = document.querySelector(".metadata");
-  const [code, lang] = kernels[currentKernel].kernel_code != null ? [kernels[currentKernel].kernel_code, "cpp"] : [ret[currentRewrite].uop, "python"];
-  metadata.replaceChildren(codeBlock(kernel.code_line, "python", { loc:kernel.loc, wrap:true }), codeBlock(code, lang, { wrap:false }));
+  const [code, lang] = ctx.kernel_code != null ? [ctx.kernel_code, "cpp"] : [ret[currentRewrite].uop, "python"];
+  metadata.replaceChildren(codeBlock(step.code_line, "python", { loc:step.loc, wrap:true }), codeBlock(code, lang, { wrap:false }));
   // ** rewrite steps
-  if (kernel.match_count >= 1) {
+  if (step.match_count >= 1) {
     const rewriteList = metadata.appendChild(document.createElement("div"));
     rewriteList.className = "rewrite-list";
-    for (let s=0; s<=kernel.match_count; s++) {
+    for (let s=0; s<=step.match_count; s++) {
       const ul = rewriteList.appendChild(document.createElement("ul"));
       ul.innerText = s;
       ul.id = `rewrite-${s}`;
@@ -408,36 +413,36 @@ function appendResizer(element, { minWidth, maxWidth }, left=false) {
     }, { once: true });
   });
 }
-appendResizer(document.querySelector(".kernel-list-parent"), { minWidth: 15, maxWidth: 50 }, left=true);
+appendResizer(document.querySelector(".ctx-list-parent"), { minWidth: 15, maxWidth: 50 }, left=true);
 appendResizer(document.querySelector(".metadata-parent"), { minWidth: 20, maxWidth: 50 });
 
 // **** keyboard shortcuts
 
 document.addEventListener("keydown", async function(event) {
-  const { currentKernel, currentUOp, currentRewrite, expandKernel } = state;
-  // up and down change the UOp or kernel from the list
+  const { currentCtx, currentStep, currentRewrite, expandSteps } = state;
+  // up and down change the step or context from the list
   if (event.key == "ArrowUp") {
     event.preventDefault();
-    if (expandKernel) {
-      return setState({ currentRewrite:0, currentUOp:Math.max(0, currentUOp-1) });
+    if (expandSteps) {
+      return setState({ currentRewrite:0, currentStep:Math.max(0, currentStep-1) });
     }
-    return setState({ currentUOp:0, currentRewrite:0, currentKernel:Math.max(0, currentKernel-1) });
+    return setState({ currentStep:0, currentRewrite:0, currentCtx:Math.max(0, currentCtx-1) });
   }
   if (event.key == "ArrowDown") {
     event.preventDefault();
-    if (expandKernel) {
-      const totalUOps = kernels[currentKernel].steps.length-1;
-      return setState({ currentRewrite:0, currentUOp:Math.min(totalUOps, currentUOp+1) });
+    if (expandSteps) {
+      const totalUOps = ctxs[currentCtx].steps.length-1;
+      return setState({ currentRewrite:0, currentStep:Math.min(totalUOps, currentStep+1) });
     }
-    return setState({ currentUOp:0, currentRewrite:0, currentKernel:Math.min(kernels.length-1, currentKernel+1) });
+    return setState({ currentStep:0, currentRewrite:0, currentCtx:Math.min(ctxs.length-1, currentCtx+1) });
   }
   // enter toggles focus on a single rewrite stage
   if (event.key == "Enter") {
     event.preventDefault()
-    if (state.currentKernel === -1) {
-      return setState({ currentKernel:0, expandKernel:true });
+    if (currentCtx === -1) {
+      return setState({ currentCtx:0, expandSteps:true });
     }
-    return setState({ currentUOp:0, currentRewrite:0, expandKernel:!expandKernel });
+    return setState({ currentStep:0, currentRewrite:0, expandSteps:!expandSteps });
   }
   // left and right go through rewrites in a single UOp
   if (event.key == "ArrowLeft") {
diff --git a/tinygrad/viz/js/worker.js b/tinygrad/viz/js/worker.js
index 0f6774b0d0..31b7ba10bb 100644
--- a/tinygrad/viz/js/worker.js
+++ b/tinygrad/viz/js/worker.js
@@ -7,13 +7,13 @@ ctx.font = `${LINE_HEIGHT}px sans-serif`;
 const ansiStrip = (st, tag) => st.replace(/\u001b\[(\d+)m(.*?)\u001b\[0m/g, (_,__,st) => st);
 
 onmessage = (e) => {
-  const { graph, additions, kernels } = e.data;
+  const { graph, additions, ctxs } = e.data;
   const g = new dagre.graphlib.Graph({ compound: true });
   g.setGraph({ rankdir: "LR" }).setDefaultEdgeLabel(function() { return {}; });
   if (additions.length !== 0) g.setNode("addition", {label:"", style:"fill: rgba(26, 27, 38, 0.5);", padding:0});
   for (let [k, {label, src, ref, ...rest }] of Object.entries(graph)) {
-    const idx = ref ? kernels.findIndex(k => k.ref === ref) : -1;
-    if (idx != -1) label += `\ncodegen@${ansiStrip(kernels[idx].name)}`;
+    const idx = ref ? ctxs.findIndex(k => k.ref === ref) : -1;
+    if (idx != -1) label += `\ncodegen@${ansiStrip(ctxs[idx].name)}`;
     // adjust node dims by label size + add padding
     let [width, height] = [0, 0];
     for (line of label.split("\n")) {
diff --git a/tinygrad/viz/serve.py b/tinygrad/viz/serve.py
index 050ea0f355..df7102f941 100755
--- a/tinygrad/viz/serve.py
+++ b/tinygrad/viz/serve.py
@@ -133,9 +133,9 @@ class Handler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
         if url.path.endswith(".js"): content_type = "application/javascript"
         if url.path.endswith(".css"): content_type = "text/css"
       except FileNotFoundError: status_code = 404
-    elif url.path == "/kernels":
-      if "kernel" in (query:=parse_qs(url.query)):
-        kidx, ridx = int(query["kernel"][0]), int(query["idx"][0])
+    elif url.path == "/ctxs":
+      if "ctx" in (query:=parse_qs(url.query)):
+        kidx, ridx = int(query["ctx"][0]), int(query["idx"][0])
         try:
           # stream details
           self.send_response(200)
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ class Handler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
           return self.wfile.flush()
         # pass if client closed connection
         except (BrokenPipeError, ConnectionResetError): return
-      ret, content_type = json.dumps(kernels).encode(), "application/json"
+      ret, content_type = json.dumps(ctxs).encode(), "application/json"
     elif url.path == "/get_profile" and perfetto_profile is not None: ret, content_type = perfetto_profile, "application/json"
     else: status_code = 404
 
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ if __name__ == "__main__":
   contexts, profile = load_pickle(args.kernels), load_pickle(args.profile)
 
   # NOTE: this context is a tuple of list[keys] and list[values]
-  kernels = get_metadata(*contexts) if contexts is not None else []
+  ctxs = get_metadata(*contexts) if contexts is not None else []
 
   perfetto_profile = to_perfetto(profile) if profile is not None else None