# How the app works

> What creators and backers do in the Tango app, how every strategy is a Tango vault, and which networks and contract release the app uses.

Source: https://docs.tango.fun/app/overview

The Tango app is where people build investment strategies and put money into them. A **creator** builds and runs a strategy. A **backer** deposits USDC into a strategy they choose. Behind every strategy is a Tango vault: the contracts that hold the money and record who owns what.

> **Key points**
>
> - In the app, a strategy is a Tango vault. Creators build and run strategies, and backers deposit USDC into the ones they choose.
> - The app deploys new strategies on contract release 0.12.0, on Base and Ethereum. Perps are available on Base only.
> - The app allows fewer changes than the contracts do. It fixes a strategy's assets and accounts when the strategy is deployed, and it offers no timelocked changes afterwards.

## Who does what

| Role | What they do in the app |
| --- | --- |
| **Creator** | Builds and deploys a strategy, trades and rebalances it within its limits, settles deposits and withdrawals, and earns the fees they set. |
| **Backer** | Deposits USDC into a strategy, receives shares, and requests withdrawals. |
| **Agents** | Claude or ChatGPT, connected by the creator, propose actions. The creator reviews and signs them. |
| **Platform** | Tango deploys strategies through its factory, then hands control to the creator. It covers network fees for app wallets, posts values for perps accounts, and co-signs every Hyperliquid action to enforce its limits. |

The same person can be a creator and a backer. An agent can only carry out actions on its own if the creator gives it a separate, explicit permission for one strategy.

Tango provides the tools. It does not manage strategies, and it does not judge whether a strategy suits anyone. Creators decide what a strategy does, and backers decide for themselves.

## What is a strategy?

Every strategy is a [Tango vault](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/architecture.md). A vault splits its money into **sub-accounts**, separate contracts that each hold one part of the strategy. A strategy has one or two of them, and the app gives them its own names:

| Account in the app | Vault sub-account | Used for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Swap & Lend Account (or LP Account, LP & Lend Account) | [Tracked](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/tracked-sub-accounts.md) | Trading tokens and tokenized stocks, lending on Morpho, Uniswap liquidity |
| Hyperliquid Account | [Attested](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/attested-sub-accounts.md) | Perps on Hyperliquid |

On a strategy's Risks tab, these accounts are called the **Onchain Vault Account** and the **Delegated Vault Account**.

## Networks and releases

You can create a strategy on Base or Ethereum. Base is the default.

| Network | What a new strategy can use |
| --- | --- |
| Base (default) | Tokens, tokenized stocks, Morpho lending, Uniswap liquidity, perps on Hyperliquid |
| Ethereum | Tokens, tokenized ETFs, Morpho lending, Uniswap liquidity |

A **contract release** is a version of the Tango vault contracts. New strategies deploy on release 0.12.0. Strategies on older releases (0.10.0 and 0.5.0) carry a **Previous release** label, and they keep working for the backers already in them.

## Moving money in and out

- **Fund account** puts USDC in your Tango wallet, by transfer, by card or from another crypto asset. It never deposits into a strategy on its own.
- **Deposit** moves USDC from your wallet into a strategy. See [Deposits in the app](https://docs.tango.fun/app/deposits.md).
- **Withdraw** asks for your USDC back from a strategy. See [Withdrawals in the app](https://docs.tango.fun/app/withdrawals.md).

If you use a Tango app wallet, tango.fun covers the network fees for deposits, withdrawal requests, claims and strategy setup. If you use an external wallet, you pay your own network fees.

## Where to go next

- **If you create strategies:** start with [Create a strategy](https://docs.tango.fun/app/create-a-strategy.md), then read [Fees in the app](https://docs.tango.fun/app/fees.md) and [Fixed configuration](https://docs.tango.fun/app/fixed-configuration.md).
- **If you back strategies:** read [Deposits in the app](https://docs.tango.fun/app/deposits.md), [Withdrawals in the app](https://docs.tango.fun/app/withdrawals.md) and [Tokenized stocks](https://docs.tango.fun/app/tokenized-stocks.md).
- **If a strategy trades perps:** read [Perps on Hyperliquid](https://docs.tango.fun/app/venues/hyperliquid.md) and [Hyperliquid trading wallets](https://docs.tango.fun/app/venues/hyperliquid-wallets.md).