# Glossary

> Plain definitions of the terms used across the Tango docs and app, from allocation cap to VaultManager, with links to the pages that explain them.

Source: https://docs.tango.fun/reference/glossary

This page explains the terms used across the Tango docs and the Tango app. Each definition is short. Where a term has its own page or section, the definition links to it.

> **Key points**
>
> - The app and the contracts sometimes use different names for the same thing. The app calls a vault a strategy, and a depositor a backer.
> - NAV (net asset value) is the total value of everything a vault holds, minus fees it owes. NAV per share sets the price of every deposit and withdrawal.
> - Profiles such as the VaultAdmin, VaultManager and Sentry are fixed bundles of permissions. [Roles and profiles](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/roles.md) explains each one.

| Term | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Allocation cap | The most USDC a vault can send to one sub-account, minus what that sub-account has sent back. See [Sub-accounts](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/sub-accounts.md#limits-on-capital). |
| Asset registry | The list of assets each tracked sub-account is allowed to hold. See [Tracked sub-accounts](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/tracked-sub-accounts.md#the-asset-registry). |
| Atomic deposit | A deposit that is requested, settled and delivered as shares in one transaction. It is off in vaults with an attested sub-account. See [Deposits](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/deposits.md#atomic-deposits). |
| Attested sub-account | A sub-account whose value comes from a figure someone posts. It is used for venues the vault cannot value onchain. The app calls it the Delegated Vault Account. See [Attested sub-accounts](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/attested-sub-accounts.md). |
| Backer | Someone who deposits into a strategy. Also called a depositor. |
| Builder fee | A fee per order that Hyperliquid lets an app charge when an order fills. See [Perps on Hyperliquid](https://docs.tango.fun/app/venues/hyperliquid.md). |
| Call shape | A transaction type an attested sub-account is approved to make: a set target, function and pattern of arguments. See [Approved call shapes](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/attested-sub-accounts.md#approved-call-shapes). |
| CCTP | Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol. It is used to move USDC between Base and Hyperliquid. See [Bridging](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/bridging.md). |
| Ceiling | A limit fixed when a vault is deployed. It can never be raised. |
| Creator | The person who builds and runs a strategy. |
| Creator commitment | Shares a creator has locked in their own strategy. See [Share locking](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/share-locking.md). |
| Crystallise | To turn fees that have built up into real shares. This happens at each settlement. See [Fees](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/fees.md#how-fees-are-paid). |
| Deposit cap | The most money a vault accepts in deposits, after subtracting what has been withdrawn (its net principal). See [Deposits](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/deposits.md#deposit-cap). |
| Deposit silo | Where USDC from pending deposit requests waits. It is not counted in NAV. |
| Deviation band | How far a new attested value may move and still be used. See [Safeguards](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/attested-sub-accounts.md#safeguards). |
| Factory | The contract that deploys and sets up every vault for one release. See [Deployment](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/factory.md). |
| Fee splitter | The contract that receives a vault's fees and divides them between recipients. See [Fees](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/fees.md#the-fee-splitter). |
| Forced exit | A holder settling their own withdrawal when it is still unsettled after 3 days. See [Withdrawals](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/withdrawals.md#forced-exit). |
| Heartbeat | How old a price or attested value may be before it counts as stale. |
| High-water mark | The highest share price on which a performance fee has been charged. |
| HyperCore | Hyperliquid's trading layer, where perps positions and USDC balances live. |
| Idle cash | USDC the vault holds itself, rather than in a sub-account. Withdrawals are paid from it. |
| Module | A contract a tracked sub-account uses to swap, lend or provide liquidity. See [Modules](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/tracked-sub-accounts.md#modules). |
| NAV | Net asset value: the total value of everything the vault holds, in USDC, minus fees it owes. |
| NAV guardian | The profile that can freeze an attested value and re-anchor it to a reading the NAV provider has posted. See [Roles](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/roles.md). |
| NAV manager | A key allowed to post attested values to a NAV provider, the contract that records them. |
| Previous release | A strategy on an older contract release, kept for its existing backers. |
| Queued deposit | The app's name for a settled deposit. The depositor requests a deposit, then the creator settles it. |
| Release | The contract version a vault was deployed from. See [Contract releases](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/architecture.md#contract-releases). |
| Sentry | The profile that can pause the vault and lower limits. It can never raise anything or unpause. |
| Settle | To fill pending requests at one NAV price. In the app, the creator does this. |
| Shares | The vault's token, a standard ERC-20. Each share represents a part of the vault's NAV. |
| Stale | Too old to trust: a price or value past its freshness limit. A stale NAV pauses settlement. |
| Strategy | What the app calls a Tango vault. |
| Sub-account | A separate contract that holds part of a vault's strategy. See [Sub-accounts](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/sub-accounts.md). |
| Timelock | A waiting period before a change that adds risk can take effect. See [Timelocks](https://docs.tango.fun/vaults/timelocks.md). |
| Tracked sub-account | A sub-account valued onchain from its registered assets and their oracle prices. The app calls it the Onchain Vault Account. |
| Trading wallet | The Hyperliquid account a perps strategy trades from. See [Hyperliquid trading wallets](https://docs.tango.fun/app/venues/hyperliquid-wallets.md). |
| VaultAdmin | The top profile. It holds every role, each behind its timelock. |
| VaultManager | The profile that runs the vault day to day. It settles requests, moves cash, executes actions on sub-accounts and adjusts fees within their ceilings. |