> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ensemble.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ensemble.io/reference/glossary.md).

# Glossary

Definitions of the accounting, strategy, routing, and data terms in these docs.

These are the terms used in the vault guides. Start with the market and share definitions, then use the unit definitions when interpreting your position and fees.

## Market and strategy

These terms explain which price movements a strategy is designed to benefit from.

| Term             | Meaning                                                                                           |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Long             | A position designed to gain when the asset price rises and lose when it falls                     |
| Short            | A position designed to gain when the asset price falls and lose when it rises                     |
| Leverage         | Exposure relative to the capital supporting the strategy; it increases sensitivity to price moves |
| Notional         | Dollar value of a trading position or trade, rather than the collateral posted for it             |
| Perpetual future | A derivative with no expiry that gives price exposure without holding the underlying asset        |
| Basket           | Assets and target weights used by a strategy                                                      |
| Target exposure  | Intended notional exposure relative to the vault's net asset value                                |
| Drift            | Difference between observed positions and target exposure                                         |
| Cash buffer      | USDC intended to remain on HyperEVM for withdrawals and operations                                |
| Rebalance        | A maintenance action that moves positions toward their targets                                    |
| Funding          | Periodic payments between long and short perpetual positions that affect holding costs            |
| Slippage         | Difference between an execution price and a stated reference price                                |

## Shares and value

These terms explain how deposits become shares and how their value changes.

| Term          | Meaning                                                                                             |
| ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| USDC          | The 6-decimal token used for Ensemble deposits and withdrawal proceeds                              |
| Assets        | USDC amount entering or leaving a vault transaction                                                 |
| Shares        | 18-decimal units representing a proportional interest in the vault                                  |
| NAV           | Net asset value attributed to shareholders after the contract's recognized costs and reserves       |
| NAV per share | Contract price for one whole share, including fixed accounting offsets and integer rounding         |
| Preview       | Estimate of the assets or shares a transaction would return under the observed state                |
| Capacity      | Maximum amount allowed now by the relevant contract checks; it can be lower than a value estimate   |
| Builder fee   | Ensemble's additional contract-based fee on observed executed notional, separate from exchange fees |

## Networks and contracts

These names identify where accounting, trading, and transaction checks happen.

| Term           | Meaning                                                                                        |
| -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| HyperEVM       | The environment that runs Ensemble's EVM vault contracts                                       |
| HyperCore      | Hyperliquid's trading environment, where the vault's perpetual positions are held and executed |
| HYPE           | The native token used to pay HyperEVM network gas fees                                         |
| CircuitBreaker | Contract that enforces deposit and redemption policy, including for direct vault calls         |
| VaultLens      | Read-only contract that groups vault state, configuration, estimates, and capacity             |
| VaultAdmin     | Owner-controlled contract for vault settings and recovery actions                              |
| Proxy          | Contract address whose calls use a replaceable implementation                                  |
| Keeper         | Caller that requests eligible maintenance; ordinary maintenance is permissionless              |
| Precompile     | Built-in call used by contracts to read HyperCore state                                        |
| CoreWriter     | System contract used to request actions on HyperCore                                           |
| Conduit        | Explicitly configured contract allowed to route a transaction for an account                   |

## Limits and state

Limits restrict amounts; state determines which operations are eligible.

| Term                    | Meaning                                                                                              |
| ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Hard maximum            | Maximum amount in a single transaction                                                               |
| Rolling cap             | Limit whose usage counts the current and previous configured time bucket                             |
| Deposit window or epoch | A resetting vault deposit-cap period, not a deposit or withdrawal settlement queue                   |
| Pending                 | A submitted maintenance action awaiting confirmation or resolution                                   |
| Standard account mode   | Confirmed HyperCore mode with separate spot and perpetual ledgers under the vault's accounting rules |
| Emergency withdrawal    | One-time full-balance claim after permanent emergency recovery and explicit enablement               |

## Numbers in contract calls

Contracts use integers. Convert units before comparing amounts or displaying percentages.

| Term                       | Meaning                                                       |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Micro-USDC                 | One millionth of a USDC; `1_000_000` units represent one USDC |
| Basis point or BPS         | One hundredth of a percentage point; 10 BPS equals 0.1%       |
| Decibasis point or decibps | One tenth of a basis point; 100 decibps equals 0.1%           |
| WAD                        | Scaling by `10^18`; a WAD rate of `10^15` represents 0.1%     |

## Data and reporting

A current balance, a historical chart, and an estimate answer different questions.

| Term                 | Meaning                                                                             |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Contract authority   | The contract state and rules that determine an accounting or transaction result     |
| Read model           | Indexed or aggregated data prepared for queries and display                         |
| Tracking residual    | Actual vault return minus the stated benchmark return, on the same percentage basis |
| Attribution coverage | Portion of observed fills linked to a supported trade intent and reference price    |
| Observation time     | When the state or data behind a reported value was read                             |

See [System architecture](/how-it-works/system-architecture.md), [Sources of truth](/data-and-transparency/sources-of-truth.md), and [HyperEVM developer documentation](https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/for-developers/hyperevm).