Glossary

A list of common terms in the Hyperlane protocol

Agent

Hyperlane Agents are off-chain actors that read and write Hyperlane smart contract state.

Example agents include Validators and Relayers.

Aggregation ISM

The Aggregation ISM is a type of interchain security module that aggregates security from many Interchain security modules (ISMs) by requiring that m of n ISMs verify a particular interchain message.

Checkpoint

A checkpoint is a (merkle root, index) tuple, corresponding to the state of the Mailboxincremental merkle tree at a particular point in time.

Checkpoints signatures by Validators are used in Multisig ISMs.

Collateral chain

For a Warp route, the chain on which the Collateral token is deposited into the warp route. Read more about Warp Routes

Collateral token

For a Warp route, the token which is deposited on the Collateral chain to create a wrapped token on a remote Synthetic chain.

Read more about Warp Routes

Default ISM

The Interchain security module that will be used to verify inbound messages if the message recipient has not specified their own ISM. See Default ISM settings to see the current configurations.

Domain

A unique identifier for a particular chain, used by the Hyperlane protocol to determine message origin and destination. May be the same as the EVM chain ID, but isn't always. See Domain identifiers for a list of known Hyperlane domain IDs.

Interchain accounts (ICA)

A Middleware smart contract that allows users to make interchain smart contract calls. For example, DAOs can use interchain accounts to own contracts on remote chains. See Accounts API for more information.

Interchain gas paymaster

A smart contract deployed by a Relayer that accepts payments on an origin chain for message delivery on destination chains. See Interchain gas payments for more information

Interchain queries (IQS)

A Middleware smart contract that allows users to make interchain view calls. For example, smart contracts can use interchain queries to look up oracle exchange rates or token balances from a remote chain. See Queries API for more information.

Interchain security module

Interchain security modules (ISMs) are smart contracts that provide security to Hyperlane's interchain Messaging API. ISMs are responsible for verifying that interchain messages being delivered on the destination chain were actually sent on the origin chain.

Mailbox

Arguably the most important Hyperlane smart contract, the Mailbox exposes an API that developers can use to Send and Receive interchain messages.

Middleware

A smart contract that sends and receives messages, and exposes a developer facing API. Developers are expected use this API instead of interacting directly with the Mailbox. Example middlewares include Interchain accounts (ICA) and Interchain queries (IQS)

Multisig ISM

The Multisig ISM is a type of Interchain security module that uses m of n Validator signatures in order to verify a particular interchain message.

Relayer

Relayers are Hyperlane Agents responsible for delivering messages from their origin chain(s) to their destination chain(s). Relayers are untrusted, and anyone can operate a relayer.

Routing ISM

The Routing ISM is a type of Interchain security module that defers to a different ISM depending on the message being delivered. For example, a Routing ISM could use a different ISM depending on the origin chain from which the message was sent.

Synthetic chain

For a Warp route, a chain on which wrapped tokens are minted. These wrapped tokens are backed by Collateral tokens that have been locked on the Collateral chain. Read more about Warp Routes

Validator

Validators are Hyperlane Agents responsible for attesting to messages sent from an origin chain. Multisig ISMs use validator signatures to provide security for inbound messages.

Warp route

Warp Routes are Hyperlane's take on the concept of token bridging, allowing you to permissionlessly transfer any ERC20-like asset to any chain via Hyperlane.