Glossary
A collection of terms and their definitions
A
- Account abstraction
- A mechanism that enables users to manage smart contract accounts containing arbitrary verification logic.
- Advanced Permissions
- Fine-grained, customizable transaction capabilities that dapps can request from MetaMask extension users.
B
- Bundler
- A service that collects user operations from smart accounts, packages them, and submits them to the network.
C
- Caveat
- A restriction attached to a delegation that limits how delegated authority can be used.
- Caveat enforcer
- A smart contract that enforces delegation rules by validating caveat conditions during redemption hooks.
D
- Delegate account
- The account that receives delegated authority and can redeem a delegation under its constraints.
- Delegation
- The ability for a MetaMask smart account to authorize another account to perform specific executions on its behalf.
- Delegation Framework
- A set of audited smart contracts that handle smart account creation, the delegation lifecycle, and caveat enforcement.
- Delegation manager
- The component that validates and redeems delegations, including signature checks and caveat-enforcer hooks.
- Delegation scope
- A predefined authority pattern that sets the initial actions a delegate is allowed to perform.
- Delegator account
- The account that creates and signs a delegation to grant limited authority to another account.
E
- EIP-7702 smart account
- A stateless MetaMask smart account implementation that represents an upgraded EOA.
- EOA (Externally owned account)
- A private-key-controlled account with no built-in programmable execution logic.
H
- Hybrid smart account
- A smart account implementation that supports both an EOA owner and passkey signers.
M
- MetaMask smart account
- A smart contract account that supports programmable behavior, delegated permissions, flexible signing options, and other advanced features.
- Multisig smart account
- A smart account that requires signatures from multiple configured signers to satisfy a threshold.
O
- Open delegation
- A delegation that leaves the delegate unspecified, allowing any account to redeem it.
- Open redelegation
- A redelegation with no specific delegate, allowing any account to redeem inherited permissions.
P
- Passkey
- A cryptographic key that can be used to sign transactions instead of a private key.
- Public Client
- An interface used to fetch blockchain state, read from smart contracts, and monitor transactions.
R
- Redelegation
- A delegation created by a delegate to pass on a subset of authority they previously received.
- Root delegation
- The first delegation in a chain, where an account delegates its own authority directly.
S
- Signer
- An account that can sign transactions for a smart account.
- Smart Accounts Kit
- Toolkit for creating, managing, and interacting with MetaMask Smart Accounts, delegations, and Advanced Permissions.
U
- User operation
- A signed instruction package that tells a smart account what executions to perform.
W
- Wallet Client
- An interface for interacting with blockchain accounts, executing transactions, and signing messages.