> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.sail.money/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.sail.money/sailor/concepts/on-chain-off-chain.md).

# On-chain vs off-chain

The single most important line to internalize when operating with Sailor:

> **All financial bounds are enforced on-chain. Cadence and orchestration are off-chain, operator-side concerns.**

## What the chain enforces

The kernel evaluates the named [permission](/protocol/permissions.md) on **every** dispatch. Anything a permission checks — allowed venues, token allowlists, per-transaction amount caps, slippage bounds, recipients, LTV — is enforced on-chain, fail-closed, before any state change. No off-chain bug in Sailor can cause a dispatch that the registered permissions don't allow. If your agent tries to do something outside the mandate, the kernel reverts it.

This is why the mandate is the security boundary: once it's signed, the agent can run autonomously, because the *worst* it can do is bounded by contracts you approved.

## What the operator controls off-chain

Sailor (and your agent code) controls everything the chain does **not** decide:

* **Cadence** — how often the agent ticks (`sailor run` schedule, the GitHub Actions cron). The chain doesn't know or care how frequently you dispatch.
* **Which allowed action to take, and when** — your `tick()` decides *whether* to swap today; the permission decides whether a swap is *allowed at all*.
* **Inputs and data** — price feeds, signals, and any data your strategy reads. Sailor bakes in no third-party data; you supply your own (see [the Agent interface](/sailor/sdk/agent.md)).
* **Submission** — gas, nonces, relaying. Authority comes from the manager's signature, not the submitter, so a relayer can submit.

## A concrete example

Suppose you want an agent that dollar-cost-averages USDC into WETH, at most 100 USDC per trade, once a day, only on Uniswap V3.

* **On-chain (the permission):** router = Uniswap V3, `tokenIn = USDC`, `tokenOut = WETH`, `maxAmountPerTx = 100e6`, recipient = the SMA. The kernel enforces these on every dispatch.
* **Off-chain (your agent):** "once a day," "buy when my signal says so," "skip if balance is low." None of this is the kernel's concern — it's your `tick()` logic and your `sailor run` schedule.

If a bug makes your agent try to buy 1,000 USDC or swap on the wrong router, the permission returns false and the dispatch reverts. The cap is real because it's on-chain; the schedule is best-effort because it's off-chain.

Keep this split in mind when designing: **put every rule that protects capital into a permission**, and leave only timing and selection to the agent.


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.sail.money/sailor/concepts/on-chain-off-chain.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.