> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://shinkalabs.gitbook.io/hub/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://shinkalabs.gitbook.io/hub/andromeda/how-it-works.md).

# How it works

Andromeda sits between your application and two cryptographic networks on Solana. You only ever talk to the Andromeda API.

```
   Your application
   REST  /  MCP  /  Webhooks
          |
          |  X-Api-Key
          v
   +-------------------------------+
   |        Andromeda API          |
   |  auth, quotas, idempotency,   |
   |  MCP server, webhooks, audit, |
   |  auto-batching, gas sponsor   |
   +---------------+---------------+
                   |
        +----------+-----------+
        v                      v
   MPC engine             FHE engine
   (Ika 2PC-MPC)          (Encrypt)
        |                      |
        v                      v
   Ika validator          Encrypt network
     network              (Solana devnet)

   Solana devnet
   8 Quasar policy programs hold the dWallet authority
   and validate every signature via runtime precompiles
```

## The pieces

* **The Andromeda API.** A single HTTPS surface. It authenticates you with an API key, enforces quotas, runs the MCP server, signs Solana transactions as a gas sponsor where needed, fans out webhooks, records the audit log, and forwards your request to whichever engine handles it. Public endpoints (`/capabilities`, `/openapi.json`, `/v1/pricing`) need no key.
* **The MPC engine (Ika).** Performs threshold key generation and signing. A dWallet's key material is split; signing is a protocol, not a stored secret. The engine returns raw signatures. See [dWallets & 2PC-MPC](/hub/andromeda/concepts/dwallets.md).
* **The FHE engine (Encrypt).** Evaluates computations over encrypted data. Used directly for confidential primitives and as the gate in [Confidential workflows](/hub/andromeda/guides/confidential-workflows.md). See [Confidential computing (FHE)](/hub/andromeda/concepts/fhe.md).
* **The on-chain programs.** Eight Quasar programs on Solana devnet. They hold the signing authority of a dWallet and enforce policy. Every approval they emit is validated by a Solana runtime precompile, so the API cannot forge it. See [On-chain programs](/hub/andromeda/on-chain-programs/overview.md).

## The request shape

Most write operations follow a two-step pattern so a private key never leaves the client:

1. You call a `.../prepare` (or `.../challenge`) endpoint. Andromeda returns either an unsigned transaction (base64) or a 32-byte challenge.
2. You sign locally, then call `.../submit` with the signature. Andromeda assembles the final transaction (often paying the gas itself) and broadcasts it.

Read operations are plain `GET`s. See [Custody-free model](/hub/andromeda/concepts/custody-free.md) and [Wallet-agnostic & challenge auth](/hub/andromeda/concepts/wallet-agnostic.md) for why it works this way.

## What runs where

You never address the engines directly. They sit on a private network behind the Andromeda API. From your side there is one base URL, one auth header, and one consistent set of conventions documented in the [API reference](/hub/andromeda/api-reference/overview.md).


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