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# Transactions & Transfers

Transactions and transfers are the two most common resources in the Tempo API, and they are easy to confuse. They describe different things: a **transaction** is what a user submits to the chain, while a **transfer** is a token movement that results from executing one.

:::info
**Transactions vs. transfers** — a transaction is what a user *submits*; transfers are what *happens* when it executes. One transaction can produce zero, one, or many token transfers. Use [`/v1/transactions`](/api/transactions) to inspect submitted transactions and their outcomes, and [`/v1/transfers`](/api/transfers) to list the token movements that resulted.
:::

## The model

* A **transaction** is what a user submits to Tempo: a signed envelope that moves value or calls a contract. It may produce zero, one, or many token transfers. Query [`/v1/transfers`](/api/transfers) to list the token movements it caused.
* A **transfer** is an effect of transaction execution: a TIP-20 token moved from one account to another. Multiple transfers can come from a single transaction, and some transactions produce no transfers at all.

A transaction that calls a contract might emit several transfers (for example, a swap that moves tokens in and out), exactly one (a simple payment), or none (a contract call that updates state without moving tokens). Each transfer carries the `transactionHash` of the transaction that produced it, so you can always trace a movement back to the transaction that caused it.

```text
╭───────────────────────╮      produces 0..N       ╭───────────────────────╮
│      Transaction      │ ───────────────────────▶ │       Transfer        │
│ (what a user submits) │                          │ (observed token move) │
╰───────────────────────╯                          ╰───────────────────────╯
                                                               │
                                                               │ transactionHash
                                                               ▼
                                                  resolves back to its transaction
```

## When to use which

| | Transaction | Transfer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **What it is** | Something a user submits to the chain | A token movement caused by execution |
| **Cardinality** | One per submission | Zero, one, or many per transaction |
| **Endpoint** | [`/v1/transactions`](/api/transactions) | [`/v1/transfers`](/api/transfers) |
| **Use it for** | Inspecting submitted transactions, fees, and status | Tracking who received which tokens, and reconciling balances |
| **Key link** | Its hash appears on every transfer it produced | `transactionHash` points back to its transaction |