> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.inco.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Concepts Introduction

> Introduction to confidential computation concepts on Solana

# Concepts Introduction

Inco Lightning provides encrypted computation primitives for Solana programs. It enables confidential smart contracts where sensitive data remains encrypted throughout computation. The covalidator network processes encrypted operations off-chain while maintaining cryptographic guarantees.

## Key Benefits

| Benefit           | Description                                                   |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Privacy**       | Values remain encrypted on-chain                              |
| **Composability** | Programs can perform arithmetic and logic on encrypted values |
| **Verification**  | Results can be decrypted with cryptographic attestation       |

## How It Works

1. **Client encrypts data** using the covalidator's public key
2. **Program receives ciphertext** and creates an encrypted handle via CPI
3. **Operations execute** on encrypted values through the Inco Lightning program
4. **Results are handles** - 128-bit references to encrypted values stored off-chain
5. **Authorized parties** can request attested decryption

## Core Concepts

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Handles" icon="key" href="/svm/guide/handles">
    Understanding encrypted value references
  </Card>

  <Card title="Inputs" icon="arrow-right-to-bracket" href="/svm/guide/input">
    Creating encrypted values from ciphertext
  </Card>

  <Card title="Operations" icon="calculator" href="/svm/guide/operations">
    Arithmetic and comparison on encrypted data
  </Card>

  <Card title="Random Numbers" icon="dice" href="/svm/guide/random">
    Generate encrypted random values
  </Card>

  <Card title="Control Flow" icon="code-branch" href="/svm/guide/control-flow">
    Conditional logic with e\_select
  </Card>

  <Card title="Access Control" icon="lock" href="/svm/guide/access-control">
    Managing decryption permissions
  </Card>

  <Card title="Decryption" icon="unlock" href="/svm/guide/decryption">
    Decryption and attestation verification
  </Card>
</CardGroup>