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

# Architecture overview

> A high-level look at the Neuro platform architecture

At a high level, Neuro can be understood as a stack of interoperable layers. The platform is not just an API surface — it combines interaction, trust, persistence, and value transfer into one cohesive model. The Neuron hosts the Neuro-Ledger and supports digital identities, smart contracts, tokenization, and programmable payments — all as first-class capabilities.

<Note>
  For a visual representation of these layers and how clients connect, see the [Platform diagram](/overview/platform-diagram).
</Note>

## 1. The Neuron: interaction across domains

The Neuron is the interaction layer. It provides the federated runtime where users, systems, and services communicate and interact across domains. This is where identity-aware messaging, contract access, and service interaction begin.

## 2. Legal identities and smart contracts: trusted business objects

On top of the interaction layer, the platform uses legal identities and smart contracts to represent parties, permissions, approvals, obligations, and ownership. These contracts are structured digital agreements with human-readable and machine-readable content, roles, lifecycle rules, signatures, and auditability.

## 3. Neuro-Ledger: auditable persistence

The Neuro-Ledger is the platform's distributed audit and persistence layer. It is designed as an alternative to traditional blockchain-based ledgers — federated, distributed, and built for privacy-aware, auditable systems. It avoids dependence on proof-of-work and does not require a single global chain.

## 4. Payments and tokenized assets: value transfer on top

On top of the Neuron and Neuro-Ledger, the platform supports payments and tokenized assets. e-Daler is a federated instant payment mechanism. Neuro-Features are digital instruments that can represent NFTs, asset-backed tokens, and other ownership models. Both are tied to smart contracts, lifecycle rules, ownership, and auditable events.

## The architecture in one sentence

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Neuron" icon="network-wired">
    Interaction and federation
  </Card>

  <Card title="Legal identities + smart contracts" icon="file-signature">
    Trustable agreements and permissions
  </Card>

  <Card title="Neuro-Ledger" icon="database">
    Audit and persistence
  </Card>

  <Card title="Payments + tokens" icon="coins">
    Value transfer and digital assets
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Where this architecture has been applied

This architecture has been applied across several domains:

| Domain                  | What the platform enables                                                                              |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Healthcare**          | Interoperable medical records across providers, with consent-based access and auditable history        |
| **Smart cities**        | Tokenization of sustainable real estate, linking ownership and ESG metrics to auditable ledger records |
| **IoT**                 | Harmonized communication across devices and manufacturers using federated XMPP-based interaction       |
| **Threat intelligence** | Open sharing of threat data across organizations without centralized control                           |
| **Sustainability**      | Ledger-backed sustainability reporting with traceable, verifiable data                                 |

All of these rely on the same layered model — the Neuron for interaction, legal identities and contracts for trust, Neuro-Ledger for auditability, and tokens or payments for value transfer.

See the [Platform diagram](/overview/platform-diagram) for a visual representation of the stack and the federated network.