> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.teleportdao.xyz/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.teleportdao.xyz/light-client-protocol/protocol-overview.md).
# Protocol overview
TeleportDAO is a light-client bridge protocol that connects the source chain to the target chain in a secure and trustless manner. The main components of the protocol are the Relay contract and Relayer nodes. Relayer nodes submit source chain data to the Relay contract, which lives on the target chain. The Relay contract then verifies the validity of the submitted data against the consensus rules of the source chain. Invalid data is rejected by the Relay, while valid data is stored by it.
An overview of how Relay and Relayer work together
The Relay contract rewards Relayers who submit valid data from the source chain. This incentivizes Relayers to provide valid source chain data promptly after its inclusion on the source chain. Additionally, this discourages Relayers from submitting invalid data, as their data will eventually be rejected by the Relay contract, resulting in no reward and only loss of transaction fees.
Users and applications on the target chain can utilize the Relay to verify the inclusion of certain data on the source chain, such as user balances, smart contract states, included transactions, block timestamps, etc. Furthermore, an application on the source chain can send messages to an application on the target chain. A user can notify the target chain application of this message, where the target application can verify the message's validity using the Relay contract.
To utilize the Relay, users need to pay a bridging fee, which is collected by the bridge. This fee is then distributed among Relayer nodes who provided valid data beforehand. As the number of Relay users increases, the cost of using the Relay decreases for users.
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