The `context` is a data structure intended to be passed from function to function that carries information about the current state of the application. It holds a cached copy of the entire state as well as useful objects and information like `gasMeter`, `block height`, `consensus parameters` and more. {synopsis}
- [Anatomy of an SDK Application](../basics/app-anatomy.md) {prereq}
- [Lifecycle of a Transaction](../basics/tx-lifecycle.md) {prereq}
## Context Definition
The SDK `Context` is a custom data structure that contains Go's stdlib [`context`](https://golang.org/pkg/context) as its base, and has many additional types within its definition that are specific to the Cosmos SDK. he `Context` is integral to transaction processing in that it allows modules to easily access their respective [store](./store.md#base-layer-kvstores) in the [`multistore`](./store.md#multistore) and retrieve transactional context such as the block header and gas meter.
- **Context:** The base type is a Go [Context](https://golang.org/pkg/context), which is explained further in the [Go Context Package](#go-context-package) section below.
- **Multistore:** Every application's `BaseApp` contains a [`CommitMultiStore`](./store.md#multistore) which is provided when a `Context` is created. Calling the `KVStore()` and `TransientStore()` methods allows modules to fetch their respective [`KVStore`](./store.md#base-layer-kvstores) using their unique `StoreKey`.
- **ABCI Header:** The [header](https://tendermint.com/docs/spec/abci/abci.html#header) is an ABCI type. It carries important information about the state of the blockchain, such as block height and proposer of the current block.
- **Chain ID:** The unique identification number of the blockchain a block pertains to.
- **Transaction Bytes:** The `[]byte` representation of a transaction being processed using the context. Every transaction is processed by various parts of the SDK and consensus engine (e.g. Tendermint) throughout its [lifecycle](../basics/tx-lifecycle.md), some of which to not have any understanding of transaction types. Thus, transactions are marshaled into the generic `[]byte` type using some kind of [encoding format](./encoding.md) such as [Amino](./encoding.md).
- **Logger:** A `logger` from the Tendermint libraries. Learn more about logs [here](https://tendermint.com/docs/tendermint-core/how-to-read-logs.html#how-to-read-logs). Modules call this method to create their own unique module-specific logger.
- **VoteInfo:** A list of the ABCI type [`VoteInfo`](https://tendermint.com/docs/spec/abci/abci.html#voteinfo), which includes the name of a validator and a boolean indicating whether they have signed the block.
- **Gas Meters:** Specifically, a [`gasMeter`](../basics/gas-fees.md#main-gas-meter) for the transaction currently being processed using the context and a [`blockGasMeter`](../basics/gas-fees.md#block-gas-meter) for the entire block it belongs to. Users specify how much in fees they wish to pay for the execution of their transaction; these gas meters keep track of how much [gas](../basics/gas-fees.md) has been used in the transaction or block so far. If the gas meter runs out, execution halts.
- **CheckTx Mode:** A boolean value indicating whether a transaction should be processed in `CheckTx` or `DeliverTx` mode.
- **Min Gas Price:** The minimum [gas](../basics/gas-fees.md) price a node is willing to take in order to include a transaction in its block. This price is a local value configured by each node individually, and should therefore **not be used in any functions used in sequences leading to state-transitions**.
- **Consensus Params:** The ABCI type [Consensus Parameters](https://tendermint.com/docs/spec/abci/apps.html#consensus-parameters), which specify certain limits for the blockchain, such as maximum gas for a block.
- **Event Manager:** The event manager allows any caller with access to a `Context` to emit [`Events`](./events.md). Modules may define module specific
`Events` by defining various `Types` and `Attributes` or use the common definitions found in `types/`. Clients can subscribe or query for these `Events`. These `Events` are collected throughout `DeliverTx`, `BeginBlock`, and `EndBlock` and are returned to Tendermint for indexing. For example:
2. The `ctx.ms` is **cache wrapped**, i.e. a cached copy of the [multistore](./store.md#multistore) is made so that the process can make changes to the state as it executes, without changing the original`ctx.ms`. This is useful to protect the underlying multistore in case the changes need to be reverted at some point in the execution.