# Etching, Minting, Transferring ## Etching Etching is the process of creating a Rune, setting immutable properties like name, divisibility, symbol, and premine/terms Once defined, properties are immutable Runes are identified by a unique ID derived from their etching block and transaction index ## Minting Minting creates units of a the Rune according to the etching terms, such as cap, amount, and block limits During minting, anyone may create a transaction to create new Rune units following the specified mint terms ## Transferring Runes are transferred via transaction outputs, with specific rules governing the output called Edicts Runestones can contain any number of Edicts Edicts direct how runes are allocated, being processed in specific order. Additional mechanisms for burning runes are included in the transaction via Edict or Pointer ## Cenotaphs Invalid Runestones (transactions) are called Cenotaphs Runes are effectively burned if the input is a Cenotaph. This harsh penalty underscores the importance of precision in transaction construction and encourages careful management of Rune-containing UTXOs {% hint style="danger" %} Utilizing the official Ordinal Theory implementation significantly reduces the risk of encountering a cenotaph, essentially a transaction error leading to the burning of Runes. {% endhint %} --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://runemine.gitbook.io/runemine/runes/etching-minting-transferring.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.