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An isomorphism of categories is a functor with a strictly inverse functor. It is equivalently bijective on objects and on each hom-set. An equivalence of categories only requires inverse composites up to invertible natural transformations. For example, the category of partial functions and the category of pointed sets are equivalent but their actual object collections prevent an isomorphism: the former has one zero object, the empty set, while the latter has distinct singleton pointed set objects that are all zero objects.

A left Kan extension is left adjoint to precomposition, when it exists; a Right Kan extension is right adjoint. For small indexing categories and set-valued functors, both exist by comma-category colimit and limit formulas. These two adjoints give the essential geometric morphism induced by a functor between presheaf indexing categories.

For an additive right-exact functor on module categories, apply it to a projective resolution and take homology. Lifts of module maps exist by projectivity; any two lifts are chain homotopic, giving independence and functoriality. The zeroth derived functor is naturally $F$, positive degrees vanish on projective modules, and the horseshoe lemma produces a long exact homology sequence from each short exact sequence. A Tor functor is the left derived functor of a tensor product of modules functor.

For a right-exact additive functor out of an abelian category with enough projectives, apply the functor to a projective resolution and take homology objects. The zeroth derived functor is $F$, positive derived functors vanish on projective objects, and the degreewise split horseshoe lemma produces a long exact sequence from every short exact sequence in an abelian category. The target can be any abelian category, including an opposite category of one.

For small categories and a set-valued functor $Q$, each displayed colimit exists in the Category of sets. A representative $(c,u:Fc\to d,x\in Qc)$ maps under a natural transformation $\eta :Q\to GF$ to $G(u){\eta }_c(x)$. The colimit identifications make this well-defined, proving the adjunction between left Kan extension and precomposition.

A functor creates categorical limits of a specified shape when every given limiting categorical cone over an image diagram uniquely lifts to a categorical cone over the original diagram, and the lift is limiting. This is stronger than just being a limit-reflecting functor. Forgetting arrows from a functor category creates its pointwise limits in a functor category.

A functor $G:\mathcal{C}\to \mathcal{D}$ from a locally small category that is complete and well-powered, with a small cogenerating family, to a locally small category has a left adjoint exactly when it preserves small categorical limits. For sufficiency, the cogenerator bound for comma-category solution sets produces a weakly initial set in each complete comma category $(B\downarrow G)$. The initial-object lemma for complete categories with a weakly initial set supplies its initial object, a universal arrow from an object to a functor. Necessity is limit preservation by a right adjoint.

For a specified diagram shape, a functor reflects categorical limits when a cone over a diagram is limiting whenever its image is limiting. This condition tests an existing categorical cone. It does not assert that every limiting categorical cone in the codomain has a lift.

For a limit-preserving functor $U$ and an arrow $d:D\to UC$, a supported subobject is $m:M\hookrightarrow C$ through which $d$ factors after applying $U$. In a complete well-powered domain, their intersection remains supported. At the resulting pair $(C_0,d_0)$, every supported subobject of $C_0$ is invertible. This minimality makes $q\mapsto U(q)d_0$ injective on morphisms to each cogenerator.

For the nested partial unary operation category tower, each one-step forgetful functor is a monadic adjunction right adjoint: it reflects isomorphisms and creates its split coequalizers. The Beck monadicity theorem identifies the first Eilenberg-Moore category with the next category in the tower. A long composite has that same first monad because free extension of nested partial unary operations leaves no new top fixed points. Repeating the comparison forgets one fewer operation at each step. The remaining forgetful functor is not full until no operation remains to forget, giving monadic length $m-n$.

A morphism of monads on one category is a natural transformation $\alpha :S\Rightarrow T$ with $\alpha {\eta }^S={\eta }^T$ and $\alpha {\mu }^S={\mu }^T(T\alpha )(\alpha S)$. These equations preserve the unit and multiplication. A terminal endofunctor in a full composition-closed subcategory containing the identity receives a unique such morphism from every monad whose functor belongs to that subcategory.

A categorical morphism is an arrow with a specified source and target in a category. An arrow $f:A\to B$ composes with $g:B\to C$ to give $gf:A\to C$. Composition is associative, and every object has an identity arrow acting as a unit. A functor preserves the sources, targets, identities and compositions of these arrows. In a locally small category, the arrows between fixed objects form a hom-set.

A natural bijection between set-valued functors is a natural transformation whose component functions are bijections. Their inverse functions are automatically natural, so it is a natural isomorphism.

For a natural transformation $\theta :F\Rightarrow G$, naturality is the equation $G(f){\theta }_A={\theta }_{B}F(f)$ for each morphism $f:A\to B$. Thus transforming and then applying a functor gives the same result as applying that functor and then transforming. It makes the component maps a coherent transformation of functors.

A natural transformation between functors $F,G:\mathcal{C}\to \mathcal{D}$ assigns a categorical morphism ${\alpha }_A:F(A)\to G(A)$ to every object of a category $A$, withThis naturality condition says that transforming the input before transporting it gives the same result as transporting it first and transforming the output. It constrains the whole family of arrows, so unrelated choices of a map for each object generally fail it.

For a concrete example, compare the functor that leaves every set and function unchanged with the power set functor using images of subsets. The maps ${\eta }_X:X\to \mathcal{P}(X)$ given by $x\mapsto \{x\}$ form a natural transformation: for any function $f:X\to Y$,The right-hand panel of the category illustration checks the square at $x=3$ with $f(x)=x+1$: both routes end at $\{4\}$. The statement works for every function, rather than depending on a preferred labeling of a particular set.