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A pointed category has a zero object, hence a distinguished zero morphism between every pair of objects.

A pointed set is a set $X$ with a distinguished element $x_0\in X$. A morphism of pointed sets is a function carrying the distinguished element to the distinguished element. The resulting category of pointed sets has every singleton as a zero object.

A category is preadditive if every hom-set is an abelian group and composition is additive in each variable. Zero morphisms and differences of parallel morphisms are therefore defined. A zero object or finite biproducts need not exist; these are extra requirements in an additive category.

A morphism $e:A\to B$ in a pointed category is pseudo-epic when, for every $t:B\to Z$, the equation $te=0$ forces $t=0$. If a categorical cokernel exists, this is equivalent to that cokernel having a zero object as codomain. Indeed all zero composites then factor uniquely through zero; conversely the cokernel itself must be zero, and being both zero and epic forces its codomain to have identity zero, hence be a zero object. Every epimorphism is pseudo-epic. In a preadditive category, subtraction shows the converse: $ue=ve$ implies $(u-v)e=0$, hence $u=v$. In a general pointed category no subtraction is available.

In a pointed category, the zero morphism $0_{A,B}:A\to B$ is the composite through its zero object. Composition on either side by any morphism remains zero. In a commutative-monoid enrichment on a pointed category, the additive zero must coincide with this zero morphism: morphisms to and from the zero object belong to singleton hom-sets.