# Controllers

Umbraco contains different types of controllers to perform different tasks:

* [Render MVC Controllers](#render-mvc-controllers)
* [Surface Controllers](#surface-controllers)
* [Public API Controllers](#public-api-controllers)
* [Backoffice API Controllers](#backoffice-api-controllers)

## Render MVC Controllers

When you make a page request to the MVC application, a controller is responsible for returning the response to that request. The controller can perform one or more actions.

By default, all front-end requests to an Umbraco site are auto-routed via the *Index* action of a core Controller: `Umbraco.Cms.Web.Common.Controllers.RenderController`.

For details on using Render MVC Controllers, see the [Controller & Action Selection](https://docs.umbraco.com/umbraco-cms/implementation/default-routing/controller-selection) article.

## Surface Controllers

A SurfaceController is an MVC controller that interacts with the front-end rendering of an UmbracoPage. They can be used for rendering view components and for handling Form data submissions. SurfaceControllers are auto-routed which means you don't have to add/create your own routes for these controllers to work.

All implementations of Surface Controllers inherit from the base class: `Umbraco.Cms.Web.Website.Controllers.SurfaceController`.

For details on using Surface Controllers, see the [Surface Controllers](https://docs.umbraco.com/umbraco-cms/reference/routing/surface-controllers) article.

## Public API Controllers

A public API Controller is an ASP.NET Core API controller that is used for creating publicly available REST services. For details on implementing public API Controllers, see the [Umbraco API Controllers](https://docs.umbraco.com/umbraco-cms/reference/routing/umbraco-api-controllers) article.

## Backoffice API Controllers

For a comprehensive guide to writing APIs for the Management API, read the [Creating a Backoffice API article](https://docs.umbraco.com/umbraco-cms/tutorials/creating-a-backoffice-api).

{% hint style="info" %}
The Umbraco Backoffice API is also known as the Management API. Thus, a Backoffice API Controller is often referred to as a Management API Controller.
{% endhint %}

***

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