Recall that the definition of the $K$-theory of an object C (e.g., a ring or a space) has the following pattern. One first associates to the object C a category A_C that has a suitable structure (exact, Waldhausen, symmetric monoidal, ...). One then applies to the category A_C a $K$-theory machine, which provides an infinite loop space that is the $K$-theory K(C) of the object C. We study the first step of this process. What are the kinds of objects to be studied via $K$-theory? Given these types of objects, what structured categories should one associate to an object to obtain $K$-theoretic information about it? And how should the morphisms of these objects interact with this correspondence? We propose a unified, conceptual framework for a number of important examples of objects studied in $K$-theory. The structured categories associated to an object C are typically categories of modules in a monoidal (op-)fibred category. The modules considered are locally trivial with respect to a given class of trivial modules and a given Grothendieck topology on the object Cs category.
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