BIPs¶
Bitcoin Improvement Proposals are published technical documents. They describe specifications, processes, implementation guidance, or information relevant to Bitcoin. Publication makes a proposal reviewable and citable; it does not make the proposal consensus or require software to adopt it.
BIP 3 process¶
BIP 3 replaced BIP 2 as the deployed process. Authors first research and discuss an idea, normally on the Bitcoin Development Mailing List. A mature, on-topic document that meets formatting and editorial criteria can receive a number from a BIP editor and enter the repository as Draft.
Authors own and advance the proposal. Editors administer the publication process and are expected not to decide adoption for the community. BIP 3 states directly that the repository neither tracks community sentiment nor decides what Bitcoin is.
Types and status¶
Specification BIPs describe interfaces, consensus changes, peer services, or application standards. Informational BIPs document design or guidance. Process BIPs describe coordination procedures.
Under BIP 3, Draft work can progress to Complete when authors consider it ready for adoption and required implementations or test vectors exist. Deployed indicates evidence of active use or activation. Closed preserves proposals no longer advancing or used. A status records document maturity and observed deployment, not binding authority.
Reading a BIP critically¶
Check version, status, layer, dependencies, reference implementation, test vectors, and activation conditions. Then inspect actual software support. A wallet-format BIP can be widely used without affecting consensus. A consensus BIP can have polished text and no active implementation. A deployed feature may have later clarifications or interacting BIPs.
The number is an identifier, not a quality ranking. Competing designs can have separate numbers. Rejected or closed documents remain useful records of tradeoffs and prior discussion.
Further reading¶
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