https://en.bitcoin.it/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=MiniscriptMiniscript - Revision history2026-09-12T17:31:10ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.9https://en.bitcoin.it/w/index.php?title=Miniscript&diff=71276&oldid=prevNotATether: Create Miniscript stub (structured Script / descriptors)2026-09-12T04:50:31Z<p>Create Miniscript stub (structured Script / descriptors)</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>'''Miniscript''' is a language for writing a structured subset of Bitcoin [[Script]]. A Miniscript expression compiles to Script, can be analyzed for correctness, size, and satisfaction, and can be composed from smaller expressions. It is used with output descriptors, typically inside <code>wsh()</code> or <code>tr()</code>, so wallets can import a spending policy rather than a raw script hex blob.<br />
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Arbitrary Script is hard to analyze: it is not obvious whether a script is spendable, whether two scripts encode the same policy, what witness is required, or whether a proposed satisfaction is minimal. Wallets that implement multisignature or timelocked recovery therefore tend to hard-code a few templates. Pieter Wuille, Andrew Poelstra, and Sanket Kanjalkar designed Miniscript as a composition-friendly representation of the Script subset used for spending policies. A higher-level ''policy'' language describes thresholds, keys, hashes, and timelocks; Miniscript itself is closer to Script and carries type information for correct compilation.<br />
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A policy such as “two of these three keys, or one key after a relative delay” is written in a functional notation and compiled to Miniscript, then to Script. Fragments include <code>pk_k</code>, <code>pk_h</code>, <code>older</code>, <code>after</code>, <code>sha256</code>, <code>hash256</code>, <code>and_v</code>, <code>or_b</code>, <code>thresh</code>, and others. Each fragment has a type and properties that describe malleability, whether it can be satisfied without a signature, and how large the script and witness will be. Type checking rejects compositions that leave the stack wrong or that are malleable under standard rules. Given available secrets, a satisfier can construct a witness. These properties let a wallet predict fees, detect incomplete [[PSBT]]s, and refuse a satisfaction another party could later mutate.<br />
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Miniscript does not cover every Script opcode. It targets standard P2WSH and Tapscript spending under [[Segregated Witness]] and [[Taproot]]. Some valid scripts have no Miniscript form. Compilers try to choose a small, non-malleable representation. In descriptors, Miniscript appears as the argument to <code>wsh()</code> or as leaves of <code>tr()</code>, with key expressions following BIP380 (including origin fingerprints and BIP32 paths). A descriptor checksum covers the whole string so a policy can be backed up as text.<br />
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== See also ==<br />
* [[Script]]<br />
* [[Taproot]]<br />
* [[Segregated Witness]]<br />
* [[PSBT]]<br />
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== External links ==<br />
* [https://bitcoin.sipa.be/miniscript/ Miniscript reference]<br />
* [https://bitcoinops.org/en/topics/miniscript/ Bitcoin Optech: Miniscript]<br />
* [https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0380.mediawiki BIP380: Output Script Descriptors General Operation]<br />
* [https://github.com/rust-bitcoin/rust-miniscript rust-miniscript]<br />
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[[Category:Technical]]</div>NotATether