Protocol documentation

Sources:

• Original Bitcoin client source
• Draft spec on bitcoin wiki

Type names used in this documentation are from the C99 standard.

Common standards

Hashes

Usually, when a hash is computed within bitcoin, it is computed twice. Most of the time SHA-256 hashes are used, however RIPEMD-160 is also used when a shorter hash is desireable (for example when creating a bitcoin address).

Example of double-SHA-256 encoding of string "hello":

hello
2cf24dba5fb0a30e26e83b2ac5b9e29e1b161e5c1fa7425e73043362938b9824 (first round of sha-256)
9595c9df90075148eb06860365df33584b75bff782a510c6cd4883a419833d50 (second round of sha-256)

For bitcoin addresses (RIPEMD-160) this would give:

hello
2cf24dba5fb0a30e26e83b2ac5b9e29e1b161e5c1fa7425e73043362938b9824 (first round is sha-256)
b6a9c8c230722b7c748331a8b450f05566dc7d0f (with ripemd-160)

Signatures

Bitcoin uses Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) to sign transactions.

For ECDSA the secp256k1 curve from http://www.secg.org/collateral/sec2_final.pdf is used. Public keys (in scripts) are given as 04 <x> <y> where x and y are 32 byte strings representing the coordinates of a point on the curve.

Transaction Verification

The first transaction of a block is usually the generating transaction, which do not include any "in" transaction, and generate bitcoins (from fees for example) usually received by whoever solved the block containing this transaction. Such transactions are called a "coinbase transaction" and are accepted by bitcoin clients without any need to execute scripts, provided there is only one per block.

If a transaction is not a coinbase, it references previous transaction hashes as input, and the index of the other transaction's output used as input for this transaction. The script from the in part of this transaction is executed. Then the script from the out part of the referenced transaction is executed. It is considered valid if the top element of the stack is true.

Addresses

A bitcoin address is in fact the hash of a ECDSA public key, computed this way:

Version = 1 byte of 0 (zero); on the test network, this is 1 byte of 111
Key hash = Version concatenated with RIPEMD-160(SHA-256(public key))
Checksum = 1st 4 bytes of SHA-256(SHA-256(Key hash))
Bitcoin Address = Base58Encode(Key hash concatenated with Checksum)

The Base58 encoding used is home made, and has some differences. Especially, leading zeroes are kept as single zeroes when conversion happens.

Common structures

Almost all integers are encoded in little endian. Only IP or port number are encoded big endian.

Message structure

Field Size	Description	Data type	Comments
4	magic	uint32_t	Magic value indicating message origin network, and used to seek to next message when stream state is unknown
12	command	char[12]	ASCII string identifying the packet content, NULL padded (non-NULL padding results in packet rejected)
4	length	uint32_t	Length of payload
4	checksum	uint32_t	First 4 bytes of sha256(sha256(payload))
?	payload	char[]	The actual data (can be empty, in which case checksum is excluded, and length is set to 0

Known magic values:

Network	Magic value
main	F9BEB4D9
testnet	FABFB5DA

Variable length integer

Integer can be encoded depending on the represented value to save space.

Value	Storage length	Format
< 0xfd	1	uint8_t
<= 0xffff	3	0xfd + uint16_t
<= 0xffffffff	5	0xfe + uint32_t
-	9	0xff + uint64_t

Variable length string

Variable length string can be stored using a variable length integer followed by the string itself.

Field Size	Description	Data type	Comments
?	length	var_int	Length of the string
?	string	char[]	The string itself (can be empty)

Network address

When a network address is needed somewhere, this structure is used. This protocol and structure supports IPv6, but note that the official client currently only supports IPv4.

Field Size	Description	Data type	Comments
8	services	uint64_t	same service(s) listed in version?
16	IPv6/4	char[16]	IPv6 address. Network byte order. The official client only supports IPv4 and uses the last 4 bytes as the IPv4 address. However, the official client writes the IPv4 address into the message as a 16 byte IPv4-mapped IPv6 address (12 bytes 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 FF FF, followed by the 4 bytes of the IPv4 address).
2	port	uint16_t	port number, network byte order

Hexdump example of Network address structure

0000   01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
0010   00 00 FF FF 0A 00 00 01  20 8D                    ........ .

Name	Value	Description
Services	01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00	NODE_NETWORK? (see services listed in version)
IP Address	00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 FF FF 0A 00 00 01	10.0.0.1 (or ::ffff:10.0.0.1 as an IPv4-mapped IPv6 address) When reading the message containing an address structure, the official client ignores first 12 bytes and uses last 4 bytes as IPv4 address.
Port	20 8D	8333

Inventory Vectors

Inventory vectors are used for notifying other nodes about objects they have or data which is being requested.

Inventory vectors consist of the following data format:

Field Size	Description	Data type	Comments
4	type	uint32_t	Identifies the object type linked to this inventory
32	hash	char[32]	Hash of the object

The object type is currently defined as one of the following possibilities:

Value	Name	Description
0	ERROR	Any data of with this number may be ignored
1	MSG_TX	Hash is related to a transaction
2	MSG_BLOCK	Hash is related to a data block

Other Data Type values are considered reserved for future implementations.

Message types

version

When a node receives an incoming connection, it will immediatly advertise its version. No futher communication is possible until both peers have exchanged their version.

Payload:

Field Size	Description	Data type	Comments
4	version	uint32_t	Identifies protocol version being used by the node
8	services	uint64_t	bitfield of features to be enabled for this connection
8	timestamp	uint64_t	standard UNIX timestamp in seconds
26	addr_me	net_addr	The network address of the node emitting this message
version >= 106
26	addr_you	net_addr	The network address seen by the node emitting this message (ie, the address of the receiving node)
8	nonce	uint64_t	Node random unique id. This id is used to detect connections to self
?	sub_version_num	var_str	Secondary Version information (null terminated?)
version >= 209
4	start_height	uint32_t	The last block received by the emitting node

If the emitter of the packet has version >= 209, a "verack" packet shall be sent if the version packet was accepted.

The following services are currently assigned:

Value	Name	Description
1	NODE_NETWORK	This node can be asked for full blocks instead of just headers.

Hexdump example of version message (note the message header for this version message does not have a checksum):

0000   F9 BE B4 D9 76 65 72 73  69 6F 6E 00 00 00 00 00   ....version.....
0010   55 00 00 00 9C 7C 00 00  01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   U....|..........
0020   E6 15 10 4D 00 00 00 00  01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ...M............
0030   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 FF FF 0A 00 00 01   ................
0040   DA F6 01 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
0050   00 00 00 00 FF FF 0A 00  00 02 20 8D DD 9D 20 2C   .......... ... ,
0060   3A B4 57 13 00 55 81 01  00                        :.W..U...

Name	Value	Description
Message Header
Network	F9 BE B4 D9	Main network magic bytes
Command	76 65 72 73 69 6F 6E 00 00 00 00 00	"version"
Length	55 00 00 00	Payload is 85 bytes
Checksum	n/a	No checksum in version message
Version payload
Version	9C 7C 00 00	31900 (version 0.3.19)
Services	01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00	NODE_NETWORK
Timestamp	E6 15 10 4D 00 00 00 00	1292899814 seconds since 1970 (Dec 20 21:50:14 EST 2010)
Sender Address	01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 FF FF 0A 00 00 01 DA F6	Address information of node that sent this message (see Network address)
Recipient Address	01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 FF FF 0A 00 00 02 20 8D	Address information of node receiving this message (see Network address)
Nonce	DD 9D 20 2C 3A B4 57 13	Node random unique id. This id is used to detect connections to self
Sub-version number	00	No sub-version info (sub-version info is 0 bytes long)
Start height	55 81 01 00	98645 (The last block received by the sending node)

verack

The verack packet is sent in reply to version for clients >= 209.

addr

Provide informations on known nodes of the network. Non-advertised nodes should be forgotten after typically 3 hours

Payload (maximum payload length: 1000 bytes):

Field Size	Description	Data type	Comments
?	count	var_int	Number of address entries
26x?	addr_list	net_addr[]	Address of other nodes on the network. version < 209 will only read the first one

Note: Starting version 31402, addresses are prefixed with a timestamp. If no timestamp is present, the addresses should not be relayed to other peers, unless it is indeed confirmed they are up.

inv

Allows a node to advertise its knowledge of one or more objects. It can be received unsolicited, or in reply to getblocks.

Payload (maximum payload length: 50000 bytes):

Field Size	Description	Data type	Comments
?	count	var_int	Number of inventory entries
36x?	inventory	inv_vect[]	Inventory vectors

getdata

getdata is used in response to inv, to retrieve the content of a specific object, and is usually sent after receiving an inv packet, after filtering known elements.

Payload (maximum payload length: 50000 bytes):

Field Size	Description	Data type	Comments
?	count	var_int	Number of inventory entries
36x?	inventory	inv_vect[]	Inventory vectors

getblocks

Return an inv packet containing the list of blocks starting at hash_start, up to hash_stop or 500 blocks, whichever comes first. To receive the next blocks hashes, one needs to issue getblocks again with the last known hash.

Payload:

Field Size	Description	Data type	Comments
4	version	uint32_t	only present if nType has SER_GETHASH set (purpose unknown)
1+	start count	var_int	number of hash_start entries
32+	hash_start	char[32]	hash of the last known block of the emitting node
32	hash_stop	char[32]	hash of the last desired block. Set to zero to get as many blocks as possible (500)

tx

tx describes a bitcoin transaction, in reply to getdata

Field Size	Description	Data type	Comments
4	version	uint32_t	Transaction data format version
1+	tx_in count	var_int	Number of Transaction inputs
41+	tx_in	tx_in[]	A list of 1 or more transaction inputs or sources for coins
1+	tx_out count	var_int	Number of Transaction outputs
8+	tx_out	tx_out[]	A list of 1 or more transaction outputs or destinations for coins
4	lock_time	uint32_t	The block number or timestamp at which this transaction is locked, or 0 if the transaction is always locked. A non-locked transaction must not be included in blocks, and it can be modified by broadcasting a new version before the time has expired (replacement is currently disabled in Bitcoin, however, so this is useless).

TxIn consists of the following fields:

Field Size	Description	Data type	Comments
36	previous_output	outpoint	The previous output transaction reference, as an OutPoint structure
1+	script length	var_int	The length of the signature script
?	signature script	char[]	Computational Script for confirming transaction authorization
4	sequence	uint32_t	Transaction version as defined by the sender. Intended for "replacement" of transactions when information is updated before inclusion into a block.

The OutPoint structure consists of the following fields:

Field Size	Description	Data type	Comments
32	hash	char[32]	The hash of the referenced transaction.
4	index	uint32_t	The index of the specific output in the transaction. The first output is 0, etc.

The Script structure consists of a series of pieces of information and operations related to the value of the transaction.

(Structure to be expanded in the future… see script.h and script.cpp for more information)

The TxOut structure consists of the following fields:

Field Size	Description	Data type	Comments
8	value	uint64_t	Transaction Value
1+	pk_script length	var_int	Length of the pk_script
?	pk_script	char[]	Usually contains the public key as a Bitcoin script setting up conditions to claim this output.

block

The block message is sent in response to a getdata message which requests transaction information from a block hash.

Field Size	Description	Data type	Comments
4	version	uint32_t	Block version information, based upon the software version creating this block
32	prev_block	char[32]	The hash value of the previous block this particular block references
32	merkle_root	char[32]	The reference to a Merkle tree collection which is a hash of all transactions related to this block
4	timestamp	uint32_t	A timestamp recording when this block was created (Limited to 2038!)
4	bits	uint32_t	The calculated difficulty target being used for this block
4	nonce	uint32_t	The nonce used to generate this block… to allow variations of the header and compute different hashes
?	txn_count	var_int	Number of transaction entries
?	txns	tx[]	Block transactions, in format of "tx" command

getaddr

The getaddr message sends a request to a node asking for information about known active peers to help with identifying potential nodes in the network. The response to receiving this message is to transmit an addr message with one or more peers from a database of known active peers. The typical presumption is that a node is likely to be active if it has been sending a message within the last three hours.

No additional data is transmitted with this message.

checkorder

This message is used for IP Transactions, to ask the peer if it accepts such transactions and allow it to look at the content of the order.

It contains a CWalletTx object

Payload:

Field Size	Description	Data type	Comments
Fields from CMerkleTx
?	hashBlock
?	vMerkleBranch
?	nIndex
Fields from CWalletTx
?	vtxPrev
?	mapValue
?	vOrderForm
?	fTimeReceivedIsTxTime
?	nTimeReceived
?	fFromMe
?	fSpent

submitorder

Confirms an order has been submitted.

Payload:

Field Size	Description	Data type	Comments
32	hash	char[32]	Hash of the transaction
?	wallet_entry	CWalletTx	Same payload as checkorder

reply

Generic reply for IP Transactions

Payload:

Field Size	Description	Data type	Comments
4	reply	uint32_t	reply code

Possible values:

Value	Name	Description
0	SUCCESS	The IP Transaction can proceed (checkorder), or has been accepted (submitorder)
1	WALLET_ERROR	AcceptWalletTransaction() failed
2	DENIED	IP Transactions are not accepted by this node

ping

The ping message is sent primarily to confirm that the TCP/IP connection is still valid. An error in transmission is presumed to be a closed connection and the address is removed as a current peer. No reply is expected as a result of this message being sent nor any sort of action expected on the part of a client when it is used.

alert

An alert is sent between nodes to send a general notification message throughout the network. If the alert can be confirmed with the signature as having come from the the core development group of the Bitcoin software, the message is suggested to be displayed for end-users. Attempts to perform transactions, particularly automated transactions through the client, are suggested to be halted. The text in the Message string should be relayed to log files and any user interfaces.

Payload:

Field Size	Description	Data type	Comments
?	message	var_str	System message which is coded to convey some information to all nodes in the network
?	signature	var_str	A signature which can be confirmed with a public key verifying that it is Satoshi (the originator of Bitcoins) who has "authorized" or created the message

The signature is to be compared to this ECDSA public key:

04fc9702847840aaf195de8442ebecedf5b095cdbb9bc716bda9110971b28a49e0ead8564ff0db22209e0374782c093bb899692d524e9d6a6956e7c5ecbcd68284
(hash) 1AGRxqDa5WjUKBwHB9XYEjmkv1ucoUUy1s

Source: [1]

Scripting

See script.