This repository is the canonical location for development and documentation of inter-chain standards utilized by the Cosmos network & interchain ecosystem. Initially it will be used to consolidate design documentation for the inter-blockchain communication protocol (IBC), encoding standards for Cosmos chains, and miscellaneous utilities such as off-chain message signing.
Please see ICS 1 for a description of what a standard entails.
To propose a new standard, open an issue. To start a new standardization document, copy the template and open a PR.
See PROCESS.md for a description of the standardization process.
The subject of most initial interchain standards is the inter-blockchain communication protocol, "IBC".
If you are diving in or planning to review specifications, the following are recommended reading:
- IBC Architecture
- IBC Design Principles
- IBC Terminology
- IBC Usecases
- IBC Design Patterns
- IBC specification progress tracking
All standards in the "draft" stage are listed here in order of their ICS numbers, sorted by category.
| Interchain Standard Number | Standard Title | Stage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ICS Specification Standard | Draft |
| Interchain Standard Number | Standard Title | Stage |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Consensus Verification | Draft |
| 3 | Connection Semantics | Draft |
| 4 | Channel & Packet Semantics | Draft |
| 18 | Relayer Algorithms | Draft |
| 23 | Vector Commitments | Draft |
| 24 | Host Requirements | Draft |
| 25 | Handler Interface | Draft |
| 26 | Relayer Module | Draft |
Directed arrows indicate a dependency relationship (that origin depends on destination).