<p>The process is not formalized precisely because only <em>really</em> non-controversial changes are supposed to make it in at all.</p>

<p>This hasn't always been the case, but is becoming more true in the last year.
Right now the process goes like this:</p>

<ul>
<li>Start by thinking of some feature/improvement.</li>
<li>Convince the dev team(s) of the relevant parts (core consensus, wallets, other layers) that this is a good idea in the abstract, and it needs to be standardized.</li>
<li>Write a draft.</li>
<li>Get gmaxwell to assign a BIP number for reference.</li>
<li>Make everyone happy with the detailled draft.</li>
<li>At some point, the status of the draft changes to Accepted (based on actual agreement of all/most devs).</li>
</ul>

<p>You can follow <a href="https://github.com/bitcoin/bips" rel="noreferrer">https://github.com/bitcoin/bips</a> to see when changes are made.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-16T12:57:09.483Z
Who is "everyone"? Is there a list of all people that need to approve a change?
ripper234
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-17T23:56:01.047Z
"Everyone" means pretty much all relevant devs working in that space. BIP0032 became accepted only once multiple wallet implementers agreed it should happen, and started working on their implementations.
The BIP process isn't binding on anyone so it only can be relevant if it actually represents community consensus.
Christophe Biocca
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-06T01:04:28.167Z
2013-12-06T01:04:28.167Z
Christophe Biocca
<p>Who decides to change the status from Draft to Accepted?</p>

<p><a href="https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/BIP_0001">BIP 0001</a> doesn't seem to clearly state this. </p>

<ul>
<li>Is this a vote by the developers?</li>
<li>Whose vote exactly do we count?</li>
<li>How is it conducted and counted?</li>
<li>Are there veto rights?</li>
<li>Who handles disputes?</li>
<li>Is there a specific channel/topic/bitcointalk thread where accepted BIPs are published? (for those of us who don't follow the entire dev mailing list)</li>
</ul>

<development><bip>
How is a BIP accepted?
ripper234
# How is a BIP accepted?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-12-07)

Who decides to change the status from Draft to Accepted?

[BIP 0001](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/BIP_0001) doesn't seem to clearly state this.

* Is this a vote by the developers?
* Whose vote exactly do we count?
* How is it conducted and counted?
* Are there veto rights?
* Who handles disputes?
* Is there a specific channel/topic/bitcointalk thread where accepted BIPs are published? (for those of us who don't follow the entire dev mailing list)

**Tags:** development, bip


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2013-12-06. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

The process is not formalized precisely because only *really* non-controversial changes are supposed to make it in at all.

This hasn't always been the case, but is becoming more true in the last year.
Right now the process goes like this:

* Start by thinking of some feature/improvement.
* Convince the dev team(s) of the relevant parts (core consensus, wallets, other layers) that this is a good idea in the abstract, and it needs to be standardized.
* Write a draft.
* Get gmaxwell to assign a BIP number for reference.
* Make everyone happy with the detailled draft.
* At some point, the status of the draft changes to Accepted (based on actual agreement of all/most devs).

You can follow <https://github.com/bitcoin/bips> to see when changes are made.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Who is "everyone"? Is there a list of all people that need to approve a change?  
> **username_1**: "Everyone" means pretty much all relevant devs working in that space. BIP0032 became accepted only once multiple wallet implementers agreed it should happen, and started working on their implementations. The BIP process isn't binding on anyone so it only can be relevant if it actually represents community consensus.  

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