<pre>
  BIP: 391
  Layer: Applications
  Title: Binary Output Descriptors
  Authors: SeedHammer <team@seedhammer.com>
  Status: Closed
  Type: Specification
  Assigned: 2026-01-27
  License: BSD-2-Clause
  Proposed-Replacement: 393
</pre>

==Introduction==

===Abstract===

This document proposes an efficient container format for encoding an output
descriptor as defined by [[bip-0380.mediawiki|BIP 380]] and its extensions.
Based on key-value maps as defined by [[bip-0174.mediawiki|BIP 174]], the
encoding supports descriptor and key metadata.

===Copyright===

This BIP is licensed under the BSD 2-clause license.

===Motivation===

A BIP 380 output descriptor is a textual representation of a set of output
scripts, such that Bitcoin wallets may agree on the scripts and addresses
to provide the user. However, a descriptor string by itself is not ideal for
transferring between wallets: it lacks a machine-recognizable header, cannot
represent metadata such as name and birth block, and its use of base58 for
extended keys is inefficient.

BIP 174 gives us a self-describing file format, metadata, and a compact,
binary representation of keys. Assuming most wallets already implement the PSBT
format, the implementation overhead of this BIP is expected to be low
<ref> '''Why not extend BIP 174?'''
The PSBT format is not a general-purpose container format, and descriptors
are useful outside of signing flows (backup, initializing wallet
software).</ref>
<ref> '''Why not use the older Blockchain Commons BCR-2020-010 format?'''
The format was [[https://github.com/BlockchainCommons/Research/blob/master/papers/bcr-2020-010-output-desc.md#deprecated-superseded-by-version-3-output-descriptors|recently deprecated]],
due to its use of reserved CBOR tags.</ref>
<ref>'''Why not use the new Blockchain Commons BCR-2023-010 format?'''
The [[https://github.com/BlockchainCommons/Research/blob/master/papers/bcr-2023-010-output-descriptor.md|BCR-2023-010 format]]
is roughly equivalent to this proposal, but was designed and released outside of
the usual BIP proposal process.

In particular, we believe BCR-2023-010 would have faced opposition
in the BIP process because it is based on the [[https://cbor.io/spec.html|CBOR encoding]].
CBOR is designed for generality and compactness and is therefore significantly
more complex than the PSBT encoding. In contrast, the PSBT key-value maps are
supported by all wallet software that interact with PSBT files, are easier to
review, and they fit in embedded devices.

Released in late 2023, BCR-2023-010 doesn't have the advantage of widespread
support at the time of this writing.</ref>.

==Specification==

The Binary Output Descriptor (BOD) format consists of a fixed header, a
key-value map describing the output descriptor, and a key-value map for
each key. 

 <bod> := <magic> <global-map> <key-map>*
 <magic> := 0x62 0x6F 0x64 0xFF
 <global-map> := <keypair>* 0x00
 <key-map> := <keypair>* 0x00

The definition for <tt><keypair></tt> follows [[bip-0174.mediawiki#specification|BIP 174]].

The defined global types are as follows:

{|
! Name
! <tt><keytype></tt>
! <tt><keydata></tt>
! <tt><keydata></tt> Description
! <tt><valuedata></tt>
! <tt><valuedata></tt> Description
|-
| Output Descriptor
| <tt>BOD_GLOBAL_OUTPUT_DESCRIPTOR = 0x00</tt>
| <tt><compact size uint birth block><bytes></tt>
| The earliest block height that may contain transactions for the descriptor, optionally followed by the UTF-8 encoded name of the descriptor.
| <tt><bytes descriptor></tt>
| The output descriptor in BIP 380 format without inline keys<ref>'''Why not encode the descriptor in binary?'''
Designing and maintaining a compact binary representation of the complex and evolving BIP 380 descriptor
language entail significant effort and introduce a time lag from the introduction of new BIP 380 features
to the specification of the binary counterpart. We don't believe the space savings outweigh the disadvantages.

The major source of bloat, base58-encoded keys, are binary encoded for compactness and
can be re-used multiple times in a single descriptor.
</ref>.
|-
| Proprietary Use Type
| <tt>BOD_GLOBAL_PROPRIETARY = 0xFC</tt>
| <tt><compact size uint identifier length> <bytes identifier> <compact size uint subtype> <bytes subkeydata></tt>
| A compact size unsigned integer of the length of the identifier, followed by an identifier prefix, followed by a compact size unsigned integer subtype, followed by the key data itself.
| <tt><bytes data></tt>
| Any value data as defined by the proprietary type user.
|}

It is an error to omit the BOD_GLOBAL_OUTPUT_DESCRIPTOR entry.

All key expressions in the BOD_GLOBAL_OUTPUT_DESCRIPTOR descriptor string must be
specified as references in the form of <tt>@<index></tt> where <tt>index</tt> is
the 0-based index into the ordered list of <tt><key-map></tt> entries. An index
out of range is invalid.

A BOD_GLOBAL_OUTPUT_DESCRIPTOR with inline keys is invalid<ref>'''Why not allow inline
keys?'''
Allowing inline keys risks incompatible implementations that omit parsing of referenced
keys.</ref><ref>'''What about named <tt>pk(NAME)</tt> references?'''
Named references would allow Miniscript descriptors as-is in BOD_GLOBAL_OUTPUT_DESCRIPTOR.
They are left out because they complicate decoders and can trivially be replaced by indexed
references.</ref>.

Key references may be followed by derivation paths as specified in [[bip-0389.mediawiki#specification|BIP 389]].

The defined key types are as follows:

{|
! Name
! <tt><keytype></tt>
! <tt><keydata></tt>
! <tt><keydata></tt> Description
! <tt><valuedata></tt>
! <tt><valuedata></tt> Description
|-
| Extended Public Key
| <tt>BOD_KEY_XPUB = 0x00</tt>
| <tt><bytes xpub></tt>
| The 78-byte serialized extended public key, as defined by BIP 32.
| <tt><4 byte fingerprint> <32-bit little endian uint path element>*</tt>
| The master key fingerprint, as defined by BIP 32, concatenated with the derivation path of the public key. The derivation path is represented as 32-bit little endian unsigned integer indexes concatenated with each other. The number of 32-bit unsigned integer indexes must match the depth provided in the extended public key.
|-
| Proprietary Use Type
| <tt>BOD_KEY_PROPRIETARY = 0xFC</tt>
| <tt><compact size uint identifier length> <bytes identifier> <compact size uint subtype> <bytes subkeydata></tt>
| A compact size unsigned integer of the length of the identifier, followed by an identifier prefix, followed by a compact size unsigned integer subtype, followed by the key data itself.
| <tt><bytes data></tt>
| Any value data as defined by the proprietary type user.
|}

==Test Vectors==

===Invalid Cases===

A descriptor with a key reference out of bounds.
 Descriptor: wpkh(@0/*)
 Hex encoded BOD: 70736274ff0207000a77706b682840302f2a29000000

A descriptor with an invalid UTF-8 name.
 Hex-encoded BOD: 70736274ff05070061c57a0a77706b682840302f2a2953010488b21e041c0ae906800000025afed56d755c088320ec9bc6acd84d33737b580083759e0a0ff8f26e429e0b77028342f5f7773f6fab374e1c2d3ccdba26bc0933fc4f63828b662b4357e4cc3791bec0fbd814c5d8729748000080000000800000008002000080000000

A descriptor with an inline key.
  Hex-encoded BOD: 70736274ff0207008e77706b68285b64633536373237362f3438682f30682f30682f32685d7870756236446959726652774e6e6a655834764873574d616a4a56464b726245456e753867415739764475517a675457457345484531367347576558585556314c42575145317943546d657072534e63715a3357373468715664674462745948557633654d3457325445556870616e2f2a29000000

===Valid Cases===

A 2-of-3 multisig descriptor
 Descriptor: wsh(sortedmulti(2,@0/<0;1>/*,@1/<0;1>/*,@2/<0;1>/*))
 Name: Satoshi's Stash
 Birth block: 123456789012345
 Key 0: [dc567276/48h/0h/0h/2h]xpub6DiYrfRwNnjeX4vHsWMajJVFKrbEEnu8gAW9vDuQzgTWEsEHE16sGWeXXUV1LBWQE1yCTmeprSNcqZ3W74hqVdgDbtYHUv3eM4W2TEUhpan
 Key 1: [f245ae38/48h/0h/0h/2h]xpub6DnT4E1fT8VxuAZW29avMjr5i99aYTHBp9d7fiLnpL5t4JEprQqPMbTw7k7rh5tZZ2F5g8PJpssqrZoebzBChaiJrmEvWwUTEMAbHsY39Ge
 Key 2: [c5d87297/48h/0h/0h/2h]xpub6DjrnfAyuonMaboEb3ZQZzhQ2ZEgaKV2r64BFmqymZqJqviLTe1JzMr2X2RfQF892RH7MyYUbcy77R7pPu1P71xoj8cDUMNhAMGYzKR4noZ
 Hex-encoded BOD: 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

==Rationale==

<references/>

==Compatibility==

This is a new format and as such has no compatibility burden.

== Reference Implementation==

There is a [https://github.com/seedhammer/bip-bod-descriptors Go implementation]
for development and testing purposes. Don't use it in production, because it only
validates the BOD format, not the descriptor itself.

==Changelog==

* '''0.0.2''' (2026-04-21):
** Withdrawn after BIP393 proposed an alternative method of handling wallet metadata.
* '''0.0.1''' (2026-02-02):
** Initial draft.

==Acknowledgments==

This specification builds upon the draft BIP 388 by specifying
a serialization format for compact descriptors. It also uses the indexed key
references from that BIP, as well as examples and test vectors.
