Tendermint Spec

This repository contains specifications for the Tendermint protocol.

There are currently two implementations of the Tendermint protocol, maintained by two separate-but-collaborative entities: One in Go, maintained by Interchain GmbH, and one in Rust, maintained by Informal Systems.

Data Structures

• Encoding and Digests
• Blockchain
• State

Consensus Protocol

• Consensus Algorithm
• Creating a proposal
• Time
• Light-Client

P2P and Network Protocols

• The Base P2P Layer: multiplex the protocols ("reactors") on authenticated and encrypted TCP connections

P2P Messages

• Peer Exchange (PEX): gossip known peer addresses so peers can find each other
• Block Sync: gossip blocks so peers can catch up quickly
• Consensus: gossip votes and block parts so new blocks can be committed
• Mempool: gossip transactions so they get included in blocks
• Evidence: sending invalid evidence will stop the peer

ABCI

• ABCI: Details about interactions between the application and consensus engine over ABCI

ABCI++

• ABCI++: Specification of interactions between the application and consensus engine over ABCI++

RFC

• RFC: RFCs describe proposals to change the spec.

ProtoBuf

• Proto: The data structures of the Tendermint protocol are located in the proto directory. These specify P2P messages that each implementation should follow to be compatible.