Author: Clark Moody 2022-08-25 22:54:14
Published on: 2022-08-25T22:54:14+00:00
The proposed BIP for a standardized format to export and import labels from a wallet uses a simple two-column CSV file, with the reference to a transaction, address, input or output in the first column, and the label in the second column. This format was chosen for its wide accessibility, especially to users without specific technical expertise. The CSV file can be compressed using the ZIP format and optionally encrypted using AES. This proposal attempts to create a standard for importing and exporting all the labels in a wallet and is not solely intended for developers, but general users who are probably not well represented on this list. While doing research for this proposal, several professional users of Sparrow Wallet (who are not developers) expressed a desire for the format to integrate with their business processes, which are driven by business tools such as Excel.The author notes that CSV files are already common and uncontroversial in Bitcoin wallet software, with Bitcoin Core, Electrum, Sparrow (and no doubt many others) already exporting addresses and/or transactions with their labels as CSV files. While some have suggested using JSON as an alternative to CSV, it has been argued that JSON is limited to editing only through specific software or text editors, and is more difficult to manage in bulk label editing scenarios. CSV's simplicity and forgiving nature makes it well-suited for such scenarios. The proposed format specifies that exporting applications may omit records with no labels or labels of zero length and that files exported should use the .csv file extension. In order to reduce file size while retaining wide accessibility, the CSV file may be compressed using the ZIP file format, using the .zip file extension. This .zip file may optionally be encrypted using either AES-128 or AES-256 encryption.Importing applications may truncate labels if necessary, and a naive algorithm may simply match against any reference, but it is possible to disambiguate between transactions, addresses, inputs, and outputs. The proposed format seeks to make manual or bulk management of labels accessible to users without specific technical expertise.
Updated on: 2023-06-16T00:00:54.983170+00:00