Governance Messages

The following network messages enable the Governance features built in to Dash. For additional details on the governance system, see this Budget System page.

For additional details, refer to the Developer Guide Governance section.

govobj

The govobj message contains a governance object that is generally a proposal, contract, or setting. Masternodes ignore this request if they are not fully synced.

Bytes	Name	Data type	Required	Description
32	nHashParent	uint256	Required	Parent object (a hash of all zeros here indicates this is the root object, not a child object).
4	nRevision	int	Required	Object revision in the system
8	nTime	int64_t	Required	Time which this object was created
32	nCollateralHash	uint256	Required*	Hash of the collateral fee transaction for proposals. Set to all zeros for Triggers.
0-16384	strData	string	Required	Data field - can be used for anything (leading varint indicates size of data)
4	nObjectType	int	Required	Type of governance object: • 0 - Unknown • 1 - Proposal • 2 - Trigger
36	masternode OutPoint	outPoint	Required*	The unspent outpoint of the masternode (holding 1000 DASH) which is signing this object. Set to all zeros for proposals since they can be created by non-masternodes.
97	vchSig	char	Required*	ECDSA signature (65 bytes) prior to DIP3 activation BLS Signature of the masternode (Length (1 byte) + Signature (96 bytes)) Not required for proposals - they will have a length of 0x00 and no Signature.

Governance Object Types (defined by src/governance-object.h)

Type	Name	Description
0	GOVERNANCE_OBJECT_UNKNOWN
1	GOVERNANCE_OBJECT_PROPOSAL	Submitted proposal (requires collateral transaction - currently 5 Dash)
2	GOVERNANCE_OBJECT_TRIGGER	Masternode generated. Removed after activation/execution. Used for superblocks.

The following annotated hexdump shows a govobj message for a Proposal object. Notice the presence of a non-zero collateral hash, a masternodeOutPoint that is an empty Outpoint (hash of all zeros), and no vchSig. (The message header has been omitted.)

Text

00000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000 ..... Parent Hash (0 = root)
01000000 ............................. Revision: 1
c8dfd65900000000 ..................... Create timestamp: 2017-10-06 01:43:31 UTC
633611d2f3e7481325242f200c7f3485
e3a9b4b6301e7f7d18d87d8231f3880b ..... Collateral Hash

Data
| 3e02 ............................... Data length: 574
| 356235623232373 ... 376435643564 ... Data (truncated)

01000000 ............................. Object Type: GOVERNANCE_OBJECT_PROPOSAL (1)

Masternode Unspent Outpoint
| 00000000000000000000000000000000
| 00000000000000000000000000000000 ... Outpoint TXID
| ffffffff ........................... Outpoint index number: 0

00 ................................... Signature length: 0

| .................................... Masternode Signature (None required)

The following annotated hexdump shows a govobj message for a Trigger object. Notice the collateral hash of all zeros. (The message header has been omitted.)

Text

00000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000 ..... Parent Hash (0 = root)
01000000 ............................. Revision: 1
911ea85900000000 ..................... Create timestamp: 2017-08-31 14:34:57 UTC
00000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000 ..... Collateral Hash (None required)

Data
| ae11 ............................... Data length: 4526
| fdae11356235623 ... 376435643564 ... Data (truncated)

02000000 ............................. Object Type: GOVERNANCE_OBJECT_TRIGGER (2)

Masternode Unspent Outpoint
| ffefbe4959085907bcd2ba29e357a441
| fa7b6e26e25896d8127332bba2419e97 ... Outpoint TXID
| 00000000 ........................... Outpoint index number: 0

60 ................................... Signature length: 96

06516fa3b38d29fca6194e5d2c929666
d59d2d105bbbc30a1e5d144e708a610a
2e0ab3c759988b13ff098ab3dbd4e01d
129827ef1e1996c211d6d5ecd5199f60
cf028b1cdb2f7240e33981b16d1270e9
d289fca20905fd453620238a505582fa ..... Masternode BLS Signature

govobjvote

The govobjvote message is used to indicate the voting status of a governance object. Voting status is comprised of the vote outcome (how the masternode voted) and the vote signal (the network support status). A sufficient number of yes votes results in the proposed funding being payed out in the next superblock (assuming their are sufficient funds available in the budget).

The initial govobjvote message is created by a masternode to vote on a governance object (proposal, etc.). When the masternode votes, it broadcasts the govobjvote message to all its peers.

When a node receives a valid, new govobjvote message, it relays the message to all its connected peers to propagate the vote.

Additionally, nodes can request govobjvote messages for specific governance objects via a govsync message. Masternodes ignore requests for votes if they are not fully synced.

📘

Vote rate limiting

Dash Core limits how frequently a masternode can vote on a governance object.
A masternode's vote will not be processed if it has been less than 60 minutes
since its last vote on that object. Additionally, invalid votes can result in
the node being banned.

Bytes	Name	Data type	Required	Description
36	masternode OutPoint	outPoint	Required	The unspent outpoint of the masternode (holding 1000 DASH) which is voting
32	nParentHash	uint256	Required	Object (govobj) being voted on (proposal, contract, setting or final budget)
4	nVoteOutcome	int	Required	None (0), Yes (1), No (2), Abstain (3)
4	nVoteSignal	int	Required	None (0), Funding (1), Valid (2), Delete (3), Endorsed (4)
8	nTime	int64_t	Required	Time the vote was created
97	vchSig	char[]	Required	ECDSA signature (65 bytes) prior to DIP3 activation BLS Signature of the masternode (Length (1 byte) + Signature (96 bytes))

Governance Object Vote Signals (defined by src/governance-object.h)

Value	Name	Description
1	Funding	Minimum network support has been reached for this object to be funded (doesn't mean it will for sure though)
2	Valid	Minimum network support has been reached flagging this object as a valid and understood governance object (e.g, the serialized data is correct format, etc.)
3	Delete	Minimum network support has been reached saying this object should be deleted from the system entirely
4	Endorsed	Minimum network support has been reached flagging this object as endorsed by an elected representative body

The following annotated hexdump shows a govobjvote message. (The message header has been omitted.)

Text

Masternode Unspent Outpoint
| 9425afd65ccce1d655d4dd461b8523b8
| 2577a8009c25604c65f3e78ea71d65df ... Outpoint TXID
| 01000000 ........................... Outpoint index number: 1

bc1bb26088161ff07dc09d873faa5573
9a2fd53121d315b2942f3b9db36cb475...... Parent Hash (0 = root)
01000000 ............................. Vote Outcome: VOTE_OUTCOME_NONE (1)
03000000 ............................. Vote Signal: VOTE_SIGNAL_DELETE (3)
ec3d235c00000000 ..................... Vote Create Time: 2018-12-26 08:38:04 UTC

60 ................................... Signature length: 96
06516fa3b38d29fca6194e5d2c929666
d59d2d105bbbc30a1e5d144e708a610a
2e0ab3c759988b13ff098ab3dbd4e01d
129827ef1e1996c211d6d5ecd5199f60
cf028b1cdb2f7240e33981b16d1270e9
d289fca20905fd453620238a505582fa ..... Masternode BLS Signature

govsync

The govsync message is used to request syncing of governance objects (govobj message and govobjvote message) with peers. Masternodes ignore this request if they are not fully synced.

This message responds in one of two ways depending on the request:

1. Object Sync - When a masternode receives a govsync message with a hash of all zeros, it responds with a ssc message for govobj objects. The masternode also sends an inv message (MSG_GOVERNANCE_OBJECT - 0x17) for all valid govobj governance objects.
   Governance object votes are excluded in this type of response.

2. Vote Sync - When a masternode receives a govsync message with a specific hash, it responds with an ssc message for govobjvote objects. The masternode also sends a govobjvote inventory messages (MSG_GOVERNANCE_OBJECT_VOTE - 0x18) for the object requested.

Bytes	Name	Data type	Required	Description
32	nHash	uint256	Required	Hash of governance object to request Set to all zeros to request all objects (excludes votes)
#	filter	CBloomFilter	Required	Can be set to all zeros. Only supported since protocol version 70206

📘

Object sync rate limiting

Dash Core limits how frequently the first type of sync (object sync) can be requested. Frequent requests will result in the node being banned.

The following annotated hexdump shows a govsync message. (The message header has been omitted.)

Text

2e46ea5418e097a3dbcccbee3cf2a911
6fb94ba635153f276dcb2123efcb73ff ..... Hash
00000000000000000000 ................. Bloom Filter