eip

An Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) is a design document that describes a proposed change to the Ethereum protocol, its core API, or its standards. EIPs are intended to be precise and concise, outlining the motivation, the technical specification, and the implementation or test plan. They can be submitted by any member of the Ethereum community and are typically written by developers, researchers, or core contributors.

EIP proposals follow a lifecycle that starts with discussion and refinement in public forums and in the EIP repository, followed by review by designated editors and, if appropriate, acceptance by the Ethereum community and client teams. Implementation and deployment are coordinated with the network’s overarching governance and development schedule. Not every EIP becomes active; many are revised, deferred, or withdrawn.

Types of EIPs include Standards Track, Information, and Process. Standards Track EIPs describe new features or protocol interfaces, as well as changes to existing ones; Information EIPs provide guidelines and informational content that does not alter the protocol. Process EIPs propose changes to the governance or development process. Within Standards Track, many widely used standards are organized as ERCs (Ethereum Request for Comments), such as ERC-20 for fungible tokens and ERC-721 for non-fungible tokens.

Notable EIPs include EIP-1, which defines the EIP process itself; EIP-1559, which reformed the fee market; and ERC-20 and ERC-721 standards used for token creation and interaction. EIPs collectively shape Ethereum’s evolution by documenting proposals, guiding development, and enabling community-driven consensus.