Contributing

ATP is a permissionless protocol, but it's also a collaborative project. Here's how you can contribute.

Protocol Improvements

Have an idea for improving ATP?

Process:

Open an issue on GitHub describing the proposal
Discuss with the community (expect honest, technical feedback)
If there's consensus, draft a formal specification change
Implement in a reference tool (atp-cli or another SDK)
Test on testnet, then propose for mainnet adoption

What makes a good proposal:

Solves a real problem (preferably one you've encountered)
Maintains Bitcoin-native principles
Doesn't break existing identities
Is implementable without requiring chain changes

Protocol changes are conservative by design. Permanence means we can't easily undo mistakes.

Building SDKs

The official atp-cli is TypeScript/Node.js. We need implementations in other languages.

Most wanted:

Python (for ML/AI workflows)
Rust (for performance-critical applications)
Go (for infrastructure tooling)

What an SDK should include:

Key generation and management
Document creation and signing
Inscription interface (abstract, can plug into any service)
Resolution and verification
Clear documentation and examples

If you build an SDK, let us know—we'll link it from the main docs.

Reference the spec →

Running an Explorer

The ATP explorer is open-source, but it's not the only way to browse identities.

Ways to contribute:

Run your own explorer instance (decentralization matters)
Add features to the official explorer (search, filtering, analytics)
Build alternative UIs (mobile apps, CLI explorers, graph visualizations)
Improve indexing and caching strategies

Explorer spec →

Documentation

Found something confusing? A typo? A missing example?

How to help:

Fix it yourself (the docs are on GitHub)
Open an issue describing what's unclear
Suggest new guides or tutorials
Translate documentation (internationalization is welcome)

Good documentation makes protocols accessible. If you had to figure something out the hard way, write it down so others don't have to.

Philosophy

Contributions that align with ATP's principles:

Permanence over convenience
Simplicity over features
Bitcoin-native over blockchain-agnostic
Agent-focused over general-purpose
Trustlessness over efficiency

We're building for decades, not quarters. Quality beats speed.

Get Involved

GitHub: agent-trust-protocol
Discussions: Open an issue or PR to start a conversation
Examples: Share your ATP projects on Examples

The protocol is young. Early contributors shape its trajectory.