GIP 0061: Updates to The Graph Improvement Proposal Process
As The Graph evolves, so does its governance process. The updates to The Graph Improvement Proposal (GIP) process highlight The Graph’s commitment to decentralization and adaptability in a rapidly evolving industry.
The Graph’s Protocol Governance Process
Since its launch, The Graph has grown into a vital part of the web3 ecosystem, empowering developers to build decentralized applications with seamless access to blockchain data. To support this mission, The Graph community introduced the Protocol Governance process, formalized with . This structured framework enables community-driven upgrades to The Graph while ensuring alignment among Indexers, Delegators, Curators, and developers.
Through continuous community engagement, The Graph is refining its governance to better serve a growing network and lay the groundwork for a decentralized internet.
Find updated information about current GIPs on the .
The New Simplified GIP Process
brings itself. It introduces a streamlined and intuitive process that ensures every idea has a clear path to implementation so that proposals will move through the process faster, with greater transparency and accuracy.
Simplified GIP Stages
The steps to propose, implement, and deploy a GIP have been clarified and simplified.
- The three stages of the new GIP process are Draft, Candidate, and Approved (or Deferred, Withdrawn, Implemented, Living)
- The Strawperson and Proposal stages have been removed and merged into the Draft stage.
Contributors can now navigate the process with greater ease, understanding the journey from idea to execution.
Removal of Redundancies
- The Graph Request for Proposal (GRP) process, which had not been utilized, has been removed.
Updates to Foundational Documents
The foundational has been restructured to align with the real-world processes contributors follow.
- References to Radicle have been replaced with the GitHub repository, reflecting the active tools used by the community.
- Clarification to the editing process has been added to make expectations explicit and prevent slowdowns.
- Clear rules for authors to self- assign GIP numbers and the ability for editors to re-number proposals as needed avoids conflicts and mislabeling
A New Smart Form for Support
- A new makes it easier for contributors to request support, enabling a more seamless collaboration experience.
- The form allows contributors to:
- Request a speaking slot in one of the periodic community calls
- Request assistance and set up an audit slot
- Request help from core devs to implement a GIP or review an implementation
- Ask the Council to discuss a GIP for acceptance
What This Means for The Graph Community
These updates underscore The Graph’s dedication to its community. By simplifying processes, removing unused steps, and providing practical tools for support, it is easier than ever for contributors to turn their ideas into impactful protocol changes. For developers, indexers, and active participants in governance, these changes make it clearer and more rewarding to contribute to The Graph’s mission of decentralizing data in web3.
About The Graph
is the source of data and information for the decentralized internet. As the original decentralized data marketplace that introduced and standardized subgraphs, The Graph has become web3’s method of indexing and accessing blockchain data. Since its launch in 2018, tens of thousands of developers have for dapps across 90+ blockchains - including Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Polygon, Celo, Fantom, Gnosis, and Avalanche.
Discover more about how The Graph is shaping the future of decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) and stay connected with the community. Follow The Graph on , , , , , and . Join the community on The Graph’s , join technical discussions on The Graph’s .
oversees The Graph Network. The Graph Foundation is overseen by the . , , , , , and are seven of the many organizations within The Graph ecosystem.
