Inscription Schema
The binst metaprotocol defines a formal JSON schema for Ordinals inscriptions.
Envelope Format
Every BINST inscription uses the Ordinals envelope:
- Content type (tag 1) =
application/json - Metaprotocol (tag 7) =
binst - Parent (tag 3) = parent inscription ID (provenance chain)
- Metadata (tag 5) = optional CBOR-encoded metadata
- Body = JSON matching the schema below
Entity Types
| Type | Parent requirement | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
institution | None (root of its tree) | Institution identity and metadata |
process_template | Institution inscription | Immutable process blueprint |
process_instance | Process template inscription | Running execution of a template |
step_execution | Process instance inscription | Record of a step execution (optional) |
Provenance Hierarchy
institution (root — no parent required)
└─ process_template (child of institution)
└─ process_instance (child of template)
└─ step_execution (child of instance)
Schema Version
"v": 0 — pilot / testnet4. Breaking changes increment the version.
Example: Institution
{
"v": 0,
"type": "institution",
"name": "Acme Financial",
"admin_btc_pubkey": "a3f4b2c1d5e6f7890123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef",
"created": "2026-03-15T12:00:00Z"
}
Example: Process Template
{
"v": 0,
"type": "process_template",
"name": "KYC Onboarding",
"institution_inscription_id": "abc123...i0",
"steps": [
{ "name": "Submit Documents", "action_type": "upload" },
{ "name": "Review", "action_type": "approval" },
{ "name": "Final Approval", "action_type": "approval" }
]
}
Example: Process Instance
{
"v": 0,
"type": "process_instance",
"template_inscription_id": "def456...i0",
"created_by": "a3f4b2c1...",
"status": "in_progress"
}
Example: Step Execution
{
"v": 0,
"type": "step_execution",
"instance_inscription_id": "ghi789...i0",
"step_index": 0,
"actor": "b5e6c7d8...",
"status": "completed",
"timestamp": "2026-03-15T14:30:00Z"
}
Validation
The full JSON Schema (2020-12) is available at binst-metaprotocol.json.
# Validate with ajv-cli
ajv validate -s binst-metaprotocol.json -d examples/institution.json