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# RGB Protocol on Bitcoin — Complete Technical Documentation
> ⚠️ **Disambiguation:** This documentation covers **RGB Protocol on Bitcoin v0.11.1**, supported by the RGB Protocol Association.
> Not to be confused with: RGB color model (displays/imaging), RGB++ (Nervos/CKB blockchain), or RGB v0.12 (a separate rewrite by the RGB-WG organization — rgb.tech).
> **Homepage:** https://rgb.info
> **Technical documentation:** https://docs.rgb.info
> **This file (always updated):** https://docs.rgb.info/llms-full.txt
> **Glossary:** https://docs.rgb.info/annexes/glossary
> **GitHub:** https://github.com/rgb-protocol · https://github.com/RGB-Tools
> **Association:** https://rgbprotocol.org
RGB is a protocol developed in order to enforce digital rights in form of contracts and assets in a scalable and private manner leveraging Bitcoin consensus rules and operations.
This guide targets the broader technical audience willing to understand in depth the RGB protocol, from its theoretical foundations rooted in [Client-side Validation](https://docs.rgb.info/annexes/glossary#client-side-validation) and [Single-use Seals](https://docs.rgb.info/annexes/glossary#single-use-seal) to the more...
{% hint style="info" %}
RGB Protocol on Bitcoin — not to be confused with:
* The RGB color model (Red, Green, Blue — unrelated)
* RGB v0.12 (a separate rewrite by the RGB-WG organization, not yet production-ready)
* RGB++ (a separate protocol on the Nervos/CKB blockchain — different team, different architecture)
For general information and education visit [rgb.info](https://rgb.info).
{% endhint %}
## Table of Contents
### Distributed Computing Concepts
* [Paradigms of Distributed Computing](https://docs.rgb.info/distributed-computing-concepts/paradigms-of-distributed-computing)
* [Client-side Validation](https://docs.rgb.info/distributed-computing-concepts/client-side-validation)
* [Single-use Seals and Proof of Publication](https://docs.rgb.info/distributed-computing-concepts/single-use-seals)
### Commitment Layer
* [Commitment Schemes within Bitcoin and RGB](https://docs.rgb.info/commitment-layer/commitment-schemes)
* [Deterministic Bitcoin Commitments - DBC](https://docs.rgb.info/commitment-layer/deterministic-bitcoin-commitments-dbc)
* [Opret](https://docs.rgb.info/commitment-layer/deterministic-bitcoin-commitments-dbc/opret)
* [Tapret](https://docs.rgb.info/commitment-layer/deterministic-bitcoin-commitments-dbc/tapret)
* [Multi Protocol Commitments - MPC](https://docs.rgb.info/commitment-layer/multi-protocol-commitments-mpc)
* [Anchors](https://docs.rgb.info/commitment-layer/anchors)
### RGB State and Operations
* [Introduction to Smart Contracts and their States](https://docs.rgb.info/rgb-state-and-operations/intro-smart-contract-states)
* [Contract Operations](https://docs.rgb.info/rgb-state-and-operations/state-transitions)
* [Components of a Contract Operation](https://docs.rgb.info/rgb-state-and-operations/components-of-a-contract-operation)
* [Features of RGB State](https://docs.rgb.info/rgb-state-and-operations/features-of-rgb-state)
### RGB Contract Implementation
* [Schema](https://docs.rgb.info/rgb-contract-implementation/schema)
* [Supported Schemas](https://docs.rgb.info/rgb-contract-implementation/schema/supported-schemas)
* [Schema example: Non-Inflatable Assets](https://docs.rgb.info/rgb-contract-implementation/schema/non-inflatable-fungible-asset-schema)
### RGB over Lightning Network
* [Lightning Network compatibility](https://docs.rgb.info/rgb-over-lightning-network/lightning-network-compatibility)
### Annexes
* [Glossary](https://docs.rgb.info/annexes/glossary)
* [Contract Transfers](https://docs.rgb.info/annexes/contract-transfers)
* [Invoices](https://docs.rgb.info/annexes/invoices)
* [RGB Library Map](https://docs.rgb.info/annexes/rgb-library-map)
* [Bitcoin Single-use Seals](https://docs.rgb.info/annexes/single-use-seals-bitcoin)
## Credits
The production of this documentation has been sponsored by [Bitfinex](https://www.bitfinex.com/) and the material provided is mostly based on a 3-day full-immersion seminar on RGB Protocol held by [Maxim Orlovsky](https://twitter.com/dr_orlovsky) at the Tuscany Lightning Bootcamp in October 2023.
Videos: <https://planb.academy/courses/3ce1d37c-05ba-4f54-aa15-7586d37b2bb7>
***
# Paradigms of Distributed Computing
Before divining into the technical details of the RGB, the introduction to the fundamental concepts of the technology and the study of the base terminology represent an essential step towards a thorough understanding of the subject.
Indeed RGB it's a combination of several pieces of the Distributed Computing Domain, in particular:
* [Commitment](https://docs.rgb.info/annexes/glossary#commitment) scheme with cryptographic hash functions.
* [Client-side Validation](https://docs.rgb.info/annexes/glossary#client-side-validation).
* [Single-use Seals](https://docs.rgb.info/annexes/glossary#single-use-seal).
The combination of these topics is the underlying substrate that makes RGB operational.
RGB locates itself as a new additional piece of the vast world of *Distributed Computing*.
**Distributed computing**, is a branch of Computer Science that studies the protocol systems able to exchange and compute data information between a network of computer nodes: the set of computer nodes and the underlying protocol rules that allow the computation of these data are the constituents of a **Distributed Sys...
The **nodes** composing the network **are able to independently verify and validate some set of data** and they can construct, depending on the protocol, complete or partial snapshots of information elaborated by the network: these are called the **states** of the distributed system and essentially represent the expres...
The most important property of a distributed system is represented by the **Chronological Ordering** of the operations and the related data timestamp and thus the **ordered sequence of state changes** that take place inside the system. In fact when we talk about **Consensus**, we are talking about:
1. **Recognizing the validity of the state changes** by the nodes according to the protocol rules.
2. **Establishing consensus on the order of the state changes** so that every node knows which operation precedes the other and the state cannot be reversed once it has changed: the so-called **anti double-spend property**.