Bitcoin Core PR Lab

Overview

Learning objectives

• Ship a working Bitcoin Core PR Lab that matches the description
• Cover the core skills: C++, Core build system, Functional tests
• Document setup, demo steps, and known limitations in the README

Prerequisites

• Code Review Practice
• Maintainer Collaboration
• Bitcoin Core & RPC

Part of the bitcoin roadmap.

Architecture diagram

app/          primary interface (CLI, API, or UI)
domain/       protocol and business logic
adapters/     Bitcoin Core, Lightning node, or indexer clients
tests/        smoke and regression coverage

Requirements

• Implements the stated goal: Reproduce a good-first or docs/tests issue against Core, write a focused patch with functional tests, and document review notes.
• Runs against regtest, signet, or documented testnet endpoints (never assume mainnet funds)
• Includes a README with install, run, and demo instructions
• Has at least one automated test or scripted smoke check
• Fails safely with clear errors when dependencies are offline

Stretch goals

• Add a short architecture diagram to the README
• Publish a demo recording or asciinema session
• Compare two implementation approaches and note tradeoffs
• Add CI that runs the smoke test on every push

Recommended resources

• Mastering Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Optech
• Bitcoin Core RPC docs

Example repositories

• bitcoin/bitcoin

  Reference implementation and contribution culture.

• lightningnetwork/lnd

  Production Lightning implementation with active issues.

Submission instructions

• Public GitHub repository with a clear README
• Setup steps for local dependencies (regtest, Polar, Docker, etc.)
• Demo evidence (commands, screenshots, or short recording)
• Lab evidence pack: happy-path transcript + one intentional failure case + what error you saw
• Note difficulty assumptions and what you deliberately left out

Discussion