EIP-1: EIP Purpose and Guidelines
Understanding EIP-1 gives you the map for reading all other EIPs. Know which type a given EIP is (Core, Networking, Interface, ERC) and what Final vs Draft status means.
What It Defines
Meta EIP that defines what an EIP is, the types (Standards Track, Meta, Informational), the EIP workflow (Draft → Review → Last Call → Final), and the EIP template format. The governance document for all EIPs.
Canonical (Normative)
Related References
The Ethereum community's open process for proposing changes to the protocol. EIPs cover core protocol changes; ERCs (Ethereum Request for Comments) cover application-layer standards like token interfaces.
Related Specs
ERC-20 is the most widely deployed standard in the Ethereum ecosystem. Every DeFi integration, exchange, and wallet interacts with ERC-20 tokens constantly.
NFTs, digital ownership, gaming assets, and on-chain certificates all use ERC-721. The standard that launched the NFT market.
EIP-712 is the standard for secure off-chain message signing used in permit() flows, meta-transactions, and Sign-In with Ethereum. Prevents blind signing attacks.