Minsc is a high-level scripting language expressing Bitcoin Script spending conditions, using a simple and familiar syntax. Minsc is based on Miniscript with added features on top of it.
Minsc's features
- variables,
- functions,
- logical operators,
- human-readable times,
- arrays, ...
Minsc eliminates the complexity of dealing with Bitcoin's stack-based script language. Its syntax is much more familiar, resembling that of common programming languages, making it easier for developers to write and understand code. This is crucial because it ensures applications are built correctly and efficiently, reduces the likelihood of errors. Additionally, Minsc optimizes the code for lower spending costs and makes constructing spending conditions safer, enhancing both the economic efficiency and security of your transactions.
Pre-requisites
- basic knowledge of Bitcoin addresses
- Installed minsc locally or have access to online misc IDE
What can I use minsc for?
You can use minsc to generate addresses based on your defined spending conditions. It's safer and more efficient to use minsc then to write your own raw Bitcoin script as it abstracts away complexity.
Examples
Lets go over two examples showing how you can quickly and easily generate addresses using minsc. In order to test the minsc code, you can just copy/paste it into minsc IDE.
Stupid Simple Locking Script
In our our Stupid Simple Locking Script With Python article we showed how to construct a locking address that can be unlocked by solving a stupid simple mathematical equation. This is how to construct the same address using minsc:
- Minsc
- Python (bitcoinlib)
$script = `<4> OP_ADD <12> OP_EQUAL`;
address(wsh($script), regtest)
import hashlib
from bitcoin import SelectParams
from bitcoin.core.script import CScript, OP_0, OP_ADD, OP_EQUAL
from bitcoin.wallet import P2WSHBitcoinAddress
# Select regtest network
SelectParams('regtest')
# Create a stupid simple locking script and create an address from it
redeem_script = CScript([4, OP_ADD, 12, OP_EQUAL])
redeem_script_hash = hashlib.sha256(redeem_script).digest()
script_pubkey = CScript([OP_0, redeem_script_hash])
address = P2WSHBitcoinAddress.from_scriptPubKey(script_pubkey)
print(f"Address locked by simple equation: {address}")
HTLC
We've wrote an article how to create a HTLC contract. Using minsc it's a lot more straightforward do define a locking policy which is also more cost efficient compared to the version of HTLC that we used in our article. Note that albeit the locking policy is the same, the address is different because the minsc HTLC version is safer (it adds OP_SIZE) and is more optimized which results in a different address.
- Minsc
- Python (bitcoinlib)
$sender_pubkey = pk(02d1f480e3ef0ca342c41bcd5a1e33765e6891281b829bffa32c19e920ca5a446c);
$recipient_pubkey = pk(03a3ec5348a50c6b8420b5eb91eecc706c84d3e76db694ddd2fb01b41ab441937a);
$preimage = 6bd66227651d0fe5c43863d7b29a4097e31dbf51e6603eee75947bff5e96ae43;
$script = (
($recipient_pubkey && sha256($preimage)) || ($sender_pubkey && older(5 blocks))
);
address(wsh($script), regtest)
import hashlib
from bitcoin import SelectParams
from bitcoin.core.script import (
CScript, OP_0, OP_ELSE, OP_SHA256, OP_EQUALVERIFY, OP_CHECKSIG, OP_ENDIF, OP_CHECKSEQUENCEVERIFY, OP_CHECKSIGVERIFY,
OP_NOTIF, OP_EQUAL, OP_SIZE,
)
from bitcoin.wallet import CBitcoinSecret, P2WSHBitcoinAddress
# Select regtest network
SelectParams('regtest')
# Create private instances and get their public keys, the public keys of these private keys are also passed into
# minsc's `pk()` function
seckey_recipient = CBitcoinSecret("cVhjB76GwuZiva15i88Hwbgc1ZZB6KFMUAjAgiauD1mpugQDVGTc)
seckey_sender = CBitcoinSecret("cUZLbjpNRAAuu5sV8e8ocwMqAYDtdxY2EXCPyjvyeGATzCnCCaMK")
recipientpubkey = seckey_recipient.pub
senderpubkey = seckey_sender.pub
# Create preimage hash
preimage = hashlib.sha256(b"super secret code").digest()
script = CScript([
recipientpubkey,
OP_CHECKSIG,
OP_NOTIF,
senderpubkey,
OP_CHECKSIGVERIFY,
5,
OP_CHECKSEQUENCEVERIFY,
OP_ELSE,
OP_SIZE,
32,
OP_EQUALVERIFY,
OP_SHA256,
preimage,
OP_EQUAL,
OP_ENDIF
])
script_hash = hashlib.sha256(script).digest()
script_pubkey = CScript([OP_0, script_hash])
# Given a script pubkey, construct and print a P2WSH address
address = P2WSHBitcoinAddress.from_scriptPubKey(script_pubkey)
print('Address:', str(address))
Multisig (2 of 3)
Lets construct a multisig (2 of 3) contract
- Minsc
- Python (bitcoinlib)
$alice = pk(034da006f958beba78ec54443df4a3f52237253f7ae8cbdb17dccf3feaa57f3126);
$bob = pk(0310c283aac7b35b4ae6fab201d36e8322c3408331149982e16013a5bcb917081c);
$carol = pk(0392a762e0123945455b7afe675e5ab98fb1586de43e5682514b9454d6edced724);
$script = wsh(2 of [$alice, $bob, $carol]);
address($script, regtest)
import hashlib
from bitcoin import SelectParams
from bitcoin.core.script import CScript, OP_0, OP_CHECKMULTISIG
from bitcoin.wallet import CBitcoinSecret, P2WSHBitcoinAddress
# Select regtest network
SelectParams('regtest')
# Create very insecure private keys and their public keys, the public keys of these private keys are also passed into
# minsc's `pk()` function
alice_secret = CBitcoinSecret.from_secret_bytes(hashlib.sha256(b'a').digest())
bob_secret = CBitcoinSecret.from_secret_bytes(hashlib.sha256(b'b').digest())
carol_secret = CBitcoinSecret.from_secret_bytes(hashlib.sha256(b'c').digest())
alice = alice_secret.pub
bob = bob_secret.pub
carol = carol_secret.pub
# Create the same script as minsc uses for 2 of 3 multisig
script = CScript([
2,
alice,
bob,
carol,
3,
OP_CHECKMULTISIG,
])
script_hash = hashlib.sha256(script).digest()
script_pubkey = CScript([OP_0, script_hash])
# Given a script pubkey, construct and print a P2WSH address
address = P2WSHBitcoinAddress.from_scriptPubKey(script_pubkey)
print('Address:', str(address))
Wrapping Up
The examples above demonstrate how to use Minsc to efficiently create addresses for your Bitcoin contracts. Minsc ensures that your contracts are both secure and efficient.
However, Minsc does not support the construction of spending transactions. To spend funds sent to an address generated with Minsc, you will need to do it manually. If you are unsure how to proceed, refer to our articles that guide you through generating an address and spending the funds using Python.
