test: expand offline descriptor test coverage to include all BIP descriptor constructors
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Assessment
- Difficulty
- 3/5
- Estimated time
- 1-2 days
- Newbie friendliness
- 84/100
Research direction
Start with tests/test_offline_descriptor.py and the existing test_descriptor_bip86 test to follow its fixed-mnemonic and full-descriptor-string pattern. Add coverage for the listed BIP44, BIP49, BIP84, BIP86, new_wsh_sortedmulti, and new_sh_sortedmulti constructors, then run the offline descriptor tests; done means all expected descriptor strings and checksums pass without network access.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Description
What is missing
tests/test_offline_descriptor.py currently contains a single test:
test_descriptor_bip86 — tests Descriptor.new_bip86() for the external keychain only
bdkpython exposes 8 BIP descriptor template constructors (from bdk_wallet::template)
across 4 standards, each with a private key variant (DescriptorSecretKey) and a
watch-only public key variant (DescriptorPublicKey), plus 3 miniscript multisig
constructors. None of the following have test coverage today:
| Constructor | Standard | Script type | Tested? |
|---|---|---|---|
Descriptor.new_bip44() |
BIP44 | pkh(...) |
No |
Descriptor.new_bip44_public() |
BIP44 | pkh(...) |
No |
Descriptor.new_bip49() |
BIP49 | sh(wpkh(...)) |
No |
Descriptor.new_bip49_public() |
BIP49 | sh(wpkh(...)) |
No |
Descriptor.new_bip84() |
BIP84 | wpkh(...) |
No |
Descriptor.new_bip84_public() |
BIP84 | wpkh(...) |
No |
Descriptor.new_bip86() internal |
BIP86 | tr(...) |
No |
Descriptor.new_bip86_public() |
BIP86 | tr(...) |
No |
Descriptor.new_wsh_sortedmulti() |
miniscript | wsh(sortedmulti(...)) |
No |
Descriptor.new_sh_sortedmulti() |
miniscript | sh(sortedmulti(...)) |
No |
Descriptor.new_sh_wsh_sortedmulti() |
miniscript | sh(wsh(sortedmulti(...))) |
No |
What I propose to add
13 new tests in tests/test_offline_descriptor.py covering:
- BIP44 — external keychain, internal keychain, and watch-only (
new_bip44_public) variant - BIP49 — external keychain, internal keychain, and watch-only (
new_bip49_public) variant - BIP84 — external keychain, internal keychain, and watch-only (
new_bip84_public) variant - BIP86 — internal keychain and watch-only (
new_bip86_public) variant (external already exists) - Multisig —
new_wsh_sortedmultiandnew_sh_sortedmulti2-of-3
I am intentionally leaving new_sh_wsh_sortedmulti out of this PR to keep the scope
focused, and can follow up with a separate issue if the maintainers consider it worthwhile.
All tests will be:
- Fully offline — no network access required
- Deterministic — fixed test mnemonic so expected outputs are independently verifiable
with any compatible BIP32/BIP44/BIP49/BIP84/BIP86 implementation - Following the same pattern as the existing test: fixed mnemonic → derive key → assert full descriptor string including checksum
Why this matters
Descriptor construction is the first thing every bdkpython user does — it is required
to create a Wallet. Without test coverage for these constructors, a regression in the
FFI layer (e.g. wrong derivation path, wrong script type, wrong network prefix, wrong
checksum) would go undetected until a user reports it in production.
Each test pins the full descriptor output string to a known-correct value, which means
any future change to the FFI type conversion or the bdk_wallet::template behavior
that silently produces wrong output will immediately fail CI.
This is a pure Python addition — no changes to the Rust layer.
Checklist before I open a PR
- Maintainer confirms this contribution is welcome
- I will follow the existing file structure in
tests/test_offline_descriptor.py - I will verify all expected values against the fixed mnemonic before submitting
- Dominant language
- Python
- Stars
- 11
- Forks
- 12
- Avg merge
- 2d 13h
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 2
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First steps
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- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
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