dashpay
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+# Dash Core RPC Documentation Tools
+
+This directory contains tools to assist with updating Dash Core RPC documentation when new versions are released.
+
+## Overview
+
+These scripts automate the process of:
+
+1. Extracting all RPC command help text from Dash Core
+2. Comparing RPC definitions between versions
+3. Generating human-readable change summaries
+
+This workflow helps documentation maintainers quickly identify what changed between Dash Core versions and update the RPC reference docs accordingly.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+### Required Software
+
+* **dash-cli**: The Dash Core command-line interface (from your local Dash Core build or installation)
+* **Running Dash node**: A Dash node with RPC access (testnet, mainnet, or regtest)
+* **Python 3**: For running the comparison script
+* **jq**: For JSON processing (used by dump-cli-help.sh)
+* **Bash**: For running the shell script
+
+### Setup
+
+1. Ensure your Dash node is running and synced
+2. Verify dash-cli can connect to your node:
+
+   ```bash
+   dash-cli -testnet getblockchaininfo
+   ```
+
+3. Install jq if not already installed:
+
+   ```bash
+   # Ubuntu/Debian
+   sudo apt-get install jq
+
+   # macOS
+   brew install jq
+   ```
+
+## Complete Workflow
+
+### Step 1: Dump RPC Help for the Old Version
+
+First, dump all RPC help text from the version you're upgrading FROM:
+
+```bash
+cd scripts/core-rpc-tools
+
+# Set path to your dash-cli for version 22.1.3 (example)
+CLI="$HOME/dashcore-22.1.3/bin/dash-cli" NET_ARGS="-testnet" ./dump-cli-help.sh
+```
+
+This generates two files:
+
+* `dash-cli-help-22.1.3-<timestamp>.txt` - Human-readable text file
+* `dash-cli-help-22.1.3-<timestamp>.jsonl` - Machine-readable JSONL file
+
+### Step 2: Dump RPC Help for the New Version
+
+Switch to the new Dash Core version and dump its help:
+
+```bash
+# Restart your node with the new version
+# Then dump help again
+cd ~/code/dashpay-docs/scripts/core-rpc-tools
+CLI="$HOME/dashcore-23.0.0/bin/dash-cli" NET_ARGS="-testnet" ./dump-cli-help.sh
+```
+
+This generates:
+
+* `dash-cli-help-23.0.0-<timestamp>.txt`
+* `dash-cli-help-23.0.0-<timestamp>.jsonl`
+
+### Step 3: Generate Change Summary
+
+Compare the two versions and generate a detailed change report:
+
+```bash
+# Pass the two JSONL files as command-line arguments
+python3 generate-rpc-change-summary.py \
+  dash-cli-help-22.1.3-<timestamp>.jsonl \
+  dash-cli-help-23.0.0-<timestamp>.jsonl
+```
+
+This generates:
+
+* `rpc-changes-summary-22.1.3-to-23.0.0.md` - Comprehensive change summary
+
+## Script Details
+
+### dump-cli-help.sh
+
+**Purpose**: Extracts help text for all RPC commands and subcommands from dash-cli.
+
+**Usage**:
+
+```bash
+./dump-cli-help.sh
+```
+
+**Configuration via Environment Variables**:
+
+```bash
+# Custom dash-cli path
+CLI="/path/to/dash-cli" ./dump-cli-help.sh
+
+# Different network
+NET_ARGS="" ./dump-cli-help.sh  # mainnet
+```
+
+**How It Works**:
+
+1. Runs `dash-cli help` to get the full command list
+2. Iterates through each command and captures `dash-cli help <command>`
+3. Detects "family" RPCs (commands with subcommands like `protx`, `bls`, `coinjoin`)
+4. For family RPCs, discovers and captures help for each subcommand
+5. Outputs both human-readable text and structured JSONL format
+6. Automatically extracts version from `dash-cli -version` and includes it in filenames
+
+**Output Files**:
+
+* **Text file** (`.txt`): Formatted for human reading, with headers and separators
+* **JSONL file** (`.jsonl`): One JSON object per line, structured for machine parsing
+  * Metadata header with version, network, timestamp
+  * One record per command/subcommand with:
+    * `command`: Top-level command name
+    * `subcommand`: Subcommand name (null for root commands)
+    * `qualified`: Full command string (e.g., "protx register")
+    * `signature_tail`: Argument signature from help list
+    * `is_family`: Whether this is a family RPC with subcommands
+    * `help_raw`: Complete help text
+    * `help_sha256`: Hash for detecting changes
+
+### generate-rpc-change-summary.py
+
+**Purpose**: Compares two JSONL help dumps and generates a detailed change summary.
+
+**Usage**:
+
+```bash
+python3 generate-rpc-change-summary.py <old_version.jsonl> <new_version.jsonl>
+```
+
+**Examples**:
+
+```bash
+# Compare version 22.1.3 to 23.0.0
+python3 generate-rpc-change-summary.py \
+  dash-cli-help-22.1.3-20251104T214929Z.jsonl \
+  dash-cli-help-23.0.0-20251104T213450Z.jsonl
+
+# The script automatically extracts version info from the JSONL metadata
+# and creates an appropriately named output file
+```
+
+## Output Files Reference
+
+After running the complete workflow, you'll have these files:
+
+| File | Purpose | Format |
+|------|---------|--------|
+| `dash-cli-help-{version}-{timestamp}.txt` | Human-readable help dump | Plain text with headers |
+| `dash-cli-help-{version}-{timestamp}.jsonl` | Machine-readable help dump | JSONL (one JSON per line) |
+| `rpc-changes-summary-{oldver}-to-{newver}.md` | Change summary report | Markdown |
+
+**Recommended versioning**: Keep all JSONL files in version control to track historical changes:
+
+```bash
+git add dash-cli-help-*.jsonl
+git add rpc-changes-summary-*.md
+git commit -m "feat: add RPC change analysis for <version>"
+```