This site is the central resource site for authors of an Internet-Draft (I-D), with information on how to write an I-D and the tools available to support this. If you are new to authoring then begin with the introduction below or if you are more familiar then the main menu lists multiple individual topics.
If you have been redirected here from tools.ietf.org then that site has been decommissioned. The features available at that site have been replaced as follows:
- The interactive tools are now at https://author-tools.ietf.org
- The catalog of tools is now at Tools catalog
- The xml2rfc vocabulary documentation is now at RFCXML Vocabulary
- The repositories for the various tools are now in the ietf-tools organisation on GitHub
Internet-Drafts (I-Ds) are the basic work items of the IETF and they are produced for a variety of purposes by a wide range of individuals and groups. Anyone can write and submit an Internet-Draft.
Some I-Ds may eventually be published as a Request for Comment (RFC). Each of the RFC Streams has their own process for how an I-D becomes an RFC. For the IETF that is documented in the standards development process. When an I-D is approved to become an RFC, it follows the separate RFC Editor RFC publication process.
Unless otherwise indicated, the information on this site applies to all streams.
Internet-Drafts are prepared by people acting in possibly several roles, such as an author or an editor. The term "author" is used here, but the information applies to people acting in any role.
To find out more about authoring an I-D, begin with Getting started.
The content for this site is available in GitHub and we welcome pull requests proposing changes from the community. The repository README provides guidance on how to submit pull requests.
Likewise, the templates and schemas available on this site are published on GitHub and we welcome pull requests proposing changes.
This site includes much text from previous work by Henrik Levkowetz, Robert Sparks, Russ Housley, Ben Kaduk, Murray Kucherawy, Alvaro Retana, the RFC Production Center, and the members of many Internet Engineering Steering Groups (IESGs).
Activity on this site is tracked in accordance with the IETF/IRTF/IAB Privacy Statement