<p>TLV stands for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type%E2%80%93length%E2%80%93value" rel="noreferrer">type-length-value</a>. It's an encoding scheme used when protocols allow for optional elements in their messages.</p>
<p>The <strong>type</strong> is a label telling you what field you're looking at, the <strong>length</strong> tells you how long the field is, and the <strong>value</strong> provides the actual field data.</p>

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2022-06-15T14:56:47.823Z
2022-06-15T15:01:48.890Z
2022-06-15T15:01:48.890Z
Murch
<p>I'm reading about the gossip protocol and wanted to know what a TLV is. I can't find what it means anywhere.</p>

<lightning-network><terminology><lightning-routing><ln-gossip>
What does TLV stand for?
CriptoLuis
# What does TLV stand for?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-06-15)

I'm reading about the gossip protocol and wanted to know what a TLV is. I can't find what it means anywhere.

**Tags:** lightning-network, terminology, lightning-routing, ln-gossip


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-06-15. Score: 9

TLV stands for [type-length-value](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type%E2%80%93length%E2%80%93value). It's an encoding scheme used when protocols allow for optional elements in their messages.

The **type** is a label telling you what field you're looking at, the **length** tells you how long the field is, and the **value** provides the actual field data.


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