Timelock

What is Timelock?

A timelock is a smart contract that enforces a mandatory delay between a governance proposal being approved and it being executed. It gives the community time to react before changes take effect.

How does Timelock work?

1. A proposal passes the community vote.
2. Instead of executing immediately, it enters a queue in the timelock contract.
3. The delay period begins typically 1 to 7 days depending on the protocol.
4. If a bug or attack is discovered, the DAO can cancel the queued proposal before execution.
5. After the delay, anyone can trigger execution.

Why does Timelock matter?

It is the primary defense against governance attacks. If an attacker acquires enough votes to pass a malicious proposal, the timelock window allows the community to respond and cancel it.

Key features of Timelock

• Mandatory delay cannot be bypassed by anyone
• Queued proposals can be cancelled during the delay window
• Delay length varies by proposal severity
• Often combined with emergency multisigs for urgent situations

Examples of Timelock

Aave uses a 1-day timelock for parameter changes and 7 days for protocol upgrades. Compound and MakerDAO use timelocks scaled to change severity.

OpenZeppelin's Governor contract includes a built-in timelock pattern.