Packet Structure

Field	Size (bytes)	Description
header	1	Contains routing type, payload type, and payload version.
transport_codes	4 (optional)	2x 16-bit transport codes (if ROUTE_TYPE_TRANSPORT_*)
path_len	1	Length of the path field in bytes.
path	up to 64 (MAX_PATH_SIZE)	Stores the routing path if applicable.
payload	up to 184 (MAX_PACKET_PAYLOAD)	The actual data being transmitted.

Note: see the payloads doc for more information about the content of payload.

Header Breakdown

bit 0 means the lowest bit (1s place)

Bits	Mask	Field	Description
0-1	0x03	Route Type	Flood, Direct, Reserved - see below.
2-5	0x3C	Payload Type	Request, Response, ACK, etc. - see below.
6-7	0xC0	Payload Version	Versioning of the payload format - see below.

Route Type Values

Value	Name	Description
0x00	ROUTE_TYPE_TRANSPORT_FLOOD	Flood routing mode + transport codes
0x01	ROUTE_TYPE_FLOOD	Flood routing mode (builds up path).
0x02	ROUTE_TYPE_DIRECT	Direct route (path is supplied).
0x03	ROUTE_TYPE_TRANSPORT_DIRECT	direct route + transport codes

Payload Type Values

Value	Name	Description
0x00	PAYLOAD_TYPE_REQ	Request (destination/source hashes + MAC).
0x01	PAYLOAD_TYPE_RESPONSE	Response to REQ or ANON_REQ.
0x02	PAYLOAD_TYPE_TXT_MSG	Plain text message.
0x03	PAYLOAD_TYPE_ACK	Acknowledgment.
0x04	PAYLOAD_TYPE_ADVERT	Node advertisement.
0x05	PAYLOAD_TYPE_GRP_TXT	Group text message (unverified).
0x06	PAYLOAD_TYPE_GRP_DATA	Group datagram (unverified).
0x07	PAYLOAD_TYPE_ANON_REQ	Anonymous request.
0x08	PAYLOAD_TYPE_PATH	Returned path.
0x09	PAYLOAD_TYPE_TRACE	trace a path, collecting SNI for each hop.
0x0A	PAYLOAD_TYPE_MULTIPART	packet is part of a sequence of packets.
0x0B	PAYLOAD_TYPE_CONTROL	control packet data (unencrypted)
0x0C	.	reserved
0x0D	.	reserved
0x0E	.	reserved
0x0F	PAYLOAD_TYPE_RAW_CUSTOM	Custom packet (raw bytes, custom encryption).

Payload Version Values

Value	Version	Description
0x00	1	1-byte src/dest hashes, 2-byte MAC.
0x01	2	Future version (e.g., 2-byte hashes, 4-byte MAC).
0x02	3	Future version.
0x03	4	Future version.