# msgpack/msgpack-c

MessagePack implementation for C and C++ / msgpack.org[C/C++]

Repository: https://github.com/msgpack/msgpack-c
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/msgpack-c
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Last push: 2026-08-25T08:56:30+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 99/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 99, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5174, "days_push": 8, "days_rel": 8, "gap_med": 9, "n_releases_24m": 6}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3343, forks 936 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:56.967378+00:00)

## What it is
MessagePack is an efficient binary serialization format, like JSON but smaller and faster, and this repository is its official implementation for C and C++. It lets applications encode and decode compact binary data that can be exchanged across many programming languages.

## Use cases
- serialize structured data to a compact binary format in C or C++
- exchange data between services written in different languages
- reduce payload size compared to JSON for network communication
- encode and decode MessagePack messages in embedded or performance-sensitive C++ code
- replace JSON with a faster, smaller wire format

## When to choose
- you need a fast, compact binary serialization format in C or C++
- you want cross-language data interchange with a mature, widely supported format
- payload size and encoding speed matter more than human readability

## When to avoid
- you need human-readable output or easy debugging of payloads
- your ecosystem already standardizes on JSON or protobuf
- you need schema definition and evolution features like those in Protocol Buffers

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: serialization
- domain: developer-tools, files
- platform: cpp, c, cross-platform
- tags: messagepack, binary-format, data-exchange, c, cpp, algorithms

## Member repositories
- msgpack/msgpack-c (main) score 99

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:56.967378+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:41:03.318689+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/msgpack/msgpack-c (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:56.967378+00:00, sha c1634c95077a)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.