# mas-bandwidth/netcode

Secure client/server protocol for multiplayer games built on top of UDP

Repository: https://github.com/mas-bandwidth/netcode
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/netcode
Language: C
License: BSD-3-Clause
License Family: permissive
Topics: udp, packets, protocol, client-server, game-development
Last push: 2026-08-26T04:02:49+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": 3534, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 7, "gap_med": 0.5, "n_releases_24m": 13}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2595, forks 206 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:03.083651+00:00)

## What it is
A C library implementing a secure, connection-oriented client/server protocol on top of UDP for real-time multiplayer games. It handles encrypted and signed packets, connect tokens, client slots, and disconnect handling so developers can focus on their game protocol.

## Use cases
- add secure client/server connections to a multiplayer game over UDP
- authorize clients with connect tokens generated by a matchmaking backend
- manage a fixed number of client slots on a game server
- protect game packets from tampering, replay, and amplification attacks
- support IPv4 and IPv6 game networking
- reduce Wi-Fi jitter with QoS packet tagging

## When to choose
- you are building a real-time multiplayer game and need reliable connection management over UDP
- you want secure, encrypted game packets without building your own crypto
- you need a lightweight C library with minimal dependencies (libsodium)

## When to avoid
- you need reliable ordered streams like TCP provides
- you are building a non-game network service better served by HTTP/WebSocket libraries
- you need a full game networking solution with replication and state sync built in

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: networking, security, cryptography, sdk
- domain: networking, security
- platform: cross-platform, cpp, c
- tags: udp, multiplayer-games, client-server, connect-tokens, libsodium, real-time, game-development

## Member repositories
- mas-bandwidth/netcode (main) score 99

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:03.083651+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 2026-08-30T02:22:15.342754+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/mas-bandwidth/netcode (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:03.083651+00:00, sha 88f5d667ed4a)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.