$Revision: 1.48 $

KGS Protocol Description

This XML document describes the KGS protocol. It is also used to automatically generate the perl parser for all the messages and structures in the protocol. Adapting it to other languages should be almost trivial.

Please note that wms has told me that he will change the protocol in response to my efforts. No problems with changing the protocol for good, but he does this just to make it more difficult to reverse-engineer it, since his changes are neither required, nor useful (they just make the protocol less robust, without adding added value). He doesn't even care that this locks out some users who cannot upgrade (cgoban2 isn't available for their platform anymore). It hurts to see such a waste of time and efforts that could have been used to fix bugs or improve the client...

If you feel you need to update the visual appearance of this document, feel free to look doc/doc2html.xsl and improve it.

The current version of this document can always be found at here, while the HTML version of it can be found here. (update: sourceforge is weeks behind on their anonymous cvs servers so the above might be out-of-date. sorry.)

Structure and conventions of this document and the protocol

"ORIGIN: CLIENT" means messages send from the client to the server, while "ORIGIN: SERVER" means messages send by the server to the client.

Everything on the wire is in little-endian format (what a shame).

Primitive types are mostly integers (signed "I<bits>", unsigned "U<bits>"), ascii strings ("username"), zero- or non-terminated UCS2-Strings ("ZSTRING" or "STRING"). Yes, I know java is supposed to do UTF-16, but no implementation seems to care...

For the rest, go figure or bug me, Marc Lehmann <pcg@goof.com>

Stream and message structure.

After connecting to the server, a handshake byte is sent. It's the major version number of the protocol the client expects to receive. Version 3 and 4 are mostly the same, except that Version 4 clients expect server messages to be compressed, version 3 clients not.

The server sends back his protocol number, which is always 3 in the current protocol. Most of the protocol variation is determined by the server using the client version that is used in the initial login message, not the initial handshake byte.

After the initial handshake, the client sends uncompressed messages, while the server sends back a zlib-compressed stream (rfc1950 and rfc1951).

All messages have the same header:

STRUCTURE message_header

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
_unknown U16      
length U16      
type U16      

Primitive types used in the protocol.

Apart from the basic types, I need to define some extra types to deal with fixed-point values (based on integer types) or fixed-length strings (either 7-bit-ascii or more limited (A), or UCS-2 based (S)).

TYPE username

BASE TYPE A, LENGTH 10, MULTIPLIER

The basic user or login name, used throughout the protocol as a handle to the user.

TYPE roomname

BASE TYPE S, LENGTH 25, MULTIPLIER

Many strings in the protocol are fixed-width for no good reason (maybe this is one reason for using compression in newer versions, as the packets itself are wasting lots of space.

TYPE realname

BASE TYPE S, LENGTH 50, MULTIPLIER

TYPE email

BASE TYPE S, LENGTH 70, MULTIPLIER

TYPE userinfo

BASE TYPE S, LENGTH 1000, MULTIPLIER

TYPE url

BASE TYPE A, LENGTH 100, MULTIPLIER

Used in user_record.

TYPE locale

BASE TYPE A, LENGTH 5, MULTIPLIER

A kind of locale specifier. It seems the general format seems to be lowercase language, underscore, uppercase location, e.g. en_US. More fancy specifications don't fit.

TYPE flag

BASE TYPE U8, LENGTH , MULTIPLIER 1

Just a simple boolean value. 0 means false, and 1 generally true, but I suggest accepting != 0 as true.

TYPE komi16

BASE TYPE I16, LENGTH , MULTIPLIER 2

TYPE komi32

BASE TYPE I32, LENGTH , MULTIPLIER 2

TYPE komi324

BASE TYPE I32, LENGTH , MULTIPLIER 4

Komi values are multiplied by 2 to make them integer in the protocol. Well, *most* of the time at least...

TYPE result

BASE TYPE I32, LENGTH , MULTIPLIER 2

The game result is also multiplied by two to give it higher resolution. There are also special values for wins by time etc., either in result or in the score* types, or both :)

TYPE score16

BASE TYPE I16, LENGTH , MULTIPLIER 4

TYPE score32

BASE TYPE I32, LENGTH , MULTIPLIER 4

TYPE score1000

BASE TYPE I32, LENGTH , MULTIPLIER 1000

A score value (used for displaying the score at the end of a game) are multiplied by four for a change (the 0.25 resolution is not used). In game structures it is encoded by dividing by two, though, so watch out! And in some others, it's encoded by multiplying by 1000... yuck!

TYPE time

BASE TYPE U32, LENGTH , MULTIPLIER 1000

Time values are multiplied by 1000, giving them millisecond accuracy.

TYPE timestamp

BASE TYPE U64, LENGTH , MULTIPLIER 1000

64 bit timeval, milliseconds since posix epoch, e.g. my ($year, $month, $day) = (gmtime $date * 0.001)[5,4,3];

TYPE password

BASE TYPE U64, LENGTH , MULTIPLIER

Password is a number calculated as follows (VERY insecure, basically plaintext!): password = 0; for char in characters do password ← password * 1055 + ascii_code (char)

Enumeration and set types used in the protocol.

enum: GAMETYPE

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
DEMONSTRATION    
TEACHING    
FREE    
RATED    
TYPE4 Probably not used, but the protocol has space for it it seems.    

enum: GAMEOPT

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
NONE    
LECTURE    
PRIVATE    
SIMUL    

set: GAMEFLAG

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
SCORED    
ADJOURNED    
UPLOADED    

set: ROOMFLAG

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
ADMIN 0x01     
DEFAULT 0x04     
PRIVATE 0x10     

set: GAMESTATUS

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
INPLAY 0x80     

enum: SCORE

Special score values, in addition to numerical scores. Some are also used with their negative value.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
TIMEOUT 16384 / 4  Also used negatively to score for white instead of black.    
RESIGN 16385 / 4  Also used negatively to score for white instead of black.    
FORFEIT 0 / 4  Also used negatively to score for white instead of black.    
JIGO 16386 / 4     
NO_RESULT 16386 / 4     
ADJOURNED 16387 / 4     
UNKNOWN 16389 / 4     

enum: RULESET

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
JAPANESE    
CHINESE    
AGA    
NEW_ZEALAND    

enum: TIMESYS

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
NONE    
ABSOLUTE    
BYO_YOMI    
CANADIAN    

enum: COLOUR

Convinience constants used in several places.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
BLACK    
WHITE    

Structs used in send & receive messages

STRUCTURE user

CLASS: KGS::User

Almost everywhere a user + flags is required, even used in some places where only a username is required. I see no general rule on when a complete user and when a partial user is required.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name username      
flags U32    

STRUCTURE rules

CLASS: KGS::Rules

This structure is used for challenges as well as in the special TREE "subprotocol". It tightly encodes the game parameters.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
ruleset U8      
size U8      
handicap U8      
komi komi16      
timesys U8      
time U32      
interval U32   byo-yomi time / canadian time    
count U16   periods / moves    

Structs used in messages from the client

Client-generated messages

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: login

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0000

Sent to login, usually the first message sent. The password needs to be set when the guest flag is true. Possible replies: login(0001) login(0002) login(0003) login(0004) login(0005) login(0006) login(0018) login(001c) login(0022). Followed by: timewarning_default(001b) chal_defaults(0411)

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
ver_major U32    
ver_minor U32    
ver_micro U32    
name username      
password password    
guest flag    
_unknown3 U16    
locale locale "en_US"     
clientver DATA "1.4.1_01:Swing app:Sun Microsystems Inc."  The "default" is the java vm version, not exactly he client version. However, you should always send a text like "Jonathan's C client bersion 0.6" or somesuch, so the server can, if necessary, block broken clients or client versions.    

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: req_userinfo

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0007

Request info about a certain user. Possible reply: userinfo(0008)

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name username      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: update_userinfo

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0007

Update user info. Message structure is very similar to userinfo(0008).

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
setpass flag   Should the password be updated?    
password password    
realname realname      
email email      
info userinfo      
homepage url      
_unused U64    
_unused U64    

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: msg_chat

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0013

This message is sent to initiate or continue a private chat with a user. You'll always receive a copy of what you have sent back from the server (as usual).

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name username   Name of sender ("yourself").    
name2 username   Name of recipient.    
message STRING   The message.    

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: req_stats

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0014

Request server statistics. Replied with stats(0015)

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: idle_reset

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0016

Send in response to idle_warn(0016) to keep the server from disconnecting.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: ping

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 001d

Wild guess, I send it in idle_warn(0016).

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: req_usergraph

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 001e

Request user graph data, replied with usergraph(001e).

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name username      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: fetch_memos

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 001f

Unclear. Fetch all outstanding memos? Replied with memo(001f)

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: req_pic

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0021

Request a user picture from the server. Results in a userpic(0021) or a timeout.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name username      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: upload_pic

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0021

Same code as pic_req, but with an additional data section that must contain a JPEG image that is <=7KB. It must have 141×200 pixels.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name username      
data DATA      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: send_memo

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0023

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name username      
msg STRING      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: gnotice

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0100

Send a global message. Maybe. Never tried, for obvious reasons :/. Results in a gnotice(0100) sent to all users.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
notice STRING      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: notify_add

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0200

Probably setting a notifier on a username, to get informed about changes using messages. sending your own username gives you a disconnect, so don't do that at home, kids!

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name username      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: notify_del

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0201

Probably remove the notifier again.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name username      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: list_rooms

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0318

List the rooms in a specific group/category. Results in a upd_rooms(0318) message.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
group U8      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: new_room

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 031a

Create a new room. Not verified.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name username      
i1 U32    
b1 U8    
b2 U8 255     
b3 U8 255     
group U8    
name ZSTRING      
description ZSTRING      
flags U8   See ROOMFLAGs    

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: req_upd_rooms

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 031b

Request a rooms update message for the given room.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: req_game_record

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0413

Requests part of the users game record to be sent. Results in a game_record(0414) or maybe a timeout.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name username      
timestamp timestamp   If zero, start at the newest games, else only send games before the given timestap.    

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: join_room

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4300

Joins the given room. join_room(4300) messages for yourself and all users in that room, as well as the initial gamelist, are send if the room exists. If not, timeout...

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
user user      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: msg_room

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4301

Send a message to the room.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
name username   Must be the login-name of the user.    
message STRING      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: part_room

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4302

Remove yourself (or maybe others as admin) from a room.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
name username      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: new_game

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4305

Unclear. Start a new game.

Clone: 00000: 20202020 20202020 20202020 20203238 28 00010: 9d000543 0d000000 00000000 00130201 ...C............ 00020: 0000ffff ffffffff ffffffff 00000000 ..ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ....

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
id U16      
gametype U32      
rules rules      
notes STRING      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: load_game

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 430a

Load an existing game into a room(?) There is no indication that a new game is there except for a upd_observers message with your name in it. Which means you have to watch upd_observers messages that are not for any currently open game and open one. Ugh.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16   The room to load the game into.    
timestamp timestamp   From the game record.    
user username      
flags U8   0 == public, 2 == private    

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: req_games

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 430b

Request to update room game list (send this once per minute to get updated). Results in upd_games messages.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: req_desc

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4319

Request room description.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: send_challenge

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4400

Unclear.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
black username      
white username   More following... TREE or challenge.    

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: join_game

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4403

Join a game. See join_room.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
user user      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: part_game

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4404

Leave (or kick as admin?) a certain user from a game.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
name username      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: set_tree

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4405

Possibly upload an initial game to an empty room. Not tested.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
tree TREE      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: upd_tree

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4406

Upload a partial game tree to the server. This is used to send moves and even in-game comments to the server. For the comments, the server prepends the username and rank.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
tree TREE      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: get_tree

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4408

Request the game tree starting at a given node. This is used when the server only sends a partial tree (with end code "more").

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
node U32      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: claim_win

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 440c

Unclear.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
_byte U8   Player colour maybe? Unclear.    

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: add_time

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 440d

Not checked.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
time U32      
player U8      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: grant_undo

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 440f

Can be send after a req_undo message was received to grant the undo.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: resign_game

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4410

Resign the game.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
player U8      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: set_teacher

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 441a

Change the teacher to somebody else (or possibly yourself == take it).

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
name username      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: allow_user

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4422

Unclear. Maybe allow users to talk? No idea, really.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
othername username      
name username   ; # gives user access to the game (to what? ;)    

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: set_privacy

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4423

Probably sets the "quiet" flag. Not checked.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
private U8      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: reject_challenge

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4429

Reject a challenge from a given user. Not checked.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
name username      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: save_game

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 442e

Is send when a game is closed and should be saved on the gamerecord.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: req_result

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4433

I forgot.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: set_quiet

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4434

Sets (or clears) the quiet flag on a game.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
quiet U8      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: msg_game

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4436

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
message STRING      

ORIGIN: CLIENT; MESSAGE: quit

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): ffff

Sent by the client just before it logs out.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD

Structs mainly used in messages send by the server

STRUCTURE challenge_defaults

Send soon after log-in to set the defaults for game challenges.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
gametype U32      
size U32      
timesys U32      
time U32      
byo_time U32      
byo_periods U32      
can_time U32      
can_stones U32      

STRUCTURE challenge

CLASS: KGS::Challenge

A challenge.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
user1 user      
user2 user      
gametype U32      
rules rules   Maybe the rules" are in TREE format. I forgot.    

STRUCTURE game

CLASS: KGS::Game

Basic information about a game. Used in rooms for the gamelist and in games to detect when a game is saved, changed type (e.g. R => D) etc.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
type U8      
user1 user   White    
user2 user   Black    
user3 user   Owner    
size U8      
handicap I8   < 0 not fully setup    
komi komi16      
moves I16   This field reflects either the movenum or the score, sorry, not even guards help, as the flags to determine that are _after_ the field. Arg. Divide by two to get the actual score (NOT score16!) (arg²).    
flags U16      
observers U32      
saved flag      
notes STRING     handicap < 0  

STRUCTURE room_obs

Obsolete.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name roomname      
channel U16      
flags U32      
users U32      

STRUCTURE room

CLASS: KGS::Room

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
flags U8      
group U8      
users U16      
games U16      
name STRING      

STRUCTURE scorevalues

CLASS: KGS::Score

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
score score32      
territory U32      
captures U32      
i3 U32      
f2 U32      
komi komi324      
i4 U32   Apparently the i3, f2, i4 are zero.    

STRUCTURE game_record

CLASS: KGS::GameRecord

A single game record entry, as seen in userinfo(0008).

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
timestamp timestamp   Time this game was played.    
flags1 U8      
user1 user   White, flags contain low 8 bits of revision (bits 16-23).    
user2 user   Black, flags contain high 8 bits of revision (bits 16-23).    
user3 user      
flags2 U16      
score score16      
flags3 U8      

Server-generated messages

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: login

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0001 (possibly in response to login(0000) )

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
message CONSTANT login successful     
success CONSTANT    

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: login

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0002 (possibly in response to login(0000) )

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
message CONSTANT login successful: client version is outdated.     
success CONSTANT    

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: login

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0003 (possibly in response to login(0000) )

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
message CONSTANT login failed: client version out of date  ** maybe more following? **    

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: login

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0004 (possibly in response to login(0000) )

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
message CONSTANT login failed: wrong password  ** maybe more following? **    

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: login

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0005 (possibly in response to login(0000) )

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
message CONSTANT login failed: specified user does not exist     

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: login

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0006 (possibly in response to login(0000) )

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
message CONSTANT login failed: registered user of same name exists     

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: userinfo

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0008 (possibly in response to req_userinfo(0007) )

User info.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
_unused0 flag      
user user      
_unused1 U64      
realname realname      
email email      
info userinfo      
homepage url      
regdate timestamp   When the user registered (0 == never registered).    
lastlogin timestamp   When the user logged in for the last time.    

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: upd_userinfo_result

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0009

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name username      
message CONSTANT Thanks for registering.     

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: upd_userinfo_result

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 000a

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name username      
message CONSTANT The user "%s" has been successfully updated.     

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: upd_userinfo_result

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 000b

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name username      
message CONSTANT There is no user "%s". Update failed.     

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: userinfo_failed

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0012

Sent when no userinfo for the requested user could be found(?)

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name username      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: msg_chat

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0013

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name username   Name of sender (either yourself (echo) or other)    
name2 username   Name of recipient.    
message STRING      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: stats

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0015 (possibly in response to req_stats(0014) )

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
ver_major U16      
ver_minor U16      
ver_micro U16      
boot_time timestamp      
users_cur U32      
users_max U32      
users_lim U32      
accts_cur U32      
accts_max U32      
unknown1 U32      
work_max U32      
rooms_cur U32      
rooms_max U32      
rooms_lim U32      
games_cur U32      
games_max U32      
games_lim U32      
results_cur U32      
results_max U32      
unknown2 U32      
params_cur U32      
params_max U32      
bytes_in U64      
packets_in U64      
bytes_out U64      
packets_out U64      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: idle_warn

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0016 (possibly in response to idle_reset(0016) )

idle warning, autologout soon (10 minutes...)

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: login

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0018 (possibly in response to login(0000) )

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
message CONSTANT logged out: another client logged in with your username     

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: login

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 001c (possibly in response to login(0000) )

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
message CONSTANT logged out: idle for too long     

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: error

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0020

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
message CONSTANT Sorry, you have too many unfinished games. You cannot turn on your rank. Please finish some of your games, then try again.     

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: login

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0022 (possibly in response to login(0000) )

I was blocked sooo many times for developing this client that it was easy to figure out. The KGS admins sure need no extra nazi training :(

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
reason STRING      
result CONSTANT user or ip blocked     

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: timewarning_default

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 001b (possibly in response to login(0000) )

WILD guess

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
time U16      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: idle_err

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 001c

autologout

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: ping

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 001d

Sent by the server regularly, but not answering them isn't valid. Strange form of keepalive?

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: usergraph

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 001e (possibly in response to req_usergraph(001e) )

User graph data.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name username      
data I16   If empty, no graph is available. The unit seems to be centi-kyu, with 1 dan == 0, 2 dan == 100, 1 kyu == -100. There is probably one entry per day, the newest one last.    

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: memo

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 001f (possibly in response to fetch_memos(001f) )

Unclear. "Leave Message"? 6 strings following.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
s1 ZSTRING      
s2 ZSTRING      
s3 ZSTRING      
s4 ZSTRING      
s5 ZSTRING      
s6 ZSTRING      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: userpic

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0021 (possibly in response to req_pic(0021) )

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name username   Reply to pic_req, contains an image in jpeg format.    
data DATA      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: gnotice

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0100 (possibly in response to gnotice(0100) )

global notice, sent to everybody

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
notice STRING      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: notify_event

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0202

# maybe soe notify? Totally unclear. # loc 0" type="userinfo, flags etc. loc 1 => gameinfo?, loc 2 => game result (more data)

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
event U32      
user user      
gamerecord game_record     event == 2  

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: priv_room

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0310

"permission denied" when joining a room

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name STRING      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: upd_rooms

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0318 (possibly in response to list_rooms(0318) )

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
rooms room      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: chal_defaults

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0411 (possibly in response to login(0000) )

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
defaults challenge_defaults      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: game_error

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0412

Unable to create challenge. The channel is be optional.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
message CONSTANT Sorry, you are already playing in one game, so you can't start playing in another.     
channel U16      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: game_record

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0414 (possibly in response to req_game_record(0413) )

The users game record.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
name username      
more flag   Wether more games are available (must be requested manually)    
games game_record      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: error

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0417

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
message CONSTANT Sorry, your opponent is currently not logged in, so you can't resume this game.     

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: error

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0418

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
message CONSTANT Sorry, your opponent is already playing in a game, so you cannot continue this one.     

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: error

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0419

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
message CONSTANT Sorry, the server is out of boards! Please wait a few minutes and try to start a game again.     

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: upd_game2

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 041c

Unclear.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel_junk U16      
game game      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: error

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 041f

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
message CONSTANT Sorry, the game you tried to load was not correctly saved...probably caused by the server crashing. It cannot be recovered.     

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: error

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0420

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
message CONSTANT Sorry, user "%s" has left the game you are starting before you could challenge them. You will have to play against somebody else.     

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: error

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 0421

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
message CONSTANT Sorry, this game is a private lesson. You will not be allowed to observe it.     

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: add_global_challenge

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 043a

Adds or updates a global challenge (open game list).

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
game game      

Room messages

Not all room messages are for rooms only, and rooms need to parse not only these messages. Orthogonality, what for?

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: join_room

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4300 (possibly in response to join_room(4300) )

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
users user      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: msg_room

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4301

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
name username      
message STRING      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: part_room

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4302

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
user user      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: del_room

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4303

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: upd_games

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4304

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
games game      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: desc_room

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4319

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
owner username      
description STRING      

Game messages

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: upd_challenge

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4400

Unclear.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
challenge challenge      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: upd_game

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4401

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
game game      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: del_game

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4402

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: upd_observers

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4403

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
users user      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: del_observer

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4404

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
name username      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: set_tree

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4405

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
tree TREE      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: upd_tree

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4406

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
tree TREE      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: superko

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4409

Superko-warning.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: final_result

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 440b

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
blackscore scorevalues      
whitescore scorevalues      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: req_undo

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 440e

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: resign_game

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4410

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
player U8      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: game_error

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4415

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
message CONSTANT Sorry, this is a lecture game. Only authorized players are allowed to make comments.     

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: set_teacher

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 441a

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
name username      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: owner_left

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 441d

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
message CONSTANT Sorry, the owner of this game has left. Nobody will be allowed to edit it until the owner returns.     

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: teacher_left

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 441e

Unclear.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: allow_user_result

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4422

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
message CONSTANT User "%s" will now be allowed full access to your game.     
channel U16      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: allow_user_result

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4424

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
message CONSTANT Sorry, user "%s" is a guest and cannot be allowed full access to your game.     
channel U16      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: allow_user_result

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4425

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
message CONSTANT Sorry, user "%s" does not seem to exist and cannot be allowed into your game.     
channel U16      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: add_tree

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4428

See set_tree(4405). In addition, flags the tree as being uploaded completely.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
tree TREE      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: reject_challenge

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4429

Reject a challenge by a given user. Not checked.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
name username      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: new_game

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 442f

Notifies the client that a new game has been created. This message is sent long *after* upd_games and upd_observers etc. have been received. *sigh*

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
id U16      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: req_result

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4433

Unclear.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16   # # recv_result(?)    

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: set_quiet

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 4434

Sets (or clears) the quiet flag on a game.

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
quiet U8      

ORIGIN: SERVER; MESSAGE: del_global_challenge

NUMERIC TYPE (hex): 443b

Remove a game from the global challenge list (open game list).

NAME TYPE VALUE DESCRIPTION GUARD
channel U16      
game U16