Pocket Minecraft Protocol

Heads up! This is outdated information for Minecraft Pocket Edition.. For the latest Bedrock Edition protocol documentation see Bedrock Protocol.

Unlike the Minecraft protocol, this protocol uses UDP with (so far observed, at least) one message per packet. This makes the protocol easier to work with when it comes to packet serialization, and might offer latency improvements, but will inevitably have the usual UDP issues (packets lost, truncated, duplicated, out-of-order, etc.).

As of 0.9.0, clients appear to search for servers on only port 19132.

Clients don't pick any specific port to listen on.

Please note that even where packet field names are written in this page, these are still largely hypothetical and could well be incorrect guesses. Some packets are fixed to the RakNet protocol, and will be marked as "RakNet Packet", which means that these packets will not change on future versions.

It has been determined that PM uses RakNet for its networking library, some documentation that seems relevant.

The login sequence is not covered by this page.

Terminology

PM

Pocket Minecraft (aka Minecraft PE or Minecraft Pocket Edition)

Types

	Size	Range	Notes
byte	1	-128 to 127	Signed, two's complement
short	2	-32768 to 32767	Signed, two's complement
int32	4	-2147483648 to 2147483647	Signed, two's complement
int64	8		Maybe a double?
MAGIC	16	0x00ffff00fefefefefdfdfdfd12345678	always those hex bytes, corresponding to RakNet's default OFFLINE_MESSAGE_DATA_ID
string	= 1	N/A	Prefixed by a short containing the length of the string in characters. It appears that only the following ASCII characters can be displayed: !"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~

Login Packets

All packets start with a single byte that identifies the packet type, the rest of the packet follows it. Please note that packets 0x09 through 0x13 are not documented (yet).

ID_CONNECTED_PING_OPEN_CONNECTIONS (0x01)

Client to Broadcast

RakNet Packet

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0x01	Ping ID	int64	0x00000000003c6d0d	Time since start in Milliseconds
	MAGIC	MAGIC
Total Size:	25 Bytes

Clients start out by sending this packet to the IP broadcast address on port 19132 repeatedly (approx once per second) when joining a server was chosen on the main screen, and stops when the user selects a server (or leaves the screen). The ping ID from the client increases over time, and appears to be the number of milliseconds since the client program was started (might be used to measure server response latency).

ID_UNCONNECTED_PING_OPEN_CONNECTIONS (0x02)

Client to Broadcast

NOTE: THIS PACKET APPEARS TO BE UNUSED. Use a 0x01 packet instead

RakNet Packet

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0x02	Ping ID	int64	0x00000000003c6d0d	Time since start in Milliseconds
	MAGIC	MAGIC
Total Size:	25 Bytes

Same as ID_CONNECTED_PING_OPEN_CONNECTIONS (0x01), but with the Packet ID changed.

ID_OPEN_CONNECTION_REQUEST_1 (0x05)

Client to Server

RakNet Packet

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0x05	MAGIC	MAGIC
	RakNet Protocol Version	byte	5	Check the Data Packet section for the current version
	Null Payload	many 0x00 bytes	0x00 * 1447	MTU (Maximum Transport Unit)
Total Size:	18 Bytes + length of Null Payload

If the version is different than yours, reply with a ID_INCOMPATIBLE_PROTOCOL_VERSION (0x1A)

Sent from the client after the player taps on the server in the world list The client will repeatedly send this with reducing sizes until it successfully receives a reply. Observed behaviour is that the client will send packets ~0.5s apart in the following way, until it gets a 0x06 response packet, or reaches the end of these:

• 4 packets of Null Payload length of 1447
• 4 packets of Null Payload length of 1155
• 5 packets of Null Payload length of 531

If the server doesnt't reply the client, the client will display a "Connect Error" window

ID_OPEN_CONNECTION_REPLY_1 (0x06)

Server to Client

RakNet Packet

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0x06	MAGIC	MAGIC
	Server ID	int64	0x00000000372cdc9e	This value seems to be constant for an installation of PM, or differs between the demo and full version.
	Server Security	byte	0	Always 0
	MTU Size	short	1447	length of 0x05. Used to determine packet loss and max UDP packet size (MTU)
Total Size:	28 Bytes

Sent from server after it receives packet 0x05.

ID_OPEN_CONNECTION_REQUEST_2 (0x07)

Client to Server

RakNet Packet

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0x07	MAGIC	MAGIC
	Server Address	1 + 4 bytes	0x043f57fefd	0x4 for IPv4 and the twos complement of each byte of the servers ip address,
	Server UDP Port	short	19132
	MTU Size	short	1464
	Client ID	int64	0x00000000372cdc9e	The Client / Server ID will be the same for a given device
Total Size:	34 Bytes

Sent from client in response to packet 0x06.

ID_OPEN_CONNECTION_REPLY_2 (0x08)

Server to Client

RakNet Packet

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0x08	MAGIC	MAGIC
	Server ID	int64	0x00000000372cdc9e
	Client UDP Port	short	46946
	MTU Size	short	1464
	Security	byte	0	Always 0
Total Size:	30 Bytes

Sent from server in response to packet 0x07.

ID_INCOMPATIBLE_PROTOCOL_VERSION (0x1A)

Server to Client

RakNet Packet

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0x1A	Protocol Version	byte	5
	MAGIC	MAGIC
	Server ID	int64	0x00000000372cdc9e
Total Size:	26 Bytes

Sent when the server doesn't support the RakNet protocol specified in 0x05.

ID_UNCONNECTED_PING_OPEN_CONNECTIONS (0x1C)

Server to Client

RakNet Packet

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0x1C	Ping ID	int64	0x00000000003c6d0d	Time since start in Milliseconds
	Server ID	int64	0x00000000372cdc9e
	MAGIC	MAGIC
	Identifier	string	"MCPE;Steve;2 7;0.11.0;0;20"	Used to send the username, format: MCPE;<Server name>;<Protocol version>;<MCPE Version>;<Players>;<Max Players>
Total Size:	35 Bytes + Server name length

Server sends this packet in response to a 0x01 packet. If the Server is invisible, this packet will be sent without username

In order for the server to show up in the world list, the server name must have "MCCPP;MINECON;" in front of it. Since MCPE 0.11.0, the server name has a different format.

ID_ADVERTISE_SYSTEM (0x1D)

Server to Client

RakNet Packet

THIS PACKET IS UNUSED, Use a 0x1c packet instead.

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0x1D	Ping ID	int64	0x00000000003c6d0d	Time since start in Milliseconds
	Server ID	int64	0x00000000372cdc9e
	MAGIC	MAGIC
	Data	string	MCPE;Steve;2 7;0.11.0;0;20	Used to send the username, format: MCPE;<Server name>;<Protocol version>;<MCPE Version>;<Players>;<Max Players>
Total Size:	35 Bytes + length of string

Same as ID_UNCONNECTED_PING_OPEN_CONNECTIONS (0x1C), but with the Packet ID changed. Depends of the version to send a 0x1D or a 0x1C

Custom Packet (0x80-0x8F)

Two-Way

This packet is part of the real Minecraft PE implementation. The structure can change anytime.

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0x80-0x8F	Count	3 bytes	0	Increments once every packet.
	Data payload		0x40009000000009...	Uses Packet Encapsulation format
Total Size:	4 Bytes + payload

The receiver will use the Packet number in the 0xC0 packet and send it back.

NAK (0xA0)

Two-Way

RakNet Packet

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0xA0	Count	short	1
	MinEqualsMax	boolean	true	true if the following range contains only one number
	Packet Number (Min)	3 bytes	0x000000	Range of packet to resend
	Packet Number (Max)	3 bytes	0x000004	Range of packet to resend (only if false)
Total Size:	7 or 10 Bytes

Send these when a packet was lost, or reply to this resending the lost packet.

ACK (0xC0)

Two-Way

RakNet Packet

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0xC0	Count	short	1
	MinEqualsMax	boolean	true	true if the following range contains only one number
	Packet Number (Min)	3 bytes	0x000000	Received packet number from field Count in 0x84 and 0x8C
	Packet Number (Max)	3 bytes	0x000004	Received Packet Number (only when false)
Total Size:	7 or 10 Bytes

Sent after a 0x8X. It's used to ACK recieval of packets. The second packet number is optional and only there when bool is false.

Packet Encapsulation format

The payload in 0x80-0x8F packets is encoded using different schemes. To decode them, you've to use the Encapsulation ID to check wich type you should use. The Encapsulation ID is the first byte of the payload.

Multiple Data Encapsulation packets could be present in one packet. If you want to send data, use 0x00.

Length field is in bits, not bytes. To get the length in bytes, use length_in_bytes = length / 8. The length field is excluding the header -- both the 0x8X packet header, as well as the encapsulated packet header.

0x00

Encapsulation ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0x00	length	short	0x0090	Length of Packet in bits
	Packet	Data Packet	0x09d92145...
Total Size:	3 Bytes + Packet Data length

0x40

Encapsulation ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0x40	length	short	0x0090	Length of Packet in bits
	Count	3 bytes	0x000000	Unknown use
	Packet	Data Packet	0x09d92145...
Total Size:	6 Bytes + Packet Data length

0x60

Encapsulation ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0x60	length	short	0x0090	Length of Packet in bits
	Count	3 bytes	0x000000	Unknown use
	Unknown	4 bytes	0x00000000	Only sent on first iteration
	Packet	Data Packet	0x09d92145...
Total Size:	12 Bytes + Packet Data length

Encapsulated Login packets

After packets 0x05 through 0x08 are sent, the client will send the first encapsulated packets (0x09 through 0x13). After 0x13 the game begins. You can check the login sequence here.

Client Connect (0x09)

Client to Server

This is a Data Packet. It is encoded using packet encapsulation format.

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0x09	clientID	int64		The mojang client's clientID.
	session	int64		A long that is sent back to the client in 0x10.
	unknown	byte		Unknown use. Constant value.
Total Size:	18 Bytes

Server Handshake (0x10)

Server to Client

This is a Data Packet. It is encoded using packet encapsulation format..

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0x10	Cookie	4 bytes	043f57fe	Unknown use, constant value.
	Security flags	1 byte	0xcd	Unknown use, constant value.
	Server port	short	19132	Unknown use.
	Data Array	70 bytes		Unknown use, constant value (see below).
	Unknown	2 bytes	0x00 0x00	Unknown use, constant value.
	Session	int64		Session long recieved in 0x09.
	Unknown	8 bytes	0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x04, 0x44, 0x0b, 0xa9	Unknown use, constant value.
	Total Size:	96 Bytes

Data Array

The data array section is unknown, but we do know how to get it right. Below is some code on how to create the array (C#).

  public void putDataArray()
       {
           byte[] unknown1 = new byte[] { 0xf5, 0xff, 0xff, 0xf5 };
           byte[] unknown2 = new byte[] { 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff };
           this.putTriad(unknown1.Length);
           this.putBytes(unknown1);
           for (int i = 0; i < 9; i++)
           {
               this.putTriad(unknown2.Length);
               this.putBytes(unknown2);
           }
       }

A triad is a 3 byte integer.

Credit goes to InusualZ (https://github.com/InusualZ/CraftMine/blob/master/src/Network/Packets/Minecraft/ServerHandshake.cs).

Client Handshake (0x13)

Client to Server

This is a Data Packet. It is encoded using packet encapsulation format..

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0x13	cookie	int32	0x43f57fe	Unknown use, same cookie as in 0x10.
	Security flags	1 byte	0xcd	Unknown use, constant value.
	Server port	short	19132	Unknown use.
	Data Array 1 Length + Data Array 1	1 + ? bytes		Unknown use (see below).
	Data Array 2	? bytes		Unknown use, constant value (see below).
	Timestamp	short		Unknown use.
	session	int64		Unknown use.
	session2	int64		Unknown use.
Total Size:	94 Bytes

Data Arrays

Array 1

The first array is just a series of bytes, starting with the first byte which has the length of the rest of the array. This can be decoded as follows (Java):

  buffer.get(new byte[(int) buffer.get()]);

The buffer variable is really a ByteBuffer object found in the package java.nio.

Array 2

The second array is a little more complicated. The first section is a triad (3 bytes) which specifies how many bytes to read next. This is repeated 9 times. An example is below (Java):

for(int i = 0; i < 9; i++){

int l = NetworkUtils.getTriad(buf);

buf.get(new byte[l]);

}

Again, the buf object is a ByteBuffer object.

Client Cancel Connect (0x15)

Client to Server

This is a Data Packet. It is encoded using packet encapsulation format.

Packet ID	Notes
0x15	Only the packet ID is sent.
Total Size:	1 Byte

This appears to be sent whenever the user clicks the "cancel" button when connecting.

Ping/Pong

The client will repeatedly send ping packets to the server each containing an identifier (long). The server then must reply with a pong packet containing the identifier found in the ping. This is observed to happen sometime during the encapsulation login.

Ping Packet (0x00)

Client to Server

This is a Data Packet. It is encoded using packet encapsulation.

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0x00	identifier	int64	0000000000000b3d	An identifer sent back by a Pong packet (0x03).
	Total Size:	9 Bytes

Pong Packet (0x03)

Server to Client

This is a Data Packet. It is encoded using packet encapsulation.

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Example	Notes
0x03	identifier	int64	0000000000000b3d	The identifier found in the ping packet (0x00).
	Total Size:	9 Bytes

Data Packets

This information has been generated using PocketBurger, then edited manually.

This information was generated based on:

Minecraft: Pocket Edition v0.7.3, protocol #11

RakNet Protocol version #5

However, these packets seem to be unchanged since then, and will (most likely) work with the current version.

Current Version:

Minecraft: Pocket Edition v0.10.4, protocol #20

RakNet Protocol version #5

LoginPacket (0x82)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x82	Username	string8
	Protocol #1	int
	Protocol #2	int
	ClientID	int
	Realms Data	string8

LoginStatusPacket (0x83)

Server to Client

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x83	Status	int

The three type of status are:

0: Everything is good.

1: If the server is outdated.

2. If the game is outdated.

If everything is good you need to send StartGamePacket.

ReadyPacket (0x84)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x84	bits[8] Status	byte

MessagePacket (0x85)

Two-Way

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x85	Message	string8

SetTimePacket (0x86)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x86	Time	int

StartGamePacket (0x87)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x87	level seed	int
	Unknown	int
	Gamemode	int
	Entity ID	int
	X	float
	Y	float
	Z	float

AddMobPacket (0x88)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x88	Entity ID	int
	Type	int
	X	float
	Y	float
	Z	float
	yaw	byte
	pitch	byte
	Metadata	byte[]

AddPlayerPacket (0x89)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x89	(unsigned) Client ID	long
	Username	string8
	Entity ID	int
	X	float
	Y	float
	Z	float
	Yaw	byte
	Pitch	byte
	Unknown	short
	Unknown	short
	Metadata	byte[]

RemovePlayerPacket (0x8a)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x8a	entity ID	int
	(unsigned) Client ID	long

AddEntityPacket (0x8c)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x8c	Entity ID	int
	Type	byte
	X	float
	Y	float
	Z	float
	Did?	int	If this int > 0 you can send the next parameter
	SpeedX	short
	SpeedY	short
	SpeedZ	short

RemoveEntityPacket (0x8d)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x8d	Entity ID	int

AddItemEntityPacket (0x8e)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x8e	Enity ID	int
	Block	short
	Stack	byte
	Meta	short
	X	float
	Y	float
	Z	float
	Yaw	byte
	Pitch	byte
	Roll	byte

TakeItemEntityPacket (0x8f)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x8f	Target	int
	Entity ID	int

MoveEntityPacket (0x90)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x90	Entity ID	int
	X	float
	Y	float
	Z	float

MoveEntityPacket_PosRot (0x93)

None

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x93	Entity ID	int
	X	float
	Y	float
	Z	float
	Yaw	float
	Pitch	float

MovePlayerPacket (0x94)

Two-Way

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x94	Entity ID	int
	X	float
	Y	float
	Z	float
	Yaw	float
	Pitch	float

PlaceBlockPacket (0x95)

Two-Way

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x95	Entity iD	int
	X	int
	Z	int
	Y	byte
	Block	byte
	Meta	byte
	Face	byte

RemoveBlockPacket (0x96)

Server to Client

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x96	Entity ID	int
	X	int
	Z	int
	Y	byte

UpdateBlockPacket (0x97)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x97	Entiy ID	int
	X	int
	Z	int
	Y	byte
	Block	byte
	Meta	byte

AddPaintingPacket (0x98)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x98	Entity ID	int
	X	int
	Y	int
	Z	int
	Direction	int
	Title	string8

ExplodePacket (0x99)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x99	X	float
	Y	float
	Z	float
	Radius	float
	Count	int
	Records	byte
	Counts?	byte
	Records?	byte

LevelEventPacket (0x9a)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x9a	Unknown?	short
	Unknown?	short
	Unknown?	short
	Unknown?	short
	Unknown?	int

TileEventPacket (0x9b)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x9b	X	int
	Y	int
	Z	int
	Case 1	int
	Case 2	int

EntityEventPacket (0x9c)

Two-Way

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x9c	Entity ID	int
	Event	byte

RequestChunkPacket (0x9d)

Server to Client

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x9d	X	int
	Z	int

ChunkDataPacket (0x9e)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x9e	X	int
	Z	int
	byte
	Data?	byte[]
	Data?	byte[]

PlayerEquipmentPacket (0x9f)

Two-Way

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x9f	Entity ID	int
	Block	short
	Meta	short
	Slot	byte

PlayerArmorEquipmentPacket (0xa0)

Two-Way

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xa0	Entity ID	int
	Slot 1	byte
	Slot 2	byte
	Slot 3	byte
	Slot 4	byte

InteractPacket (0xa1)

Two-Way

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xa1	Action	byte[]
	entity ID	int
	Target	int

UseItemPacket (0xa2)

Server to Client

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xa2	X	int
	Y	int
	Z	int
	Face	int
	Block	byte[]
	Meta	byte
	Entity ID	int
	Fx	float
	Fy	float
	Fz	float
	PosX	float
	PosY	float
	PosZ	float

PlayerActionPacket (0xa3)

Server to Client

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xa3	Action	int
	X	int
	Y	int
	Z	int
	Face	int
	Entity ID	int

HurtArmorPacket (0xa5)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xa5	Health	byte

SetEntityDataPacket (0xa6)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xa6	Entity ID	int
	Metadata	byte[]

SetEntityMotionPacket (0xa7)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xa7	Unknown?	byte
	Entity ID	int
	X	short
	Y	short
	Z	short

SetRidingPacket (0xa8)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xa8	a	int
	b	int

SetHealthPacket (0xa9)

Two-Way

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xa9	Health	byte

SetSpawnPositionPacket (0xaa)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xaa	X	int
	Z	int
	Y	byte

AnimatePacket (0xab)

Two-Way

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xab	Action	byte
	Entity ID	int

RespawnPacket (0xac)

Two-Way

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xac	Entity ID	int
	X	float
	Y	float
	Z	float

SendInventoryPacket (0xad)

None

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xad	Entity ID	int
	Windows ID	byte
	Count	short
	Slots	byte[]
	Items	byte[]

DropItemPacket (0xae)

Server to Client

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xae	Entity ID	int
	Unknown?	byte
	Block	short
	Stack	byte
	Meta	short

ContainerOpenPacket (0xaf)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xaf	Window ID	byte
	Type	byte
	Slot	byte
	Title	string8

ContainerClosePacket (0xb0)

Two-Way

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xb0	Window ID	byte

ContainerSetSlotPacket (0xb1)

Two-Way

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xb1	Window ID	byte
	Slot	short
	Block	short
	Stack	byte
	Meta	short

ContainerSetDataPacket (0xb2)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xb2	Window ID	byte
	Property	short
	Value	short

ContainerSetContentPacket (0xb3)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xb3	Window ID	byte
	Count	short
	Items	byte[]

ContainerAckPacket (0xb4)

None

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xb4	Window ID	byte
	Unknown?	short

ChatPacket (0xb5)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xb5	Message	string8

SignUpdatePacket (0xb6)

Two-Way

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xb6	X	short
	Y	byte
	Z	short
	Lines	string8

AdventureSettingsPacket (0xb7)

Client to Server

Packet ID	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0xb7	Flags	byte[]