MessagePackCodec

MessagePack Codec, Built for PHP.

A simple, fast, and extensible binary encoder and decoder for PHP.

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Table of Contents

Installation
Usage
Contributing
Contributors
License

Installation

You can install the package via Composer:

composer require jundayw/message-pack-codec

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Usage

MessagePackCodec uses a declarative field definition to describe how binary data should be encoded and decoded.

Each field is defined by a set of options, such as type, format, length, count, value, and custom encode / decode callbacks.

Options

[
    'name'     => 'string',
    'type'     => Type::class,          // Required
    'format'   => Format::class,
    'value'    => 'mixed|callable(Context)',
    'count'    => 'int|callable(Context)',
    'length'   => 'int|callable(Context)',
    'offset'   => 'int|callable(Context)',
    'size'     => 'int|callable(Context)',
    'encoding' => 'string',             // StringType only
    'fields'   => [                     // BitType only
        'field' => ['offset', 'length'],
    ],
    'encode'   => 'callable(mixed, Context)',
    'decode'   => 'callable(mixed, Context)',
    'cursor'   => 'int',
]

Option Reference

Option	Type	Description
`name`	`string`	Field name
`type`	`string`	Type class used for encoding/decoding. Required
`format`	`Format`	Binary format used by the type
`value`	`mixed\|callable(Context)`	Value to encode. A callable receives the current data
`count`	`int\|callable(Context)`	Number of values to encode/decode
`length`	`int\|callable(Context)`	Length of the field in bytes
`offset`	`int\|callable(Context)`	Offset used when reading the field
`size`	`int\|callable(Context)`	Size of the field
`encoding`	`string`	Character encoding for `StringType`
`fields`	`array`	Bit-field definitions for `BitType`
`encode`	`callable(mixed, Context)`	Custom value transformation before encoding
`decode`	`callable(mixed, Context)`	Custom value transformation after decoding
`cursor`	`int`	Initial/current binary cursor position

callable options are useful when a field depends on previously decoded or encoded values.

Decode

To decode binary data, define the structure of the binary packet using an associative array.

For example, the following packet contains an IP address, TCP/UDP ports, channel information, playback information, and start/end times.

use Jundayw\MessagePackCodec\Context\DecodeContext;
use Jundayw\MessagePackCodec\Message\EncodeMessage;
use Jundayw\MessagePackCodec\MessagePackCodec;
use Jundayw\MessagePackCodec\Type\BCDType;
use Jundayw\MessagePackCodec\Type\StringType;
use Jundayw\MessagePackCodec\Type\UInt8Type;
use Jundayw\MessagePackCodec\Type\UInt16Type;

$schema = [
    'length'     => [
        'type' => UInt8Type::class,
    ],
    'ip'         => [
        'type'     => StringType::class,
        'encoding' => 'GBK',
        'length'   => fn(DecodeContext $context) => $context->message()->get('length'),
    ],
    'tcp'        => [
        'type' => UInt16Type::class,
    ],
    'udp'        => [
        'type' => UInt16Type::class,
    ],
    'channel_id' => [
        'type' => UInt8Type::class,
    ],
    'type'       => [
        'type' => UInt8Type::class,
    ],
    'stream'     => [
        'type' => UInt8Type::class,
    ],
    'storage'    => [
        'type' => UInt8Type::class,
    ],
    'play'       => [
        'type' => UInt8Type::class,
    ],
    'speed'      => [
        'type' => UInt8Type::class,
    ],
    's_time'     => [
        'type'   => BCDType::class,
        'length' => 6,
        'decode' => fn($value) => DateTime::createFromFormat('ymdHis', $value)->format('20y-m-d H:i:s'),
    ],
    'e_time'     => [
        'type'   => BCDType::class,
        'length' => 6,
        'decode' => 0,
    ],
];

$binary = EncodeMessage::fromHex('093132372E302E302E3104360436010301010000260901123059000000000000');

$message = MessagePackCodec::build()->decode($binary, $schema);

var_dump(
    json_encode(
        $message->toArray(),
        JSON_PRETTY_PRINT | JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE
    )
);

Output:

{
    "length": 9,
    "ip": "127.0.0.1",
    "tcp": 259,
    "udp": 769,
    "channel_id": 1,
    "type": 3,
    "stream": 1,
    "storage": 1,
    "play": 0,
    "speed": 0,
    "s_time": "2026-09-01 12:30:59",
    "e_time": "0000-00-00 00:00:00"
}

The actual numeric values depend on the configured byte order of UInt16Type. If the protocol specifies big-endian or little-endian explicitly, configure the corresponding Format.

Dynamic Length

A field can reference a previously decoded field.

For example, if the first byte specifies the length of the following IP address:

$schema = [
    'length' => [
        'type' => UInt8Type::class,
    ],

    'ip' => [
        'type'   => StringType::class,
        'length' => fn(Context $context) => $context->message()->get('length'),
    ],
];

For the binary data:

09 31 32 37 2E 30 2E 30 2E 31

The decoder first reads:

length = 9

and then uses that value to determine that the ip field occupies 9 bytes:

ip = "127.0.0.1"

This allows packet definitions to describe variable-length protocols without manually managing the binary cursor.

Encode

Encoding uses the same field definition approach.

The main difference is that value can be used to calculate a field dynamically from the input data.

use Jundayw\MessagePackCodec\Context\EncodeContext;
use Jundayw\MessagePackCodec\MessagePackCodec;
use Jundayw\MessagePackCodec\Type\BCDType;
use Jundayw\MessagePackCodec\Type\StringType;
use Jundayw\MessagePackCodec\Type\UInt8Type;
use Jundayw\MessagePackCodec\Type\UInt16Type;

$schema = [
    'length'     => [
        'type'  => UInt8Type::class,
        'value' => fn(EncodeContext $context) => strlen($context->data()->get('ip')),
    ],
    'ip'         => [
        'type'     => StringType::class,
        'encoding' => 'GBK',
        'count'    => '*',
    ],
    'tcp'        => [
        'type' => UInt16Type::class,
    ],
    'udp'        => [
        'type' => UInt16Type::class,
    ],
    'channel_id' => [
        'type' => UInt8Type::class,
    ],
    'type'       => [
        'type' => UInt8Type::class,
    ],
    'stream'     => [
        'type' => UInt8Type::class,
    ],
    'storage'    => [
        'type' => UInt8Type::class,
    ],
    'play'       => [
        'type' => UInt8Type::class,
    ],
    'speed'      => [
        'type' => UInt8Type::class,
    ],
    's_time'     => [
        'type'   => BCDType::class,
        'length' => 6,
        'value'  => fn(EncodeContext $context) => DateTime::createFromFormat('Y-m-d H:i:s', $context->data()->get('s_time'))->format('ymdHis'),
    ],
    'e_time'     => [
        'type'   => BCDType::class,
        'length' => 6,
    ],
];

$data = [
    'ip'         => '127.0.0.1',
    'tcp'        => 1078,
    'udp'        => 1078,
    'channel_id' => 1,
    'type'       => 3,
    'stream'     => 1,
    'storage'    => 1,
    'play'       => 0,
    'speed'      => 0,
    's_time'     => '2026-09-01 12:30:59',
    'e_time'     => 0,
];

$message = MessagePackCodec::build()->encode($data, $schema);

var_dump($message->toHex());

Output:

093132372E302E302E3104360436010301010000260901123059000000000000

Dynamic Value

value can be either a static value or a callable.

Static value:

'version' => [
    'type'  => UInt8Type::class,
    'value' => 1,
],

Dynamic value:

'length' => [
    'type'  => UInt8Type::class,
    'value' => fn (Context $context) => strlen($context->data()->get('content')),
],

This is particularly useful for protocol fields such as:

body length
packet count
checksum
sequence number
timestamp
reserved fields
calculated flags

Value Transformation

The encode and decode options can be used to transform values without implementing a new Type.

Decode Transformation

For example, convert a BCD timestamp into a PHP date-time string:

'start_time' => [
    'type'   => BCDType::class,
    'length' => 6,
    'decode' => fn($value) => DateTime::createFromFormat('ymdHis', $value)->format('20y-m-d H:i:s'),
],

Encode Transformation

Convert a date-time string into BCD-compatible data:

'start_time' => [
    'type'   => BCDType::class,
    'length' => 6,
    'encode' => fn($value) => DateTime::createFromFormat('Y-m-d H:i:s', $value)->format('ymdHis'),
],

This keeps binary representation logic inside the Type, while application-level value conversion remains in the schema.

Count

count controls the number of values handled by a field.

It can be a fixed integer:

'values' => [
    'type'  => UInt8Type::class,
    'count' => 4,
],

or a dynamic callable:

'values' => [
    'type'  => UInt8Type::class,
    'count' => fn (Context $context) => $context->data()->get('count'),
],

For variable-length strings, * can be used when supported by the corresponding type:

'content' => [
    'type'  => StringType::class,
    'count' => '*',
],

Length

length defines the number of bytes occupied by a field.

A fixed length:

'ip' => [
    'type'   => StringType::class,
    'length' => 15,
],

A dynamic length:

'ip' => [
    'type'   => StringType::class,
    'length' => fn (Context $context) => $context->message()->get('length'),
],

This is useful for binary protocols where a length field precedes a variable-length payload.

String Encoding

StringType supports character encoding conversion through the encoding option.

'device_name' => [
    'type'     => StringType::class,
    'encoding' => 'GBK',
    'length'   => 20,
],

For UTF-8:

'device_name' => [
    'type'     => StringType::class,
    'encoding' => 'UTF-8',
    'length'   => 20,
],

This is useful for protocols commonly using GBK, such as some Chinese IoT and vehicle telematics protocols.

Bit Fields

BitType can describe multiple logical fields stored inside a single integer.

For example:

'flags' => [
    'type' => BitType::class,
    'fields' => [
        'reserved'   => [14, 2],
        'version'    => [13, 1],
        'subpackage' => [12, 1],
        'encrypt'    => [10, 2],
        'bodyLength' => [0, 10],
    ],
],

The definition above describes:

┌──────────┬─────────┬─────────────┬─────────┬────────────────┐
│ reserved │ version │ subpackage  │ encrypt │   bodyLength   │
│  2 bits  │  1 bit  │    1 bit    │ 2 bits  │    10 bits     │
└──────────┴─────────┴─────────────┴─────────┴────────────────┘

The fields can then be accessed by name rather than manually performing bitwise operations.

This is especially useful for protocol headers containing:

version
encryption flags
subpackage flags
reserved bits
message length
status flags

Cursor and Offset

The codec maintains a binary cursor while decoding sequential fields.

For example:

$schema = [
    'length' => [
        'type' => UInt8Type::class,
    ],

    'body' => [
        'type'   => StringType::class,
        'length' => fn (Context $context) => $context->message()->get('length'),
    ],
];

The cursor moves automatically:

┌────────┬─────────────────────────┐
│ length │          body           │
│ 1 byte │       N bytes           │
└────────┴─────────────────────────┘
          ↑
        cursor

When required, cursor or offset can be used to control the starting position or reading location.

Reusing Schemas

Because the packet structure is represented as an array, the same schema can be reused for multiple messages:

$codec = MessagePackCodec::build();

$message1 = $codec->decode($binary1, $schema);
$message2 = $codec->decode($binary2, $schema);
$message3 = $codec->decode($binary3, $schema);

Likewise, an encoding schema can be reused:

$codec = MessagePackCodec::build();

$message1 = $codec->encode($data1, $schema);
$message2 = $codec->encode($data2, $schema);

This makes the schema itself a reusable description of the binary protocol.

Encode and Decode in One Schema

It is not recommended that encoder and decoder definitions use the same schema; the callback parameters in the Option Reference will differ.

For simple protocols, a schema can be used for both encoding and decoding.

$schema = [
    'id' => [
        'type' => UInt8Type::class,
    ],

    'name' => [
        'type'   => StringType::class,
        'length' => 16,
    ],

    'status' => [
        'type' => UInt8Type::class,
    ],
];

$codec = MessagePackCodec::build();

$encoded = $codec->encode($data, $schema);

$decoded = $codec->decode($encoded, $schema);

This allows a protocol structure to be defined once and used as both an encoder and decoder definition.

Complete Example

A typical binary protocol definition may look like:

$schema = [
    'length' => [
        'type'  => UInt8Type::class,
        'value' => fn(Context $context) => strlen($context->data()->get('content')),
    ],

    'content' => [
        'type'     => StringType::class,
        'encoding' => 'GBK',
        'count'    => '*',
    ],

    'sequence' => [
        'type' => UInt16Type::class,
    ],

    'timestamp' => [
        'type'   => BCDType::class,
        'length' => 6,
        'value' => fn($value) => DateTime::createFromFormat('Y-m-d H:i:s', $value)->format('ymdHis'),
        'decode' => fn($value) => DateTime::createFromFormat('ymdHis', $value)->format('20y-m-d H:i:s'),
    ],
];

$data = [
    'content'   => 'Hello',
    'sequence'  => 100,
    'timestamp' => '2026-09-01 12:30:59',
];

$codec = MessagePackCodec::build();

$encoded = $codec->encode($data, $schema);

echo $encoded->toHex();

$decoded = $codec->decode($encoded, $schema);

print_r($decoded->toArray());

The key idea is that the schema describes the binary layout, while Type describes how an individual value is encoded or decoded.

This separation allows the same codec to support different binary protocols without introducing protocol-specific logic into the codec itself.

Contributing

Contributions are what make the open source community such an amazing place to learn, inspire, and create. Any contributions you make are greatly appreciated.

If you have a suggestion that would make this better, please fork the repo and create a pull request. You can also simply open an issue with the tag "enhancement". Don't forget to give the project a star! Thanks again!

Fork the Project
Create your Feature Branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
Commit your Changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
Push to the Branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
Open a Pull Request

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Contributors

Thanks goes to these wonderful people:

Contributions of any kind are welcome!

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License

Distributed under the MIT License (MIT). Please see License File for more information.

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.gitattributes		.gitattributes
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LICENSE		LICENSE
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README_zh-CN.md		README_zh-CN.md
composer.json		composer.json
doctum.php		doctum.php
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phpunit.xml.dist		phpunit.xml.dist

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MessagePackCodec

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MessagePackCodec

Installation

Usage

Options

Option Reference

Decode

Dynamic Length

Encode

Dynamic Value

Value Transformation

Decode Transformation

Encode Transformation

Count

Length

String Encoding

Bit Fields

Cursor and Offset

Reusing Schemas

Encode and Decode in One Schema

Complete Example

Contributing

Contributors

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