protokollan

Protokollan is a protocol specification designed to enable secure, interoperable messaging in distributed systems and Internet of Things deployments. It defines a modular stack that separates transport, session management, and application-level messaging, allowing different implementations to interoperate while keeping internal details opaque to peers.

The architecture centers on a layered envelope scheme: a transport layer that supports reliable (or best-effort) delivery, a session layer that negotiates capabilities and keeps state, and an application layer where message types are defined as protokolls. Messages are encoded using a schema-based format; the core uses JSON for readability, with optional binary encodings (such as MessagePack) for performance-critical paths. The protocol supports feature negotiation, versioning, and backward compatibility through optional extensions.

Security and reliability are emphasized: authentication via public-key certificates or pre-shared keys, ephemeral keys for forward secrecy, and message integrity via digital signatures or HMACs. End-to-end encryption is optional, with transport-level TLS as a default fallback. Protokollan supports multi-source routing, replay protection, and device-level access control.

Adoption and status: The specification is maintained by the Protokollan Foundation, with several reference implementations and community-driven libraries across major languages. It has seen use in research prototypes and industry pilots focused on interoperable device communication and microservice messaging; however, it remains a niche standard outside specialized ecosystems.