{"format":"vess/1","version":1,"licence":"MIT — the reference implementation is served verbatim at GET /v1/vess/source","frames":"[version u8][flags u8][counter u32le][count u16le][body…][tag 16]   flags: 0x01 MAC, 0x02 AEAD","record":"a skeleton followed by a content stream. Nothing is interleaved.","skeleton":{"marker_0x00":"same shape as the previous record in this frame (1 byte)","marker_0x01":"inline shape: count, then per field a descriptor byte and the field name","marker_0x02":"shape reference: a 16-bit id derived from the shape's own signature","descriptor":"bit7 null-allowed | kind<<4 | width code   kinds: 1 int, 2 uint, 3 float, 4 string, 5 bool","bits":"after the marker come the presence bits (one per nullable field) and the truth bits (one per boolean field), packed 8 to a byte"},"content":"present, non-boolean fields in shape order. Fixed-width numerics carry no framing at all; strings and bytes carry a 1-byte length, or 0xFF then a u16 length.","decisions":["structure and content are separate streams — no tag/value interleaving","booleans and absence are structural, so they travel as bits in the skeleton, not bytes in the content","shapes are registered per conversation and referenced by an id both sides derive themselves — no handshake","a frame is a stream of records under ONE integrity tag, so fixed overhead amortises","no ASCII magic anywhere on the wire"]}