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# MeshCore Protocol Specification
## Section 12: Payload — Control
### Overview
The CONTROL payload carries control and discovery data. Control packets are raw
byte payloads whose structure is determined by the first byte. A subset of
control packets (those with bit 7 of the first byte set) are restricted to
zero-hop delivery only.
### Payload Type
Header payload type field: `0x0B` (CONTROL)
### Wire Format
```
0
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Control Byte | Data... |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
```
### Fields
| Field | Offset | Size | Type | Description |
|-------|--------|------|------|-------------|
| control_byte | 0 | 1 byte | uint8 | Control type identifier |
| data | 1 | variable | raw | Control-specific data |
### Zero-Hop Restriction
When bit 7 (`0x80`) of the control byte is set, the packet is restricted to
zero-hop delivery only. The reference implementation enforces this:
- If `(payload[0] & 0x80) != 0` AND the packet is direct-routed:
- It is processed only if `getPathHashCount() == 0`.
- It is NOT forwarded to other nodes.
### Discovery Protocols
Control packets are commonly used for node discovery. The specific sub-protocol
formats are application-defined, but typically include:
- **Discovery Request**: Sent zero-hop to find nearby nodes
- **Discovery Response**: Contains node type, name, SNR, and other metadata
### Encoding
1. Construct the raw control data bytes.
2. If the control packet should be zero-hop only, set bit 7 of the first byte.
3. Copy data to payload, set payload_len.
### Constraints
- Payload MUST be at least 1 byte (the control byte).
- Maximum payload: 184 bytes (MAX_PACKET_PAYLOAD).
### Cross-References
- [Section 17: Routing](17-routing.md) — Zero-hop delivery
- Test vectors: [`corpus/payloads/control/`](https://git.swaits.com/swaits/meshcore-spec/src/branch/main/versions/v0.1.0/corpus/payloads/control/)
### Reference Implementation
- `Mesh::createControlData()` in `src/Mesh.cpp` — Encoding
- `Mesh::onRecvPacket()`, CONTROL handling — Zero-hop check and delivery