Files
meshcore-spec/versions/v0.1.0/08-payload-group.md
T
swaitsandClaude Opus 4.7 f83d4088e3 spec: link corpus references to GitHub, version-aware
Every "Test vectors: \`corpus/...\`" mention in the spec is now a
markdown link pointing at the corresponding file or directory on
GitHub. Each version build resolves its links to the correct git
ref:

  - /latest/ -> https://github.com/swaits/meshcore-spec/tree/main/corpus/...
  - /v0.1.0/ -> https://github.com/swaits/meshcore-spec/tree/v0.1.0/corpus/...
  - future /vX.Y.Z/ -> /tree/vX.Y.Z/corpus/...

Two changes:

1. src/*.md (18 files): the inline-code corpus paths in each
   "Cross-References" section are now markdown links. Directories
   point at /tree/main/corpus/..., individual .json files point at
   /blob/main/corpus/.... CHANGELOG and other non-corpus main links
   are intentionally left pointing at main — the canonical history
   lives there regardless of which version you're reading.

2. justfile: `cut-version` now also runs a sed over the snapshot's
   *.md files replacing /tree/main/corpus -> /tree/<VERSION>/corpus
   and /blob/main/corpus -> /blob/<VERSION>/corpus. So a freshly-cut
   version is self-consistent.

versions/v0.1.0/* regenerated by re-running
`just cut-version v0.1.0` after the new src/ links + recipe sed
landed.

Tagging the release commit (`git tag v0.1.0`) is now REQUIRED — not
"optional" — because the rendered /v0.1.0/ pages reference
/tree/v0.1.0/corpus/... on GitHub. Without the tag the links 404.
cut-version's output now says so.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-05-12 10:35:09 -06:00

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# MeshCore Protocol Specification
## Section 8: Payload — Group (GRP_TXT / GRP_DATA)
### Overview
Group payloads enable encrypted communication within a channel. All members of a
channel share a symmetric secret. The payload begins with a 1-byte channel hash
(derived from the channel's shared key), followed by an encrypt-then-MAC blob.
### Payload Types
| Value | Name | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| 0x05 | GRP_TXT | Group text message |
| 0x06 | GRP_DATA | Group datagram (binary data) |
### Wire Format
```
0
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|channel_hash(1)| Cipher MAC (2 bytes) | |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |
| Ciphertext (N × 16 bytes, N ≥ 1) |
| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
```
### Fields
| Field | Offset | Size | Type | Description |
|-------|--------|------|------|-------------|
| channel_hash | 0 | 1 byte | raw | First byte of SHA-256(channel_shared_key) |
| cipher_mac | 1 | 2 bytes | raw | Truncated HMAC-SHA256 over ciphertext |
| ciphertext | 3 | variable (multiple of 16) | raw | AES-128-ECB encrypted data |
### Minimum Size
- Minimum payload: 1 + 2 + 16 = 19 bytes
### Channel Hash Derivation
The channel_hash is the first byte of the SHA-256 hash of the channel's 32-byte
shared key (PUB_KEY_SIZE bytes):
```
channel_hash = SHA256(channel_shared_key)[0]
```
This means hash collisions are expected (1 in 256 chance). When a receiver finds
a matching channel_hash, it attempts decryption with each matching channel's
secret. Only a successful MAC verification confirms the correct channel.
### Encryption
1. Encrypt plaintext using AES-128-ECB with first 16 bytes of the channel's
shared key (GroupChannel.secret).
2. Compute HMAC-SHA256 over ciphertext using all 32 bytes of the channel's
shared key. Truncate to 2 bytes.
3. Assemble: channel_hash || MAC || ciphertext.
### Decryption
1. Read channel_hash (1 byte).
2. Search local channel database for channels with matching hash. Multiple
channels may match (up to 4 in reference implementation).
3. For each matching channel, attempt MAC verification and decryption using the
channel's shared key.
4. The first channel that produces a valid MAC yields the correct decryption.
### Cross-References
- [Section 14: Cryptography](14-crypto.md) — Encrypt-then-MAC
- Test vectors: [`corpus/payloads/group/`](https://github.com/swaits/meshcore-spec/tree/v0.1.0/corpus/payloads/group/)
### Reference Implementation
- `Mesh::createGroupDatagram()` in `src/Mesh.cpp` — Encoding
- `Mesh::onRecvPacket()`, cases `PAYLOAD_TYPE_GRP_TXT/GRP_DATA` — Decoding
- `Mesh::searchChannelsByHash()` — Channel lookup