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docs: link official Native Protocol and Format specs from TCP page #238

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docs: link official Native Protocol and Format specs from TCP page #238

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7 changes: 6 additions & 1 deletion concepts/features/interfaces/tcp.mdx
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Expand Up @@ -6,4 +6,9 @@ title: 'Native interface (TCP)'
doc_type: 'reference'
---

The native protocol is used in the [command-line client](/concepts/features/interfaces/cli), for inter-server communication during distributed query processing, and also in other C++ programs. Unfortunately, native ClickHouse protocol doesn't have formal specification yet, but it can be reverse-engineered from ClickHouse source code (starting [around here](https://github.com/ClickHouse/ClickHouse/tree/master/src/Client)) and/or by intercepting and analyzing TCP traffic.
The native protocol is used in the [command-line client](/concepts/features/interfaces/cli), for inter-server communication during distributed query processing, and also in some language clients (e.g. [clickhouse-go](/integrations/go#connection-details)).

ClickHouse provides official specifications for the native protocol and the columnar format it carries:

- [Native Protocol](/interfaces/specs/NativeProtocol) — packet framing, the connection state machine, version negotiation, and the body of every non-`Block` message.
- [Native Format](/interfaces/specs/NativeFormat) — the `Block` and column structure, the per-type encodings, and the compression frame. This format also appears outside the TCP protocol, for example with `FORMAT Native` over HTTP.