RCON

Eco RCON Protocol

The Eco RCON Protocol is a TCP based communication protocol loosely based on the Source RCON Protocol standard. It allows admin commands to be issued to the server via a "remote console". The most common use of RCON is to allow server owners to control their game servers without being in game for easy administration or automated processes.

Using Eco RCON

By default, Eco's RCON implementation listens on TCP port 3002. This setting can be changed inside the network configuration options as well as the IP/host address the RCON server binds to. To use RCON a valid password must be set inside the Network plugin configuration. Servers without a valid password will reject all incoming authentication requests.

When executing a command through ECO RCON you do not need to supply the forward slash like you would in game. Below is an example of remote command execution using the mcrcon tool linked in the tools/libraries section below.

Public Tools and Libraries

Most standard tools/libraries for communicating with standard RCON will work with Eco RCON. A short list of known working tools and libraries can be found below

Tools

• https://github.com/n0la/rcon (RCON command line tool)
• https://github.com/Tiiffi/mcrcon (RCON command line client)

Libraries

• https://github.com/Subtixx/source-rcon-library (C# Library)

All command requests sent through RCON are executed with server admin permissions. For best practice its advised you keep your RCON information secure and only let trusted users or trusted programs access your RCON server.

Establishing a Connection

To establish a TCP connection to an Eco RCON server you need to know the server's configured RCON port and the server's configured password and connect via a standard TCP client. Once connected you must authenticate your selves by sending a SERVERDATA_AUTH packet. Failure to do so will result in no response. If your authentication request was successful you should receive back a SERVERDATA_AUTH_RESPONSE packet with a matching id of the authentication request packet. Receiving an packet id of -1 means the authentication request has failed. An authentication request can fail if the password is incorrect, misconfigured, or if there is already an active RCON client connection.

Packet Structure

Basic Packet Structure

All Eco RCON packets payloads follow this basic structure and are sent over a TCP socket

Field	Type	Value
Size	32-bit little-endian Signed Integer	Varies, see below.
ID	32-bit little-endian Signed Integer	Varies, see below.
Type	32-bit little-endian Signed Integer	Varies, see below.
Body	Null-terminated ASCII String	Varies, see below.
Empty String	Null-terminated ASCII String	0x00

Packet Size

The RCON packet size field is represented by a 32-bit little endian integer, It represents the total length of the request in bytes. Note that the packet size field itself is not included when determining the size of the packet, so the value of this field is always 4 less than the packet's actual length. The minimum possible value for packet size is 14.

Size	Containing
4 Bytes	ID Field
4 Bytes	Type Field
At least 1 Byte	Packet body (potentially empty)
1 Bytes	Empty string terminator

Packet ID

The packet id field is a 32-bit little endian integer which is specified by the requesting client for each request. Its value can be any positive integer. When the server responds to a client request it will send back the same packet id it received for that command request allowing you match the original request to the server response.

Packet Type

The packet type field is represented by a 32-bit little endian integer. It the intended purpose of the packet.

Value	String Descriptor
3	SERVERDATA_AUTH
2	SERVERDATA_AUTH_RESPONSE
2	SERVERDATA_EXECCOMMAND
0	SERVERDATA_RESPONSE_VALUE

Packet Body

The packet body field is a null-terminated ASCII encoded string. The contents of the packet body vary by the executed request.

Packet Types

SERVERDATA_AUTH

SERVERDATA_AUTH is the first packet to be sent by a newly connected client. It is used to authenticate with the RCON server and gain access to the SERVERDATA_EXECCOMMAND request. The values of this packet type's fields are as follows:

Field	Contains
ID	any positive integer, chosen by the client (will be mirrored back in the server's response)
Type	3
Body	the RCON password of the server (If this field matches the password set in the Network configuration the auth request will succeed)

Note: If the password is not properly configured on the server all SERVERDATA_AUTH requests will be refused.

SERVERDATA_AUTH_RESPONSE

SERVERDATA_AUTH_RESPONSE is the response notification packet of a client's SERVERDATA_AUTH request and contains the results of its authentication attempt. The status is represented by the id of the packet. A -1 value denotes a failed authentication request. If authentication was a success it matches the packet id provided in the original authentication request.

Field	Contains
ID	The ID of the original authentication request if it was successful, otherwise -1 on failure.
Type	2
Body	Empty string (0x00)

SERVERDATA_EXECCOMMAND

SERVERDATA_EXECCOMMAND represents a command issued to the server by a client. This can be any valid player or admin command that does not require a physical player in the world to execute. The response will vary depending on the command issued.

Field	Contains
ID	any positive integer, chosen by the client (will be mirrored back in the server's response)
Type	2
Body	the command to be executed on the server

SERVERDATA_RESPONSE_VALUE

SERVERDATA_RESPONSE_VALUE is sent when a command had finished executing from a SERVERDATA_EXECCOMMAND request and contains the chat displayed results of the requested command.

Field	Contains
ID	The ID assigned by the original request
Type	0
Body	The server's response to the original command.