/ 
Net-BitTorrent-v2.0.0-20260209033804-TRIAL
/ Net::BitTorrent::Protocol::BEP23

NAME

Net::BitTorrent::Protocol::BEP23 - Compact Peer Address Formatting

SYNOPSIS

use Net::BitTorrent::Protocol::BEP23;

# Pack a list of peers for a tracker response or PEX update
my $packed = Net::BitTorrent::Protocol::BEP23::pack_peers_ipv4(
    { ip => '1.2.3.4', port => 6881 },
    { ip => '5.6.7.8', port => 6882 }
);

# Unpack a compact list from a tracker
my $peers = Net::BitTorrent::Protocol::BEP23::unpack_peers_ipv4($binary_data);
for my $p (@$peers) {
    say "Found peer at $p->{ip}:$p->{port}";
}

DESCRIPTION

Net::BitTorrent::Protocol::BEP23 implements the compact binary representation of peer addresses used throughout the BitTorrent ecosystem. By avoiding bencoding for large peer lists, this format significantly reduces the bandwidth required for tracker announces and Peer Exchange (PEX).

Functions

pack_peers_ipv4( @peers )

Takes a list of hashrefs ({ip, port}) and returns a binary string where each peer is represented as 6 bytes (4 for IP, 2 for Port).

unpack_peers_ipv4( $data )

The inverse of pack_peers_ipv4. Takes a binary string and returns an arrayref of hashrefs. Throws an exception if the input length is not a multiple of 6.

pack_peers_ipv6( @peers )

Implements the BEP 07 extension for IPv6. Each peer is represented as 18 bytes (16 for IP, 2 for Port).

unpack_peers_ipv6( $data )

Unpacks an 18-byte-per-peer binary string into IPv6 peer hashrefs.

Specifications

  • BEP 23: Tracker Returns Compact Peer Lists

  • BEP 07: IPv6 Support (Compact Format)

AUTHOR

Sanko Robinson <sanko@cpan.org>

COPYRIGHT

Copyright (C) 2008-2026 by Sanko Robinson.

This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the Artistic License 2.0.