# Custom Protocols

URL: /docs/extending/custom-protocols/
Section: extending
Tags: protocols, extending, custom

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ProtocolHandler Protocol Pounce's protocol handlers follow a common Protocol (in the typing.Protocol sense). Each handler implements a consistent interface for feeding bytes and extracting events. The existing handlers are: Handler Protocol Module H1Protocol HTTP/1.1 (h11) protocols/h1.py H1HttptoolsProtocol HTTP/1.1 (httptools) protocols/h1_httptools.py H2Protocol HTTP/2 (h2) protocols/h2.py WSProtocol WebSocket (wsproto) protocols/ws.py Interface Each protocol handler manages the state machine for its protocol: Feed bytes — Raw bytes from the socket are fed to the handler Extract events — The handler yields parsed events (requests, data frames, etc.) Generate bytes — Response events are serialized back to bytes Track state — Connection state (idle, active, closing) is maintained Extending Pounce's protocol system is modular by design. Each protocol handler is a self-contained module with no dependencies on other handlers. The worker selects the appropriate handler based on connection type (plain HTTP, TLS+ALPN, WebSocket upgrade). Note Note The protocol handler interface is internal and may change between releases. If you're building a custom protocol handler, pin your Pounce version. See Also Protocols — Built-in protocol handlers ASGI Bridge — How handlers connect to ASGI Architecture — Where protocols fit in the pipeline

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