NNTP Protocol

"NNTP" stands for Net News Transfer Protocol, as specified in RFC977, with extensions in common practice.

NNTP is a TCP/IP protocol based upon text strings sent bidirectionally over 7 bit ASCII TCP channels. It is used to transfer articles between servers as well as to read and post articles.
Articles are transmitted in the form specified by RFC1036.

This page of the Usenet RKT is a convenient reference to the major sections of

RFC977

Common NNTP Extensions

RFC1036

, which are split for easy reference.
(Note: Reading the complete documents at least once is worthwhile.)

The form of the three digit responses is available as: RFC977 2.4.2. Status Responses
The form of the commands is available as: RFC977 3. Command and Response Details

Area of Development	Want to learn more about
NNTP: General	RFC977 4.7.2. Responses RFC977 3. Command and Response Details RFC977 4. Sample Conversations
NNTP: News Transfer	RFC1036 Standard Usenet Message Format RFC977 3.4. The IHAVE command NNTP-Ext 1. Transport Extensions NNTP-Ext 1.1.1 The CHECK command NNTP-Ext 1.2.1 The MODE STREAM command NNTP-Ext 1.3.1 The TAKETHIS command NNTP-Ext 1.4.1 The XREPLIC command RFC977 3.12. The SLAVE command
NNTP: News readers/clients	RFC1036 Standard Usenet Message Format NNTP-Ext 2.3 MODE READER NNTP-Ext 2.2 LISTGROUP RFC977 3.2. The GROUP command NNTP-Ext 2.8 XOVER RFC977 3.1. The ARTICLE, BODY, HEAD, and STAT commands RFC977 3.7. The NEWGROUPS command RFC977 3.8. The NEWNEWS command NOTE: disabled on many servers due to heavy CPU/IO requirements. RFC977 3.10. The POST command RFC977 3.5. The LAST command RFC977 3.9. The NEXT command RFC977 3.6. The LIST command RFC977 3.11. The QUIT command
NNTP: Other commands	RFC977 3.3. The HELP command NNTP-Ext 2.1.1 Extensions to the LIST command NNTP-Ext 2.1.2 LIST ACTIVE NNTP-Ext 2.1.3 LIST ACTIVE.TIMES NNTP-Ext 2.1.4 LIST DISTRIBUTIONS NNTP-Ext 2.1.5 LIST DISTRIB.PATS NNTP-Ext 2.1.6 LIST NEWSGROUPS NNTP-Ext 2.1.7 LIST OVERVIEW.FMT NNTP-Ext 2.1.8 LIST SUBSCRIPTIONS NNTP-Ext 2.4 XGTITLE NNTP-Ext 2.6 XHDR NNTP-Ext 2.7 XINDEX NNTP-Ext 2.9 XPAT NNTP-Ext 2.10 The XPATH command NNTP-Ext 2.11 The XROVER command NNTP-Ext 2.12 XTHREAD NNTP-Ext 3. Other Extensions NNTP-Ext 3.1 AUTHINFO

RFC977 as a single document at: http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/htbin/rfc/rfc977.html
RFC1036 as a single document at: http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/htbin/rfc/rfc1036.html
The Common NNTP Extensions document is available as a single document at:
ftp://ftp.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-barber-nntp-imp-07.txt
IETF NNTP Working Group The group responsible for discussion of NNTP and extensions has a page and a mailing list which has on-line archives.

Overview and Related Topics

Usenet RKT (coming later!)How does INN transfer articles?
Usenet RKT The Various Parts of INN

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Copyright 1997, Forrest J. Cavalier III, Mib Software, INN customization and consulting