# Decoding Fallout 4's Pip-Boy database with a community of vault dwellers

Author: Kyle Kelley
Site: Lambda Ops
Canonical HTML: https://lambdaops.com/posts/decoding-the-pipboy-database-with-vault-community
Canonical Markdown: https://lambdaops.com/posts-md/decoding-the-pipboy-database-with-vault-community.md
Published: 2015-12-08T13:00:00.000Z
Topics: Fallout 4, decoding, community, libraries
Summary: Following the siphoning of traffic from the Pip-Boy mobile app and Fallout 4 game, a community of hackers came together to decode the Pip-Boy data and database.


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After making a post about [discovering running Fallout 4 servers and relaying them](/posts/fallout-4-service-discovery-and-relay/),
in only a few days, the full protocol from Fallout 4 was decoded. Several
packages for interacting with the Fallout 4 server have been posted:

- Node.js - [pipboylib](https://github.com/robcoindustries/pipboylib)
- Go - [pipboygo](https://github.com/nkatsaros/pipboygo)
- Ruby - [pippipe, pipparse](https://github.com/mattbaker/pipboy-explorations)
- Python - [pypipboy](https://github.com/matzman666/PyPipboy), [pipulator](https://github.com/Gavitron/pipulator)
- Java - [PipBoyClient](https://github.com/cpopp/PipBoyClient)
- .NET - [Fallout4-PipBoy](https://github.com/weberph/Fallout4-PipBoy)

Beyond bindings, there are a also several documentation efforts to bring
together information about the overall protocol:

- [nimvek/pipboy](https://github.com/NimVek/pipboy)
- [mattbaker/pipboyspec](https://github.com/mattbaker/pipboyspec)

And several UI efforts:

- Electron app - [pipboy](https://github.com/robcoindustries/pipboy)
- Node.js server - [pipboyclient](https://github.com/AlexanderDzhoganov/pipboyclient)
- Go server - [pipboygo](https://github.com/nkatsaros/pipboygo)

The [pipboylib](https://github.com/robcoindustries/pipboylib) bindings culminated
in the beginnings of the [Electron app, pipboy](https://github.com/robcoindustries/pipboy):

![](/assets/blog/decoding-the-pipboy-database/pipboyapp.gif)

The intention with the `pipboy` Electron app is to create a cross-platform
Pip-Boy UI for Fallout 4 that for running on a separate screen that is approachable
for others to add on to. [Electron](http://electron.atom.io/) forms the foundation for all
this by using standard web tech: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript with Chromium and Node.js.
If you're familiar with the Docker suite, [Kitematic](https://kitematic.com/) is
also an Electron app.

Having this basis makes it really easy to build things like a Pip-Boy database viewer:

![Database View](/assets/blog/decoding-the-pipboy-database/db-viewer.png)

![Deathclaw Search](/assets/blog/decoding-the-pipboy-database/deathclaw-search.png)

We'd welcome your contributions in pull requests, patches, and issues over at
[RobCoIndustries/pipboy](https://github.com/RobCoIndustries/pipboy).