Player-session MUD protocol

MTTS

MUD Terminal Type Standard

In use today Documented current use

Uses repeated terminal-type replies to report client identity and a bitmask for UTF-8, colors, screen readers, proxies, MNES, MSLP, TLS, and other capabilities.

Protocol overview

First seen: Date not established
Present-day status: In use today
In use today?: Yes, with documented current use.
Legacy?: No.
Layer: Player-session MUD protocol
Transport: Convention layered on Telnet TTYPE option 24
Telnet option: 24
Research validated: 2026-08-29

Current use and fit

A lightweight and useful capability mechanism supported by several modern clients.

Implementation essentials

Negotiate TTYPE normally and issue repeated TTYPE SEND requests.
Recognize the MTTS decimal bitmask and stop when replies cycle or repeat.
Normalize capabilities rather than exposing the raw bitmask to game logic.

Compatibility and safety notes

Non-MTTS clients may return a different number of values.
Reported capabilities are hints, not trusted identity.

Original specifications and sources

MUDhalla specification Primary
MUD Standards preservation Preservation

Where an original site has disappeared, a preservation archive is linked and identified as such. MUDVerse does not claim authorship of the original protocol.