Creating Custom Nodes

Build HoneyBee nodes in any language.

Overview

HoneyBee nodes can be implemented in any language that supports:

• TCP sockets
• JSON parsing
• TLS (optional)

Protocol Requirements

Your node must implement:

1. Connect to Core - TCP connection to Core (port 9001)
2. Register - Send NodeRegistration message
3. Handle Commands - Process NodeCommand messages
4. Send Status - Send NodeStatusUpdate periodically
5. Send Events - Send PotEvent messages (if managing honeypots)

Implementation Steps

1. Connect to Core

import socket
import ssl

# Connect to Core
sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)

# Optional: Wrap with TLS
if use_tls:
    context = ssl.create_default_context()
    sock = context.wrap_socket(sock, server_hostname="honeybee-manager")

sock.connect(("localhost", 9001))

2. Register Node

import json

registration = {
    "version": 2,
    "message": {
        "NodeRegistration": {
            "node_id": 12345,
            "node_name": "my-python-node",
            "address": "0.0.0.0",
            "port": 8080,
            "node_type": "Full",
            "totp_code": "123456"  # If TOTP enabled
        }
    }
}

message = json.dumps(registration) + "\n"
sock.sendall(message.encode())

3. Handle Messages

while True:
    data = sock.recv(4096)
    if not data:
        break
    
    message = json.loads(data.decode())
    
    if "RegistrationAck" in message["message"]:
        ack = message["message"]["RegistrationAck"]
        if ack["accepted"]:
            print("Registration successful")
    
    elif "NodeCommand" in message["message"]:
        command = message["message"]["NodeCommand"]
        handle_command(command)

4. Send Heartbeat

import time

while True:
    status_update = {
        "version": 2,
        "message": {
            "NodeStatusUpdate": {
                "node_id": 12345,
                "status": "Running"
            }
        }
    }
    
    message = json.dumps(status_update) + "\n"
    sock.sendall(message.encode())
    
    time.sleep(30)  # Every 30 seconds

Example Implementations

Python

See example Python node (if available in repository).

Rust

See example Rust node (if available in repository).

Protocol Details

See Protocol Specification for complete protocol details.

Next Steps

• Protocol Specification - Protocol details
• Message Types - Message reference
• Command Reference - Available commands