DorkNet — march-2023-03-21

This is the March 2023 branch of DorkNet — a self-hostable reimplementation of the Rec Room backend tuned to the wire protocol of the Rec Room 2023.03.21 PC client build (appVersion 20230317).

⚠️ Not affiliated with Rec Room Inc. or Against Gravity. See DISCLAIMER. DorkNet ships no Rec Room game assets or modified binaries — you supply your own legally-acquired Rec Room 2023.03.21 install.

If you're not sure which DorkNet branch you want, start at the main branch's chart. The launcher on main also auto-detects your install.

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What this branch targets

Client build	Rec Room 2023.03.21 (PC, IL2CPP); reports appVersion 20230317
Accepted build IDs (api/versioncheck/v4?v=, mapped in appsettings.json → BuildIdToVersionKey)	20230317, 20230321
Version key (sent as X-DorkNet-Version header)	march_2023_03_21
Version plugin	DorkNet.Server/Versions/Late2020/Late2020VersionPlugin.cs (generation March2023; the folder name is historical)
Schema	EF migrations plus an idempotent schema bootstrap; SQLite + Postgres both work
Runtime topology	Gateway-fronted microservices with dedicated service slices and a monolith fallback
Diverges from december-2020-12-18 by	~220 files

This branch serves only the 2023 client. It does not advertise or answer the older 2020 build keys; 2020 and 2018 clients have their own branches.

What the 2023 client gets here that the 2020 branches don't have:

• Every 2023 client route. All HTTP routes the 2023.03.21 client can issue reach a handler under the verb it actually uses, and DorkNet.Server.Tests/ClientRouteCoverageTests.cs fails the build if one regresses. Routes, verbs and wire shapes are in docs/recroom-2023-client-api-complete.md.
• Realtime over the SignalR hub (hub/v1 on the notify host): every push matches the client's own reader — friends, messages, kicks and logouts, gifts, balances, consumables, player events, level-ups and account updates — and presence reaches both friends and any player who subscribed to you, honouring your online-status visibility: docs/recroom-2023-notifications.md.
• Room saves and sub-rooms through the storage host, plus cloning and private instances: docs/recroom-2023-room-save.md.
• CircuitsV2 limits served as gameconfig and lifted well past retail (network budgets, chips, compute, cloud values, ink): docs/recroom-2023-circuitsv2-limits.md.
• Room shops: room consumables, room currencies and room keys: docs/recroom-2023-room-consumables.md.
• 2023 wardrobe: owned items, color variants keyed by combination GUID, saved outfits and custom avatar items (custom shirts).
• 2023 profile: bio, display emoji, pronouns, identity flags, banner image and online-status visibility.
• Inventions, clubs (roles, permissions, gallery), chat threads, playlists, quest reward chests, leaderboards, and the influencer and moderation surfaces.

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Quickstart

1. Install .NET 9 SDK and (optionally) dotnet-ef:

dotnet tool install --global dotnet-ef

2. Clone this branch:

git clone --branch march-2023-03-21 https://github.com/DorkSquadRR/DorkNet
cd DorkNet

3. Configure secrets. Drop in DorkNet.Server/appsettings.Local.json (gitignored) or export environment variables:

Config key	Env var	Required	Notes
Jwt:Secret	DORKNET_JWT_SECRET or Jwt__Secret	yes	>=64 random chars
Photon:AppId	Photon__AppId	yes	Photon Realtime AppId (free at dashboard.photonengine.com)
Photon:VoiceAppId	Photon__VoiceAppId	no	only if voice chat
Photon:CloudRegion	Photon__CloudRegion	no	defaults to us
Database:Provider	Database__Provider	no	sqlite (default) or postgres
ConnectionStrings:Default	ConnectionStrings__Default	postgres-only	full Npgsql connection string
ConnectionStrings:Redis	ConnectionStrings__Redis	no	enables SignalR backplane
Domain:Apex	DORKNET_DOMAIN	no	defaults to localhost; set for production
S3:Endpoint	S3__Endpoint	production	S3-compatible API endpoint for blobs/images
S3:AccessKey	S3__AccessKey	production	S3 access key
S3:SecretKey	S3__SecretKey	production	S3 secret key
S3:Region	S3__Region	no	defaults to garage; use auto for R2

4. Boot a local standalone server:

dotnet run --project DorkNet.Server

First boot creates bin/Debug/net9.0/data/dorknet.db, runs every LegacyUpgrades pass, seeds canonical rooms / store catalog / club categories / playlists, and starts listening. You should see Application started. in the log; curl http://localhost:8080/healthz returns 200.

For the production microservices stack, Docker, and Dokploy deploy notes, see docs/deploy.md.

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Patching your client

The 2023.03.21 PC build is laid out like this:

<install>/
  RecRoom.exe          <- the game; run this
  RecRoom_Data/        <- globalgamemanagers, resources.assets, levelN

The client is IL2CPP, so it is patched at runtime with MelonLoader 0.6.x and the DorkNet.ClientMod mod:

1. Install MelonLoader 0.6.x into the install folder, launch RecRoom.exe once so MelonLoader generates its IL2CPP assemblies, then quit.

2. Build the mod and copy it into Mods\ next to RecRoom.exe:

   $env:DOTNET_ROOT = "C:\Program Files\dotnet"
   dotnet build .\DorkNet.ClientMod -c Release
   Copy-Item .\DorkNet.ClientMod\bin\Release\DorkNet.ClientMod.dll "<install>\Mods\"
   

   Close the game first; the copy fails while RecRoom.exe holds the DLL.

3. Copy DorkNet.ClientMod\dorknet-clientmod.json.template to <install>\UserData\dorknet-clientmod.json (MelonLoader 0.6 keeps UserData\ at the install root), then fill in your DorkNet apex and Photon AppIds. The config is read once at startup.

The mod rewrites all *.rec.net URIs to your DorkNet apex, swaps the Photon AppIds (they are hard-coded in the IL2CPP binary, so this has to happen at runtime), and can bypass TLS verification on the client's HTTPS calls so self-signed certs work.

tools\install-melon.ps1 automates these steps for the 2020 layout (Recroom_Release.exe / Recroom_Release_Data). It does not recognise the 2023 RecRoom.exe / RecRoom_Data layout yet, so use the manual steps above for 2023.

Quest

DorkNet.Quest patches the Rec Room 2023.03.21 Quest client (versionCode 2128210) for sideloading onto a standalone Meta Quest. That build reports appVersion 20230317, the same version as the PC client, so Quest and PC players can share rooms.

The patcher injects a single native hook library into the APK. The library redirects the Rec Room name server to your DorkNet host, supplies your Photon AppIds, and turns off the client's certificate pinning and image-signature checks so a self-hosted server works. A build without a Meta app ID lets players sign in with DorkNet credentials and no Meta account. Each hook checks a fingerprint of its target first, so the patch refuses to apply to any other build.

You supply your own extracted APK and OBB; no game binaries are redistributed. The build can package itself as a .xapk that players install from the Quest page of your DorkNet site (https://<apex>/quest) in Chrome or Edge over USB, with no adb or SideQuest. Build, install and troubleshooting steps are in DorkNet.Quest/README.md, and the operator view is in docs/quest.md.

Tested on a Quest 2: the hooks arm, the client reaches the server and the browser installer works. Full in-game play has not been verified yet.

Debugging (opt-in — DorkNet.DebugMod)

The shipping DorkNet.ClientMod carries only what's needed to connect and survive anti-cheat. All diagnostics — HTTP/request tracing, join/quit/studio/ room-load traces, the process-exception sink, auth-token tracing, the registration-dialog trace, and the in-game debug console — live in a separate DorkNet.DebugMod. Drop DorkNet.DebugMod.dll into the Mods folder next to DorkNet.ClientMod.dll to turn them on; remove it to ship a quiet, minimal client. Debug knobs are read from the same dorknet-clientmod.json.

Retail builds keep the RecRoom.Debugging.DebugConsole UI and serialized DebugConsoleCommandConfig list, but the public 2023 client strips the native command submit path. With DorkNet.DebugMod installed, set "EnableDebugConsole": true and relaunch: it force-toggles the console UI on a hotkey ("DebugConsoleToggleKey", default BackQuote = the ~ key), intercepts the dead submit callback, and invokes commands from the runtime command metadata directly. Type help in the console to list discovered commands. "DevCommands" may contain optional "Label=Command args" shortcuts. The feature stays off by default and also silences the retail CheatManager callbacks used by movement/time commands.

Desktop Screen Sharing FPS (opt-in)

The Maker Pen "Desktop Sharing Screen" (RecRoom.Tools.Productivity.DesktopScreenSharingDisplay) broadcasts at a baked refresh rate (~5 fps). Set "DesktopScreenShareFps" in dorknet-clientmod.json (e.g. 30) and relaunch to override it — the mod rewrites the gadget's screenShareImageRefreshFrequency at runtime and, when "DesktopScreenShareRaisePhotonRate" is true (default), lifts PhotonNetwork.SendRate/SerializationRate to match so the frames actually transmit (the image streams over OnPhotonSerializeView, capped at the serialization rate otherwise). This is global — it raises every object's network sync rate, so back it off on a busy room. "DesktopScreenShareResolution"/"DesktopScreenShareQuality" (both 0 = keep the prefab value) trade per-frame size for bandwidth if a high FPS saturates the link. Only the player sharing needs the override. Default 0 (off).

Sign-in page instead of a new account

When the title screen finds no remembered account for the machine, Rec Room creates a brand-new account automatically. On a server with sign-ups off that is refused and the title screen keeps retrying. By default the mod opens the sign-in page instead, so players log into their existing DorkNet account. Set "AutoCreateAccount": true in dorknet-clientmod.json to keep Rec Room's behaviour on a server that allows sign-ups. The Quest build has the same option (AutoCreateAccount in dorknet-quest.cfg).

RRO quest team size (opt-in)

RRO quests ship with a baked 4-player GameConfigurationAsset team cap. Set "QuestMaxTeamSize" in dorknet-clientmod.json (for example 8) to raise that cap for the allowlisted quest configs in "QuestMaxTeamSizeRooms":

{
  "QuestMaxTeamSize": 8,
  "QuestMaxTeamSizeRooms": [
    "CrimsonCauldron",
    "Crescendo",
    "GoldenTrophy",
    "IsleOfLostSkulls",
    "TheRiseofJumbotron"
  ]
}

The quest host must run the mod: the host builds the game configuration that gets networked to joiners. The patch also relaxes the quest spawn filter for extra players, so player indexes above the four baked spawn slots can reuse existing quest spawn points instead of being left out. Default 0 (off).

Rec Royale night mode (opt-in)

Rec Royale never shipped a night variant, but the client carries the room "mood" engine (RecRoom.Core.Scene.SceneMoodSettings) and ready-made night MoodSetting assets in resources.assets. Set "RecRoyaleNightMode" in dorknet-clientmod.json and the mod applies one of those moods (sky dome, sun, fog, bloom and colour grading) as soon as the RecRoyale_Frontier scene finishes loading, and unlocks the weapon flashlight prefab while it is on:

{
  "RecRoyaleNightMode": true,
  "RecRoyaleNightMood": "Night_Calm_Outdoor_Mood",
  "RecRoyaleNightScenes": ["RecRoyale"],
  "RecRoyaleNightFlashlights": true,
  "RecRoyaleNightFog": false,
  "RecRoyaleNightExposure": -3.5,
  "RecRoyaleNightSunScale": 0.15,
  "RecRoyaleNightAmbientScale": 0.2,
  "RecRoyaleNightForcePostProcessing": true,
  "RecRoyaleNightMatchSunLights": true,
  "RecRoyaleNightDisableFog": false,
  "RecRoyaleNightHideObjects": ["Cloud"],
  "RecRoyaleNightToggleKey": "N"
}

RecRoyaleNightDisableFog turns fog off entirely while night is on (RenderSettings.fog forced off and the mood's fog block pushed out of range); it is ignored when RecRoyaleNightFog is true. RecRoyaleNightHideObjects hides every renderer whose object or material name contains one of the entries; the default hides Frontier's daytime cloud meshes (CloudPlane, Clouds, the _Cloud_RecRoyale_Frontier_Mat static batch). Both are restored on toggle-off or scene change.

The mood engine only ever drives RenderSettings.sun, which on Frontier is the sun-disc light, not the map's key light, so daylight would keep casting. RecRoyaleNightMatchSunLights (default true) copies the engine-driven sun's rotation and colour onto every other directional light and scales their intensity by RecRoyaleNightSunScale.

Two more RRO quirks the mod works around: the mood skybox material the engine swaps in (MoodConfig.SkyBoxMaterial) is not loaded outside custom-room scenes, so the mod builds one on the Custom/SkyBox shader and hands it to the engine (otherwise the sky is plain black and the engine refuses to touch sky colours or the sun); and post-exposure only shows when the scene Volume is on and the camera renders post-processing, which RecRoyaleNightForcePostProcessing (default true) forces while night mode is active.

Brightness: RRO maps are lightmapped, and baked lighting ignores the sun and ambient changes a mood makes, so the mod also darkens the mood data itself before applying it. RecRoyaleNightExposure is an EV offset added to the mood's colour-grading post-exposure (a full-frame post effect, so it dims lightmapped surfaces too; 0 = mood default), and RecRoyaleNightSunScale / RecRoyaleNightAmbientScale multiply the mood's sun and ambient intensities (1 = unchanged). Raise the exposure toward 0 if it is too dark.

RRO scenes have no room data blob, so the mood engine starts disabled there; the mod replays the room-data loader's bring-up (disable, capture the scene's own lighting, enable), points RenderSettings.sun at the scene's directional light (Frontier ships without the reference, which would otherwise skip every sun change), and re-captures once the mood skybox material is in place so the sky colours apply. RecRoyaleNightFog is off by default: the mood's fog block is swapped for one captured from the scene, so fog stays as the map author left it.

Shipped moods: Night_Calm_Outdoor_Mood ("Calm Night"), Night_Spooky_Outdoor_Mood ("Spooky Night"), Night_Wild_Outdoor_Mood ("Wild Night"), Night_StuntRunner_Outdoor_Mood and OuterSpace_Mood. RecRoyaleNightToggleKey is an optional UnityEngine.KeyCode name that flips night on/off in-game (off restores the scene's own mood); setting a key also arms the feature when RecRoyaleNightMode is false. This is purely client-side: the mod calls the mood engine's apply step directly and never touches the networked room-mood index, so other players keep their own view. Baked lightmaps are not changed, so interiors stay lit; the mood's colour grading does the darkening. Default false (off). Wire-level notes: docs/recroom-2023-scene-moods.md.

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Code map

Folder	Purpose
DorkNet.Server/	Shared ASP.NET Core controller/service stack, standalone fallback, monolith fallback
DorkNet.Models/	DTOs shared between server and client mod
DorkNet.Contracts/	Shared service names, route ownership, service-map options, and health/probe contracts
DorkNet.ServiceDefaults/	Shared service health, JSON, HTTP client, service identity, and route-guard setup
DorkNet.Gateway/	Edge reverse proxy with service-map, route-table, and service-health endpoints
DorkNet.Services.*	Gateway-fronted service hosts for identity, rooms, notify, content, social, commerce, platform, moderation, and web
DorkNet.ClientMod/	MelonLoader IL2CPP mod — the client patcher
tools/	Installers (install-melon.ps1, install-legacy-client.ps1, remove-eac.ps1), Cloudflare tunnel templates
Dockerfile, Dockerfile.service, docker-compose.microservices*.yml	Standalone fallback image, reusable service image, and local/Dokploy microservices entrypoints

See docs/architecture.md for the full mental model (project layout, request lifecycle, watch-mirror controller pattern, where to start contributing).

Client API contracts

Rec Room is shut down, so the clients can only be studied statically. docs/recroom-2023-client-api-complete.md is the complete contract for the March-2023 client: every route it can call, the HTTP verb, the request and response shapes, and a per-subsystem diff against what this server currently implements. Read it before adding or changing any endpoint that build touches — it also documents how to recover verbs and response shapes from the disassembly yourself.

The equivalent material for the December-2020 client is in the recroom-2020-client-* files alongside it.

Microservices

The production topology is the gateway-fronted compose stack. docker-compose.microservices.yml starts the gateway, identity, rooms, notify, content, social, commerce, platform, moderation, web, and monolith fallback service hosts plus Compose-managed Postgres and Redis for local testing. docker-compose.microservices.dokploy.yml is the Dokploy version; it adds a cloudflared sidecar so Cloudflare Tunnel can route the apex and wildcard hostnames to the gateway without Dokploy domain rows.

The gateway routes owned host/path slices to the dedicated service hosts. The web service owns the apex, www, admin, and feed static hosts. The monolith fallback is still present for unknown route families, so public client URLs remain stable while the split continues.

The compose file intentionally does not start object storage. Point it at your separate S3-compatible instance:

$env:DORKNET_S3_ENDPOINT="https://your-s3-endpoint"
$env:DORKNET_S3_ACCESS_KEY="..."
$env:DORKNET_S3_SECRET_KEY="..."
$env:DORKNET_S3_REGION="garage" # or auto for R2
docker compose -f docker-compose.microservices.yml up --build

For deployment details, including Dokploy env vars, Cloudflare Tunnel routing, external Postgres, and S3 setup, see docs/deploy.md.

For the browser admin console, its routes, auth model, and production troubleshooting, see docs/admin.md.

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Database & migrations

The consolidated Initial migration plus the migrations added since (Migrations/) capture the schema. SQLite dev DBs apply it via Database.Migrate(); Postgres uses EnsureCreated() behind a transaction-scoped advisory lock. The entity model is the single source of truth — to add a column, edit the entity, boot, done (on SQLite — Postgres prod needs a migration).

Data transforms that can't be schema (seed renames, computed backfills) go in DorkNet.Server/Data/LegacyUpgrades.cs. See DorkNet.Server/Data/MIGRATIONS.md for the full discipline.

Tables added after the consolidated Initial migration (e.g. SignupCodes / PendingDevices) are created by an idempotent CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS step in Startup/DatabaseBootstrap.cs so both providers pick them up on existing DBs without a new migration (the Postgres path is EnsureCreated-only and never replays migrations).

Signup codes

When account creation is disabled (admin Settings → Server), the only way in is an admin-issued single-use signup code: generate one in the admin panel's Settings → Signup codes tab (with a descriptor + optional expiry), hand it to the player, and they redeem it on the site's /join page — which creates their account bound to the device their game client reported, so the next launch logs straight in.

Everyone-is-friends toggle

For small servers where searching + friend-requesting each other is friction, admin Settings → Server → "Everyone is friends" makes every account a friend of every other account. It writes no relationship rows — the friend graph is synthesized at read time (RelationshipQueries.EffectiveFriendIdsAsync, gated on ServerSettings.GlobalFriendsEnabled), so flipping it off reverts instantly. Blocks are still honored and the system/coach account is excluded, as are auto-generated Player_NNN placeholder accounts that never set a real username (they only appear if there's a genuine friend row). Flipping it broadcasts RelationshipsInvalid to every connected watch, which calls Relationships.RefreshList and re-pulls api/relationships/v2/get — so players see everyone appear (or disappear) without relogging. It covers the friends list, the friends-online HUD, and room-move presence fan-out.

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Single-server defaults (review before going public)

Several values are hardcoded or defaulted for the convenience of running a small, trusted, single-operator server. They work out of the box for a group of friends but should be reviewed / adapted before exposing the server to the public internet:

• Client build version (appVersion). Hardcoded to this branch's client build (20230317) in the presence/match/notification responses (MatchPlayerController, PlayerPresenceController, NotificationService, RoomsController). It must match the build everyone runs, or players get a "version mismatch" and can't join each other. If you serve a different client build, change it (ideally hoist it to one shared constant).
• No real authentication. Accounts are keyed by a per-install deviceId the client generates (PlayerService.GetOrCreateByDeviceAsync) — not a verified identity (Steam ID is deliberately ignored so emulators work). Anyone who can reach the server with a patched client gets/creates an account. Use Settings → Server → disable signups + the signup-code flow to gate who can join; there is no password wall by default.
• First account becomes admin. The first account created on a fresh DB is granted IsAdmin so there's always a root admin. On a public server, create your admin account first and verify no one else beat you to it.
• Online status visibility. Each player's in-game choice (Public, Friends only, Favorite friends only, Appear offline) is stored and honoured by both GET /player and the live presence pushes. Players who never pick one are Public. "Friends only" follows the everyone-is-friends toggle, so with that toggle on it shows them to everyone.
• Room / matchmaking capacity. New matchmade sessions and subrooms default to 8 players and are capped at 40 (GameSessionService, RoomSceneEntity.MaxPlayers, admin MaxCapacity clamp). The in-game "Max Player Count in This Subroom" slider raises it per room (slider ceiling 40).
• Avatar unlock clamp. The wardrobe clamp defaults high (Avatar:MaxUnlockedItems 4000 / per-slot 1000) for this desktop client — tune in config if you change the ownership model.
• Hosts / domain. The apex and per-service subdomains come from DomainConfig (Domain:Apex) / appsettings; set these to your own domain. The Everyone-is-friends, signup-disable, and similar switches live in admin Settings, not source.

None of these are security boundaries as shipped — treat the server as trusted LAN/friends infrastructure unless you harden the items above.

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Contributing

See main's CONTRIBUTING guide for the project-wide rules.

Branch-specific: this is the repo's default branch, and Dependabot and server PRs target it. Schema changes here don't flow to the 2020 or 2018 branches automatically. If a fix applies to more than one, cherry-pick it across. Don't rebase across branches.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to RecFlare, an independent open-source 2023 Rec Room server by djdevin, for sharing their work in the open. Their server and Quest client were a valuable second opinion while building this branch:

• Quest: DorkNet.Quest follows their approach of a single native hook library loaded through a DT_NEEDED entry on libmain.so. Their notes also showed which client checks a self-hosted server has to get past.
• Wire contracts: their implementation pointed us at several things we then confirmed in our own client disassembly. These include the profile edit form fields, the saved-outfit keys, the {Success, Error} envelope behind isCreationAllowedForAccount, and the gameconfig catalogue, including the PlayMenuCarouselOrdering_* format.
• Accounts: their warning that a Quest client without a Meta account sends the same platform id from every headset led to the placeholder platform-id handling in PlayerService.

No RecFlare code is included in DorkNet. RecFlare targets a newer client (20230414), so every finding was re-verified against the 2023.03.21 build before use.

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License

AGPL-3.0. Hosted forks must publish their source.