> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://private-7c7dfe99-mintlify-3a82795f.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

> Documentation for the native TCP interface in ClickHouse

# Native interface (TCP)

The native protocol is used in the [command-line client](/concepts/features/interfaces/cli), for inter-server communication during distributed query processing, and also in other C++ programs. Unfortunately, native ClickHouse protocol doesn't have formal specification yet, but it can be reverse-engineered from ClickHouse source code (starting [around here](https://github.com/ClickHouse/ClickHouse/tree/master/src/Client)) and/or by intercepting and analyzing TCP traffic.