draft-lcurley-moq-lite-04 | 23 pages | Expires 2026-10-11
Author
Abstract
moq-lite is a simplified protocol designed to fanout live content 1→N across the internet. It uses QUIC to prioritize important content during congestion while avoiding head-of-line blocking and respecting encoding dependencies. Though media-focused, the protocol is payload-agnostic and can be proxied by relays/CDNs without access to decryption keys or codec knowledge.
Relationship to moq-transport
moq-lite is explicitly derived from moq-transport. The author states: “This draft is based on MoqTransport. The concepts, motivations, and terminology are very similar.”
The key difference is design philosophy — moq-lite removes complexity by eliminating what it characterizes as “too many messages, optional modes, and half-baked features” in the full standard.
Key Simplifications (vs moq-transport)
- Stream-based architecture replaces request IDs
- Pull-only model — no unsolicited publishing
- Simplified FETCH — operates as single request/response (unlike moq-transport’s multi-group approach)
- Extension negotiation via stream probing rather than parameters
- Removed features: subgroups, object properties, datagrams, paused subscriptions, 30+ message types
- UTF-8 strings replace byte arrays for names
- Default subscriptions start at latest group automatically
Data Model
Hierarchical structure similar to moq-transport but simplified:
- Sessions — connections between client and server
- Broadcasts — collections of content from a single source
- Tracks — series of independent content groupings
- Groups — ordered sequences within tracks
- Frames — individual data units
Implementation
Luke Curley implements moq-lite in moq-dev (moq-dev/moq), with IETF adapter shims enabling interop with IETF-aligned implementations (draft-14 through draft-17).
Version History
| Version | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| draft-04 | 2026-04-09 | Current |
| draft-03 | 2026-03-10 | — |
| draft-02 | 2026-01-13 | — |
| draft-01 | 2025-10-20 | — |
| draft-00 | 2025-07-07 | Initial submission |
Status
Individual submission — not adopted by the MOQ working group. This draft represents Luke Curley’s alternative vision for the MOQ protocol, focusing on simplicity over the full feature set of moq-transport.
External Links
Related
- moq-transport — The IETF WG standard that moq-lite simplifies
- moq-dev — Implementation of moq-lite
- luke-curley — Author