rfc-explained.com
Every RFC, explained simply.
RFCs are where the internet is actually written down, and they are almost unreadable. This is the ramp: the same standards in plain English, with the status, the history and the parts that trip people up.
The library
Grouped by theme, in the order we are building them out.
Networking basics
-
768
UDP, the protocol that promises nothing.
current -
791
IPv4, the envelope every packet travels in.
current -
793
TCP, the protocol that turns postcards into a phone call.
obsoleted -
1122
Ten years of TCP/IP bug reports, written down.
current -
1123
The RFC that let hostnames start with a digit.
current -
1918
Private IP addresses, explained like you're new here.
current -
6598
The fourth private range nobody voted for.
current
Formats & encoding
OAuth & identity
Standards & meta
What is an RFC?
An RFC ("Request for Comments") is a numbered document from the IETF that defines how one piece of the internet works, from IP addresses to email to HTTP. Despite the tentative name, a published RFC is the standard, not a draft up for debate. Each keeps its number forever, and newer RFCs can update or obsolete older ones, which is why the status matters as much as the text.
Built for machines too
Every page is also served as clean Markdown at the same URL with a
.md
suffix. Point a coding assistant or LLM here:
curl https://rfc-explained.com/en/1918.mdthe full structured index lives at /llms.txt