diff --git a/include/ircd/protocol.h b/include/ircd/protocol.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a7777835e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/ircd/protocol.h
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2016 Charybdis Development Team
+ * Copyright (C) 2016 Jason Volk <jason@zemos.net>
+ *
+ * Permission to use, copy, modify, and/or distribute this software for any
+ * purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above
+ * copyright notice and this permission notice is present in all copies.
+ *
+ * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR
+ * IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
+ * WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
+ * DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT,
+ * INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
+ * (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR
+ * SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
+ * HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT,
+ * STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING
+ * IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE
+ * POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
+ *
+ */
+
+#pragma once
+#define HAVE_IRCD_PROTOCOL_H
+
+namespace ircd {
+
+enum class protocol
+{
+	RFC1459,     // IRC 1
+	RFC2182,     // IRC 2
+	IRCV3,       // IRC 3
+	RFC2616      // HTTP/1.1
+};
+
+} // namespace ircd
diff --git a/include/ircd/stdinc.h b/include/ircd/stdinc.h
index 111af04b1..5d92056f6 100644
--- a/include/ircd/stdinc.h
+++ b/include/ircd/stdinc.h
@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ namespace ircd
 #include "numeric.h"
 #include "color.h"
 #include "messages.h"
+#include "protocol.h"
 #include "rfc1459.h"
 #include "fmt.h"
 #include "err.h"