diff --git a/internal/client/client.go b/internal/client/client.go
index 9aee12e..80b29a0 100644
--- a/internal/client/client.go
+++ b/internal/client/client.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package client
 
 import (
 	"bufio"
+	"context"
 	"crypto/tls"
 	"crypto/x509"
 	_ "embed"
@@ -10,6 +11,8 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
+
+	"github.com/kyren223/eko/internal/packet"
 )
 
 //go:embed server.crt
@@ -22,7 +25,7 @@ func Run() {
 	}
 
 	tlsConfig := &tls.Config{
-		RootCAs: certPool,
+		RootCAs:    certPool,
 		ServerName: "localhost",
 	}
 
@@ -48,20 +51,35 @@ func processRequest(request string, tlsConfig *tls.Config) error {
 	}
 	defer conn.Close()
 
-	conn.SetDeadline(time.Now().Add(time.Second))
 	log.Println("established connection with server:", conn.RemoteAddr().String())
 
-	_, err = conn.Write([]byte(request))
+	requestMsg := packet.EkoMessage{Message: request}
+	encoder, err := packet.NewMsgPackEncoder(&requestMsg)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("error encoding request: %v", err)
+	}
+	requestPacket := packet.NewPacket(encoder)
+	err = requestPacket.Into(conn)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("error sending request: %v", err)
 	}
+	log.Println("sent request to server")
 
-	buffer := make([]byte, 1024)
-	n, err := conn.Read(buffer)
-	if err != nil {
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 10*time.Second)
+	defer cancel()
+	out, outErr := packet.RunFramer(ctx, conn)
+
+	var response packet.EkoMessage
+	select {
+	case responsePacket := <-out:
+		if err := responsePacket.DecodePayload(&response); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("error decoding response: %v", err)
+		}
+
+	case err := <-outErr:
 		return fmt.Errorf("error receiving response: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	log.Println("server response:", string(buffer[:n]))
+	log.Println("server response:", response.Message)
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/internal/messages/eko.go b/internal/messages/eko.go
deleted file mode 100644
index d8eaa86..0000000
--- a/internal/messages/eko.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-package messages
-
-import "github.com/kyren223/eko/internal/packet"
-
-type EkoMessage struct {
-	Message string `msgpack:"message"`
-}
-
-func (m EkoMessage) Type() packet.PacketType {
-	return packet.TypeEko
-}
-
-type ErrorMessage struct {
-	Error string `msgpack:"error"`
-}
-
-func (m ErrorMessage) Type() packet.PacketType {
-	return packet.TypeError
-}
diff --git a/internal/packet/encoders.go b/internal/packet/encoders.go
index 0d190e9..e70d0e8 100644
--- a/internal/packet/encoders.go
+++ b/internal/packet/encoders.go
@@ -8,13 +8,13 @@ import (
 	"github.com/vmihailenco/msgpack/v5"
 )
 
-type TypedMessage interface{
+type TypedMessage interface {
 	Type() PacketType
 }
 
 type defaultPacketEncoder struct {
 	io.Reader
-	encoding Encoding
+	encoding   Encoding
 	packetType PacketType
 }
 
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ func NewMsgPackEncoder(message TypedMessage) (PacketEncoder, error) {
 
 	return defaultPacketEncoder{
 		Reader:     bytes.NewReader(data),
-		encoding:   EncodingJson,
+		encoding:   EncodingMsgPack,
 		packetType: message.Type(),
 	}, nil
+}
diff --git a/internal/packet/framer.go b/internal/packet/framer.go
index 58fa9c2..1a76ea6 100644
--- a/internal/packet/framer.go
+++ b/internal/packet/framer.go
@@ -4,8 +4,10 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/binary"
 	"errors"
+	"fmt"
 	"io"
 
+	"github.com/kyren223/eko/pkg/assert"
 	"github.com/kyren223/eko/pkg/util"
 )
 
@@ -25,17 +27,11 @@ type packetFramer struct {
 }
 
 func RunFramer(ctx context.Context, reader io.Reader) (out <-chan Packet, outErr <-chan error) {
-	// Reads a bunch from ioReader
-	// If bytes r more than header size
-	// Try parsing 1 or more packets
-	// Send those packets to a channel
-	// Have a goroutine read from the channel
-
 	ch := make(chan Packet, framerPacketCapacity)
 	errCh := make(chan error)
 
 	framer := packetFramer{
-		buffer: make([]byte, PACKET_MAX_SIZE, PACKET_MAX_SIZE),
+		buffer: make([]byte, PACKET_MAX_SIZE),
 		len:    0,
 		in:     ch,
 		inErr:  errCh,
@@ -57,6 +53,7 @@ outer:
 			dataRead := 0
 			for dataRead < len(data) {
 				n := copy(f.buffer[f.len:], data[dataRead:])
+				assert.Assert(0 <= n && n <= int(PACKET_MAX_SIZE), "n must fit in a u16")
 				f.len += uint16(n)
 				dataRead += n
 				if err := f.parse(); err != nil {
@@ -79,7 +76,7 @@ outer:
 func (f *packetFramer) parse() error {
 	for f.len > HEADER_SIZE {
 		if f.buffer[VERSION_OFFSET] != VERSION {
-			return PacketUnsupportedVersion
+			return fmt.Errorf("%w version=%v", PacketUnsupportedVersion, f.buffer[VERSION_OFFSET])
 		}
 
 		encoding := Encoding(f.buffer[ENCODING_OFFSET] >> 6)
@@ -98,10 +95,10 @@ func (f *packetFramer) parse() error {
 		}
 
 		fullLength := HEADER_SIZE + length
-		packetBuffer := make([]byte, fullLength, fullLength)
-		copy(packetBuffer, f.buffer[HEADER_SIZE:fullLength])
+		packetBuffer := make([]byte, fullLength)
+		copy(packetBuffer, f.buffer[:fullLength])
 
-		f.len = uint16(copy(f.buffer[:fullLength], f.buffer[fullLength:]))
+		f.len = uint16(copy(f.buffer, f.buffer[fullLength:f.len]))
 
 		f.in <- Packet{packetBuffer}
 	}
diff --git a/internal/packet/messages.go b/internal/packet/messages.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f8390f8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/packet/messages.go
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+package packet
+
+type EkoMessage struct {
+	Message string `msgpack:"message"`
+}
+
+func (m *EkoMessage) Type() PacketType {
+	return TypeEko
+}
+
+type ErrorMessage struct {
+	Error string `msgpack:"error"`
+}
+
+func (m *ErrorMessage) Type() PacketType {
+	return TypeError
+}
diff --git a/internal/packet/packet.go b/internal/packet/packet.go
index 21ba0cc..068a8f3 100644
--- a/internal/packet/packet.go
+++ b/internal/packet/packet.go
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ func (e Encoding) String() string {
 	case EncodingUnused2:
 		return "EncodingUnused2"
 	default:
-		return fmt.Sprintf("EncodingInvalid(%v)", e)
+		return fmt.Sprintf("EncodingInvalid(%v)", byte(e))
 	}
 }
 
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ func (t PacketType) String() string {
 	case TypeError:
 		return "PacketTypeError"
 	default:
-		return fmt.Sprintf("PacketTypeInvalid(%v)", t)
+		return fmt.Sprintf("PacketTypeInvalid(%v)", byte(t))
 	}
 }
 
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ const (
 )
 
 const (
-	VERSION          = 1
+	VERSION          = byte(1)
 	PACKET_MAX_SIZE  = ^uint16(0)
 	PAYLOAD_MAX_SIZE = PACKET_MAX_SIZE - HEADER_SIZE
 	HEADER_SIZE      = 4
@@ -135,14 +135,18 @@ func (p Packet) PayloadLength() uint16 {
 	return binary.BigEndian.Uint16(p.data[LENGTH_OFFSET:])
 }
 
+func (p Packet) String() string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf("{v%v %v %v %v: %v}", p.data[0], p.Encoding().String(), p.Type().String(), p.PayloadLength(), p.Payload())
+}
+
 // The payload data, caller must not modify the returned slice, even temporarily
 func (p Packet) Payload() []byte {
 	return p.data[HEADER_SIZE:]
 }
 
-func (p Packet) DecodePayload(v *TypedMessage) error {
-	if p.Type() != (*v).Type() {
-		return fmt.Errorf("", p.Type(), (*v).Type())
+func (p Packet) DecodePayload(v TypedMessage) error {
+	if p.Type() != v.Type() {
+		return fmt.Errorf("type mismatch: want %v got %v", p.Type(), v.Type())
 	}
 	switch p.Encoding() {
 	case EncodingJson:
@@ -152,12 +156,14 @@ func (p Packet) DecodePayload(v *TypedMessage) error {
 	case EncodingUnused1:
 		fallthrough
 	case EncodingUnused2:
-		return fmt.Errorf("unsupported encoding: ", p.Encoding().String())
+		return fmt.Errorf("unsupported encoding: %v", p.Encoding().String())
 	default:
 		assert.Unreachable("encoding from packet should always be valid encoding=%v", p.Encoding())
+		return nil
 	}
 }
 
-func (p Packet) Into(writer io.Writer) (int, error) {
-	return writer.Write(p.data[:len(p.data)])
+func (p Packet) Into(writer io.Writer) error {
+	_, err := writer.Write(p.data[:len(p.data)])
+	return err
 }
diff --git a/internal/packet/packet_test.go b/internal/packet/packet_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..20370af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/packet/packet_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+package packet
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/vmihailenco/msgpack/v5"
+)
+
+func TestMsgPackEncoding(t *testing.T) {
+	request := EkoMessage{Message: "test"}
+	data, err := msgpack.Marshal(&request)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("encoding error: %v", err)
+		return
+	}
+	var response EkoMessage
+	err = msgpack.Unmarshal(data, &response)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("decoding error: %v", err)
+		return
+	}
+	if request.Message != response.Message {
+		t.Errorf("%v != %v", request.Message, response.Message)
+		return
+	}
+}
+
+func TestPacketMsgPackEncoding(t *testing.T) {
+	request := EkoMessage{Message: "test"}
+	encoder1, err := NewMsgPackEncoder(&request)
+	encoder2, _ := NewMsgPackEncoder(&request)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("encoding error: %v", err)
+		return
+	}
+	encodedBytes := make([]byte, PACKET_MAX_SIZE)
+	n, _ := encoder2.Read(encodedBytes[HEADER_SIZE:])
+
+	packet := NewPacket(encoder1)
+	var response EkoMessage
+	err = packet.DecodePayload(&response)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("decoding error: %#v: packet: %v encoder: %v", err, packet.Payload(), encodedBytes[HEADER_SIZE:HEADER_SIZE+n])
+		return
+	}
+	if request.Message != response.Message {
+		t.Errorf("%v != %v", request.Message, response.Message)
+		return
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/server/handler.go b/internal/server/handler.go
index 83d3e6e..61ecbae 100644
--- a/internal/server/handler.go
+++ b/internal/server/handler.go
@@ -1,10 +1,16 @@
 package server
 
 import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"log"
 	"net"
 	"sync"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/kyren223/eko/internal/packet"
+	"github.com/kyren223/eko/pkg/assert"
 )
 
 func handleConnection(conn net.Conn, wg *sync.WaitGroup) {
@@ -13,20 +19,66 @@ func handleConnection(conn net.Conn, wg *sync.WaitGroup) {
 	defer conn.Close()
 	defer wg.Done()
 
-	buffer := make([]byte, 1024)
-	bytesRead, err := conn.Read(buffer)
-	if err != nil {
-		log.Println("failed reading request:", err)
-		return
-	}
-	request := string(buffer[:bytesRead])
-	log.Printf("Read %v bytes: %v\n", bytesRead, request)
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 2*time.Second)
+	defer cancel()
+	out, outErr := packet.RunFramer(ctx, conn)
+	log.Printf("client %v: running framer\n", conn.RemoteAddr().String())
 
-	response := []byte(fmt.Sprintf("Eko \"%v\"", request))
-	bytesWritten, err := conn.Write(response)
-	if err != nil {
-		log.Println("failed writing response:", err)
-		return
+outer:
+	for {
+		select {
+		case packet := <-out:
+			log.Printf("client %v: request packet: %v\n", conn.RemoteAddr().String(), packet)
+			responsePacket, err := handlePacket(packet)
+			log.Printf("client %v: response packet: %v\n", conn.RemoteAddr().String(), responsePacket)
+			if err != nil {
+				log.Printf("client %v: error processing request: %v\n", conn.RemoteAddr().String(), err)
+				break outer
+			}
+			err = responsePacket.Into(conn)
+			if err != nil {
+				log.Printf("client %v: error writing packet: %v\n", conn.RemoteAddr().String(), err)
+				break outer
+			}
+
+		case err := <-outErr:
+			if err == packet.PacketUnsupportedEncoding {
+				err := unsupportedEncodingErrorPacket.Into(conn)
+				log.Printf("client %v: error writing unsupported encoding packet: %v\n", conn.RemoteAddr().String(), err)
+			} else if err == packet.PacketUnsupportedType {
+				err := unsupportedTypeErrorPacket.Into(conn)
+				log.Printf("client %v: error writing unsupported type packet: %v\n", conn.RemoteAddr().String(), err)
+			} else {
+				log.Printf("client %v: internal error: %v\n", conn.RemoteAddr().String(), err)
+			}
+			break outer
+
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			log.Printf("client %v: %v\n", conn.RemoteAddr().String(), ctx.Err())
+			break outer
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func handlePacket(pkt packet.Packet) (packet.Packet, error) {
+	switch pkt.Type() {
+	case packet.TypeEko:
+		var request packet.EkoMessage
+		if err := pkt.DecodePayload(&request); err != nil {
+			return packet.Packet{}, fmt.Errorf("decode error: %v", err)
+		}
+
+		response := packet.EkoMessage{Message: "Eko \"" + request.Message + "\""}
+		encoder, err := packet.NewMsgPackEncoder(&response)
+		if err != nil {
+			return packet.Packet{}, fmt.Errorf("encode error: %v", err)
+		}
+		return packet.NewPacket(encoder), nil
+
+	case packet.TypeError:
+		return packet.Packet{}, errors.New("TODO: not implemented yet")
+	default:
+		assert.Unreachable("type should be checked for validity before handler, packet = %v", pkt.String())
+		return packet.Packet{}, nil
 	}
-	log.Printf("written %v bytes\n", bytesWritten)
 }
diff --git a/internal/server/server.go b/internal/server/server.go
index 48b31f4..89434d3 100644
--- a/internal/server/server.go
+++ b/internal/server/server.go
@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ import (
 	"strconv"
 	"sync"
 	"syscall"
+
+	"github.com/kyren223/eko/internal/packet"
+	"github.com/kyren223/eko/pkg/assert"
 )
 
 const port = 7223
@@ -31,6 +34,8 @@ func Start() {
 		Certificates: []tls.Certificate{cert},
 	}
 
+	prepareConstPackets()
+
 	listener, err := tls.Listen("tcp4", ":"+strconv.Itoa(port), tlsConfig)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Fatalf("error starting server: %s", err)
@@ -67,3 +72,18 @@ func listen(listener net.Listener, wg *sync.WaitGroup) {
 	}
 	log.Printf("stopped listening on port %v...\n", port)
 }
+
+var unsupportedEncodingErrorPacket packet.Packet
+var unsupportedTypeErrorPacket packet.Packet
+
+func prepareConstPackets() {
+	message := packet.ErrorMessage{Error: packet.PacketUnsupportedEncoding.Error()}
+	encoder, err := packet.NewMsgPackEncoder(&message)
+	assert.NoError(err, "constant packets should not error")
+	unsupportedEncodingErrorPacket = packet.NewPacket(encoder)
+
+	message = packet.ErrorMessage{Error: packet.PacketUnsupportedType.Error()}
+	encoder, err = packet.NewMsgPackEncoder(&message)
+	assert.NoError(err, "constant packets should not error")
+	unsupportedTypeErrorPacket = packet.NewPacket(encoder)
+}