diff --git a/c/cmf.c b/c/cmf.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5ae0460
--- /dev/null
+++ b/c/cmf.c
@@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
+#include "cmf.h"
+
+#include <assert.h>
+#include <string.h> // for memcpy
+
+static bool cmf_unserialize(const unsigned char **data, const unsigned char * const endMessage, unsigned long *result)
+{
+    assert(data);
+    assert(*data);
+    assert(result);
+    assert(endMessage);
+
+    const unsigned char *ptr = *data;
+    while (ptr < endMessage) {
+        unsigned char byte = *ptr++;
+        *result = (*result << 7) | (byte & 0x7F);
+        if (byte & 0x80)
+            *result += 1;
+        else {
+            *data = ptr;
+            return true;
+        }
+    }
+    return false;
+}
+
+static void cmf_serialize(unsigned char **data, unsigned long value)
+{
+    unsigned char *start = *data;
+    unsigned char *pos = start;
+    while (true) {
+        *pos = (unsigned char) ((value & 0x7F) | (pos != start ? 0x80 : 0x00));
+        if (value <= 0x7F)
+            break;
+        value = (value >> 7) - 1;
+        ++pos;
+    }
+    *data = pos + 1;
+
+    // reverse
+    while (pos > start) {
+        unsigned char tmp = *start; // swap
+        *start = *pos;
+        *pos = tmp;
+        ++start;
+        --pos;
+    }
+}
+
+static void cmf_write(unsigned char **data, unsigned int tag, short type) {
+    assert(type < 8);
+    if (tag >= 31) { // use more than 1 byte
+        unsigned char byte = type | 0xF8; // set the 'tag' to all 1s
+        *data[0] = byte;
+        *data += 1;
+        cmf_serialize(data, tag);
+    }
+    else {
+        assert(tag < 32);
+        unsigned char byte = tag;
+        byte = byte << 3;
+        byte += type;
+        *data[0] = byte;
+        *data += 1;
+    }
+}
+
+void cmfbuilder_add_int(unsigned char **ptr, unsigned int tag, int value)
+{
+    short type;
+    if (value >= 0) {
+        type = CMFMT_POSITIVE_NUMBER;
+    } else {
+        type = CMFMT_NEGATIVE_NUMBER;
+        value *= -1;
+    }
+    cmf_write(ptr, tag, type);
+    cmf_serialize(ptr, value);
+}
+
+void cmfbuilder_add_ulong(unsigned char **ptr, unsigned int tag, unsigned long value)
+{
+    cmf_write(ptr, tag, CMFMT_POSITIVE_NUMBER);
+    cmf_serialize(ptr, value);
+}
+
+void cmfbuilder_add_bytes(unsigned char **ptr, unsigned int tag, const char *data, int length, enum cmf_message_format fmt)
+{
+    assert(fmt == CMFMT_STRING_UTF8 || fmt == CMFMT_BYTES);
+    cmf_write(ptr, tag, fmt);
+    cmf_serialize(ptr, length);
+    memcpy(*ptr, data, length);
+    *ptr += length;
+}
+
+void cmfbuilder_add_bool(unsigned char **ptr, unsigned int tag, bool value)
+{
+    cmf_write(ptr, tag, value ? CMFMT_BOOL_TRUE : CMFMT_BOOL_FALSE);
+}
+
+
+enum cmf_parser_result cmfparser_next(const unsigned char **ptr, const unsigned char * const endMessage, struct cmf_message_parser_token *token)
+{
+    if (*ptr >= endMessage)
+        return CMF_DOCUMENT_END;
+
+    unsigned char byte = *ptr[0];
+    token->fmt = (enum cmf_message_format)(byte & 0x07);
+    token->tag = byte >> 3;
+    if (token->tag == 31) { // the tag is stored in the next byte(s)
+        unsigned long tag = 0;
+        *ptr += 1;
+        bool ok = cmf_unserialize(ptr, endMessage, &tag);
+        if (!ok || tag > 0xFFFFFFFF) {
+            *ptr -= 1;
+            return CMF_PARSER_ERROR;
+        }
+        *ptr -= 1;
+        token->tag = (unsigned int) tag;
+    }
+
+    unsigned long value = 0;
+
+    switch (token->fmt) {
+    case CMFMT_POSITIVE_NUMBER:
+    case CMFMT_NEGATIVE_NUMBER: {
+        *ptr += 1;
+        bool ok = cmf_unserialize(ptr, endMessage, &value);
+        if (!ok) {
+            *ptr -= 1;
+            return CMF_PARSER_ERROR;
+        }
+        if (token->fmt == CMFMT_NEGATIVE_NUMBER)
+            token->signed_num = (long) (value * -1);
+        else
+            token->big_num = value;
+        break;
+    }
+    case CMFMT_BYTES:
+    case CMFMT_STRING_UTF8: {
+        *ptr += 1;
+        bool ok = cmf_unserialize(ptr, endMessage, &value);
+        if (!ok) {
+            *ptr -= 1;
+            return CMF_PARSER_ERROR;
+        }
+        token->begin = *ptr;
+        token->end = token->begin + value;
+        if (token->end > endMessage) // The actual value is not included in the message
+            return CMF_PARSER_ERROR;
+        *ptr += value;
+        break;
+    }
+    case CMFMT_BOOL_TRUE:
+    case CMFMT_BOOL_FALSE:
+        *ptr += 1;
+        break;
+    default:
+        return CMF_PARSER_ERROR;
+    }
+
+    return CMF_FOUND_TOKEN;
+}
diff --git a/c/cmf.h b/c/cmf.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..df668d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/c/cmf.h
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+#ifndef _CMF_H
+#define _CMF_H
+
+#include <stdbool.h>
+
+enum cmf_message_format {
+    CMFMT_POSITIVE_NUMBER = 0,
+    CMFMT_NEGATIVE_NUMBER = 1,
+    CMFMT_STRING_UTF8 = 2,
+    CMFMT_BYTES = 3,
+    CMFMT_BOOL_TRUE = 4,
+    CMFMT_BOOL_FALSE = 5
+    // TODO double
+};
+
+enum cmf_parser_result {
+    CMF_FOUND_TOKEN,
+    CMF_PARSER_ERROR,
+    CMF_DOCUMENT_END
+};
+
+/* builder API */
+
+/*
+ * The cmfbuilder_add_* range of methods append data to an existing buffer.
+ * The amount of data added is relative to the actual value passed because a variable-width byte encoding is being used.
+ * The 'tag' takes at most 5 bytes. It takes zero bytes if the value is < 30.
+ * The format (int/string/etc) is encoded and takes 1 byte.
+ * The actual byte count used for the value is format dependent.
+ *    numbers take up to 9 bytes for a 64-bit value. (notice that negative numbers are multiplied by -1 before being encoded, so -1 is just 1 byte)
+ *    byte-arrays are just copied. Additional byte-count is the length. Also var-encoded.
+ *    booleans are free. No bytes taken.
+ *
+ * Please make sure enough bytes are available in the buffer as no effort is being made to avoid appending after the buffer.
+ */
+
+void cmfbuilder_add_int(unsigned char **ptr, unsigned int tag, int value);
+void cmfbuilder_add_ulong(unsigned char **ptr, unsigned int tag, unsigned long value);
+/*
+ * Add-bytes allows the caller to specify the format specifically because the compact message format
+ * supports both byte-arrays as well as utf-8 encoded strings.
+ * Add the one you want to encoded. Notice that if you pass anything other than CMFMT_STRING_UTF8 or CMFMT_BYTES your
+ * stream will be corrupted
+ */
+void cmfbuilder_add_bytes(unsigned char **ptr, unsigned int tag, const char *data, int length, enum cmf_message_format fmt);
+void cmfbuilder_add_bool(unsigned char **ptr, unsigned int tag, bool value);
+
+/* parser API */
+
+
+/*
+ * The cmf parser method is essentially a SOX parser that allows really fast parsing and zero data-copy.
+ *
+ * The cmfparser_next() method can be called repeatedly until a certain token you wish to find has been located.
+ * The actual token values are stored in the cmf_message_parser_token struct which can be reused for all calls.
+ */
+struct cmf_message_parser_token {
+    int tag;
+    enum cmf_message_format fmt;
+    union {
+        unsigned long big_num; /* Used when fmt is CMFMT_POSITIVE_NUMBER */
+        long signed_num;       /* Used when fmt is CMFMT_NEGATIVE_NUMBER */
+    };
+    const unsigned char *begin, *end; /* used for byte arrays and strings */
+};
+
+enum cmf_parser_result cmfparser_next(const unsigned char **ptr, const unsigned char * const endMessage, struct cmf_message_parser_token *token);
+
+
+#endif
diff --git a/c/test.c b/c/test.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e401a5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/c/test.c
@@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
+#include "cmf.h"
+
+#ifdef NDEBUG
+# error run the test in debug mode otherwise you wont get any results
+#endif
+#include <assert.h>
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <string.h>
+
+void basic_test1()
+{
+    unsigned char buf[100];
+    unsigned char *ptr = buf;
+    struct cmf_message_parser_token token;
+    enum cmf_parser_result found;
+
+    cmfbuilder_add_int(&ptr, 15, 6512);
+    assert(ptr > buf);
+    // printf( "size: %d\n", ptr - buf);
+    assert(ptr - buf == 3);
+    assert(buf[0] == 120);
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[1] == 177);
+    assert(buf[2] == 112);
+
+    const unsigned char *parsePtr = buf;
+    found = cmfparser_next(&parsePtr, ptr, &token);
+    assert(found == CMF_FOUND_TOKEN);
+    assert(token.tag == 15);
+    assert(token.fmt == CMFMT_POSITIVE_NUMBER);
+    assert(token.big_num == 6512);
+
+    found = cmfparser_next(&parsePtr, ptr, &token);
+    assert(found == CMF_DOCUMENT_END);
+}
+
+void basic_test2()
+{
+    unsigned char buf[100];
+    unsigned char *ptr = buf;
+    struct cmf_message_parser_token token;
+    enum cmf_parser_result found;
+
+    cmfbuilder_add_int(&ptr, 129, 6512);
+    assert(ptr > buf);
+    // printf( "size: %d\n", ptr - buf);
+    assert(ptr - buf == 5);
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[0] == 248);
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[1] == 128);
+    assert(buf[2] == 1);
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[3] == 177);
+    assert(buf[4] == 112);
+
+    const unsigned char *parsePtr = buf;
+    found = cmfparser_next(&parsePtr, ptr, &token);
+    assert(found == CMF_FOUND_TOKEN);
+    assert(token.tag == 129);
+    assert(token.fmt == CMFMT_POSITIVE_NUMBER);
+    assert(token.big_num == 6512);
+
+    found = cmfparser_next(&parsePtr, ptr, &token);
+    assert(found == CMF_DOCUMENT_END);
+}
+
+void test_types()
+{
+    unsigned char buf[100];
+    unsigned char *ptr = buf;
+    struct cmf_message_parser_token token;
+    enum cmf_parser_result found;
+
+    const char *foo = "Föo";
+    assert(strlen(foo) == 4); // someone changed encoding of this source file
+    cmfbuilder_add_bytes(&ptr, 1, foo, 4, CMFMT_STRING_UTF8);
+    const char *hihi = "hihi";
+    cmfbuilder_add_bytes(&ptr, 200, hihi, 4, CMFMT_BYTES);
+    cmfbuilder_add_bool(&ptr, 3, true);
+    cmfbuilder_add_bool(&ptr, 40, false);
+    assert(ptr > buf);
+    // printf( "size: %d\n", ptr - buf);
+    assert(ptr - buf == 17);
+    // string '1'
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[0] == 10);
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[1] == 4); // serialized string length
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[2] == 70);
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[3] == 195);
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[4] == 182);
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[5] == 111);
+
+    // blob '200'
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[6] == 251);
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[7] == 128);
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[8] == 72);
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[9] == 4); // length of bytearray
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[10] == 104); // 'h'
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[11] == 105); // 'i'
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[12] == 104); // 'h'
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[13] == 105); // 'i'
+
+    // bool-true '3'
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[14] == 28);
+
+    // bool-false '40'
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[15] == 253);
+    assert((unsigned char) buf[16] == 40);
+
+    const unsigned char *parsePtr = buf;
+    found = cmfparser_next(&parsePtr, ptr, &token);
+    assert(found == CMF_FOUND_TOKEN);
+    assert(token.tag == 1);
+    assert(token.fmt == CMFMT_STRING_UTF8);
+    assert(token.begin > buf);
+    assert(token.begin < ptr);
+    assert(token.end > buf);
+    assert(token.end < ptr);
+    assert(token.end - token.begin == 4);
+    assert(memcmp(foo, token.begin, 4) == 0); // be careful, no trailing zero!
+
+    found = cmfparser_next(&parsePtr, ptr, &token);
+    assert(found == CMF_FOUND_TOKEN);
+    assert(token.tag == 200);
+    assert(token.fmt == CMFMT_BYTES);
+    assert(token.begin > buf);
+    assert(token.begin < ptr);
+    assert(token.end > buf);
+    assert(token.end < ptr);
+    assert(token.end - token.begin == 4);
+    assert(memcmp(hihi, token.begin, 4) == 0); // be careful, no trailing zero!
+
+    found = cmfparser_next(&parsePtr, ptr, &token);
+    assert(found == CMF_FOUND_TOKEN);
+    assert(token.tag == 3);
+    assert(token.fmt == CMFMT_BOOL_TRUE);
+    found = cmfparser_next(&parsePtr, ptr, &token);
+    assert(found == CMF_FOUND_TOKEN);
+    assert(token.tag == 40);
+    assert(token.fmt == CMFMT_BOOL_FALSE);
+
+    found = cmfparser_next(&parsePtr, ptr, &token);
+    assert(found == CMF_DOCUMENT_END);
+}
+
+int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+{
+    basic_test1();
+    basic_test2();
+    test_types();
+
+    return 0;
+}
+