Connection State

A new connection moves through a fixed sequence of states, each marked by a reply object, and refuses ordinary commands until the sequence completes.

Initialization

The first reply on a new connection is an extended reply object with status API_INITIALIZED:

{
  "status": "API_INITIALIZED",
  "request_id": null,
  "result": null,
  "error": null,
  "version": "4.7.0.2600",
  "app_version": "4.7.0.2564",
  "setupComplete": "1",
  "AuthenticationRequired": false
}

Member	Type	Description
version	String	DisplayNet API version, as major.minor.revision.build
app_version	String	DisplayNet application version
setupComplete	String	The value of the app.setupComplete config item, set by the application setup wizard; empty until set. See config
AuthenticationRequired	Boolean	When true, the next command must be login. When false, the session is signed in as the built-in DisplayNet user and DN_AUTHENTICATION follows immediately
InitialServerSetupIncomplete	Boolean	Present only when true: initial server setup has not created the admin account yet

Authentication

After a login attempt, or immediately when AuthenticationRequired is false, the server sends a reply with status DN_AUTHENTICATION carrying the session's identity in auth_details:

Session signed in as the built-in user
{
  "status": "DN_AUTHENTICATION",
  "request_id": null,
  "result": null,
  "error": null,
  "auth_details": {
    "IsAuthenticated": true,
    "UserName": "DisplayNet",
    "UserFullName": "DisplayNet",
    "Role": "User",
    "ClientAddress": "10.241.35.248:59676",
    "AuthState": "COMPLETE",
    "AuthenticationDateTime": "2026-07-31T22:19:02.4307202Z",
    "ConnectionType": "Socket",
    "LoginToken": null
  }
}

Member	Type	Description
IsAuthenticated	Boolean	Whether the session is signed in
UserName	String	User id
UserFullName	String	The user's full name
Role	String	Admin or User
ClientAddress	String	The client's address, as IP:port
AuthState	String	INITIAL before a login attempt, COMPLETE once an attempt has been processed, RETRY when the user is unknown or after a logout, EXPIRED when a login token has expired
AuthenticationDateTime	String	When the session's identity was established, UTC
ConnectionType	String	Socket for telnet and SSH, WebSocket for the TCI WebSocket
LoginToken	String	The user's login token, usable with logintoken; null until one exists

IsAuthenticated is the success flag: a login with a wrong password still produces a DN_AUTHENTICATION reply, with IsAuthenticated set to false.

When AuthenticationRequired is false:

• The reply arrives immediately after API_INITIALIZED, with no login command.
• logout signs the connection back in as the DisplayNet user, so AuthState returns COMPLETE and never RETRY.

The setting is read and changed with config, as config get server authentication_required.

Getting the initial state

Once authentication completes, initialize the session:

require api 3.5.0
mode async on

require declares the API version the client expects; the server interprets commands and shapes replies for that version. mode async on turns on notification delivery.

getinitdata then returns the system's current objects in one reply, ready to populate a client's model.