Yandex Open-Sources YaFF: A Zero-Copy Wire Format for Protobuf With Near-Struct Read Speed

Summary

<p>In this article we look at YaFF, Yandex's open-source zero-copy wire format for the Protobuf ecosystem. We keep the .proto file as the single source of truth, changing only how data sits in memory. We walk through its four layouts — Fixed, Flat, Sparse, and Dynamic — and the benchmark where Flat Layout reads within 1.2× of a raw C++ struct. We also cover where it fits, including the advertising recommendation system reporting 10–20% CPU savings at production scale.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.marktechpost.com/2026/06/20/yandex-open-sources-yaff-a-zero-copy-wire-format-for-protobuf-with-near-struct-read-speed/">Yandex Open-Sources YaFF: A Zero-Copy Wire Format for Protobuf With Near-Struct Read Speed</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.marktechpost.com">MarkTechPost</a>.</p>