diff --git a/src/identify/identify.proto b/src/identify/identify.proto
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..280bc401
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/identify/identify.proto
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+message Identify {
+
+  // protocolVersion determines compatibility between peers
+  optional string protocolVersion = 5; // e.g. ipfs/1.0.0
+
+  // agentVersion is like a UserAgent string in browsers, or client version in bittorrent
+  // includes the client name and client.
+  optional string agentVersion = 6; // e.g. go-ipfs/0.1.0
+
+  // publicKey is this node's public key (which also gives its node.ID)
+  // - may not need to be sent, as secure channel implies it has been sent.
+  // - then again, if we change / disable secure channel, may still want it.
+  optional bytes publicKey = 1;
+
+  // listenAddrs are the multiaddrs the sender node listens for open connections on
+  repeated bytes listenAddrs = 2;
+
+  // oservedAddr is the multiaddr of the remote endpoint that the sender node perceives
+  // this is useful information to convey to the other side, as it helps the remote endpoint
+  // determine whether its connection to the local peer goes through NAT.
+  // optional bytes observedAddr = 4;
+
+  // (DEPRECATED) protocols are the services this node is running
+  // repeated string protocols = 3;
+}
diff --git a/src/identify/index.js b/src/identify/index.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..606c2216
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/identify/index.js
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+/*
+ * Identify is one of the protocols swarms speaks in order to broadcast and learn
+ * about the ip:port pairs a specific peer is available through
+ */
+
+var Interactive = require('multistream-select').Interactive
+var EventEmmiter = require('events').EventEmitter
+var util = require('util')
+var protobufs = require('protocol-buffers-stream')
+var fs = require('fs')
+var schema = fs.readFileSync(__dirname + '/identify.proto')
+
+exports = module.exports = Identify
+
+util.inherits(Identify, EventEmmiter)
+
+function Identify (swarm, peerSelf) {
+  var self = this
+  self.createProtoStream = protobufs(schema)
+
+  swarm.registerHandler('/ipfs/identify/1.0.0', function (stream) {
+    var ps = self.createProtoStream()
+
+    ps.on('identify', function (msg) {
+      console.log('RECEIVED PROTOBUF - ', msg)
+      // 1. wrap the msg
+      // 2. create a Peer obj using the publick key to derive the ID
+      // 3. populate it with observedAddr
+      // 4. maybe emit 2 peers update to update the other peer and also ourselfs?
+      self.emit('peer-update', {})
+    })
+
+    ps.identify({
+      protocolVersion: 'na',
+      agentVersion: 'na',
+      publicKey: peerSelf.id.pubKey,
+      listenAddrs: peerSelf.multiaddrs
+    // observedAddr: new Buffer()
+    })
+
+    ps.pipe(stream).pipe(ps)
+
+  // TODO(daviddias) ps.end() based on https://github.com/mafintosh/protocol-buffers-stream/issues/1
+  })
+
+  swarm.on('connection-unknown', function (conn) {
+    conn.dialStream(function (err, stream) {
+      if (err) { return console.log(err) }
+      var msi = new Interactive()
+      msi.handle(stream, function () {
+        msi.select('/ipfs/identify/1.0.0', function (err, ds) {
+          if (err) { return console.log(err) }
+
+          var ps = self.createProtoStream()
+
+          ps.on('identify', function (msg) {
+            console.log('RECEIVED PROTOBUF - ', msg)
+            // 1. wrap the msg
+            // 2. create a Peer obj using the publick key to derive the ID
+            // 3. populate it with observedAddr
+            // 4. maybe emit 2 peers update to update the other peer and also ourselfs?
+            // 5. add the conn to connections list -> swarm.connections[otherPeerId] = conn
+            self.emit('peer-update', {})
+          })
+
+          ps.identify({
+            protocolVersion: 'na',
+            agentVersion: 'na',
+            publicKey: peerSelf.id.pubKey,
+            listenAddrs: peerSelf.multiaddrs
+          // observedAddr: new Buffer()
+          })
+
+          ps.pipe(ds).pipe(ps)
+
+        // TODO(daviddias) ps.end() based on https://github.com/mafintosh/protocol-buffers-stream/issues/1
+        })
+      })
+    })
+  })
+}
diff --git a/src/identify/proto-test.js b/src/identify/proto-test.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2fd4d88a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/identify/proto-test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+var protobufs = require('protocol-buffers-stream')
+var fs = require('fs')
+var schema = fs.readFileSync(__dirname + '/identify.proto')
+
+var createProtoStream = protobufs(schema)
+
+var ps = createProtoStream()
+
+ps.on('identify', function (msg) {
+  console.log('RECEIVED PROTOBUF - ', msg)
+// self.emit('peer-update', {})
+})
+
+ps.identify({
+  protocolVersion: 'nop',
+  agentVersion: 'nop'
+// publicKey: new Buffer(),
+// listenAddrs: new Buffer([buf1, buf2])
+// observedAddr: new Buffer()
+})
+
+ps.pipe(ps)
+
+// ps.end()