Habbo Group Badge Notation (HGBN) v1.0

Specification Status: Draft
Date: 2025-05-02
Available in: English

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

1.1. Abstract

Habbo Group Badge Notation (HGBN) v1 is a standard for the text-based notation designed to represent group badges within the Habbo ecosystem. It encodes structured badge data as a single string composed of multiple six-character segments. Each segment defines either a base image asset or a symbol overlay, including data about the asset id, tint color, and its placement on a 3×3 grid.

While HGBN v1 reflects the badge design definition, it is not an official format maintained by Sulake. Future updates or extensions may not be adopted by the company.

1.2. Scope and Intent

1.2.1. This Document

This specification exists to formalize and document how Habbo Hotel processes group badge components. It is:

An unofficial specification, meaning Sulake may not adopt updates.
Meant for documentation and interoperability, allowing developers to parse, generate, and manipulate group badges outside the game.

HGBN is not a standard maintained by Sulake, and its future extensions MAY NOT be reflected in the game’s implementation.

1.2.2. The Notation

HGBN v1 is a textual representation of layered symbols that enables:

Storing badge configurations as a compact text string
Programmatic parsing and generation by developers and researchers
Facilitating the interoperability of tools that render, manipulate, or analyze Habbo group badges

1.3. Audience

This specification is intended for developers, researchers, archivists, and enthusiasts involved in the Habbo Hotel community, particularly those working on tools for Habbo group badges. It also serves as a common reference for understanding, implementing, and manipulating the Habbo Group Badge Notation (HGBN), which can be used for tasks such as developing interoperable software, emulators, and documentation for fan-driven projects. The audience also includes data scientists who may utilize this notation in image-related research or analysis. Familiarity with basic programming concepts, string manipulation, and image manipulation is recommended but not required.

2. Status of This Document

HGBN v1.0 defines the known structure for how group badge designs used to be stored, based on the original implementation in Habbo Hotel.

HAFN is community-maintained. While efforts are made to ensure accuracy, Sulake may change the format at any time. Future extensions will aim to preserve backward compatibility whenever possible.

3. Normative Language

The key words “MUST”, “MUST NOT”, “REQUIRED”, “SHALL”, “SHALL NOT”, “SHOULD”, “SHOULD NOT”, “RECOMMENDED”, “MAY”, and “OPTIONAL” in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.

4. Conformance

An implementation is considered HGBN v1.0 compliant if it adheres to the syntax, processing rules, and constraints defined in this document. A conforming parser implementation:

MUST support at least one base segment followed by one or more symbol segments.
MUST reject badge strings that violate structural rules or value constraints.
MAY extend functionality through non-official extensions, provided they DO NOT interfere with the core compliance.

A valid HGBN string MUST:

Follow the syntax definition in Section 5.
Use correct data formatting (segment identifiers, fixed-length numbers, and position digits).
Ensure that the asset ids and color ids are exactly two digits each, and the position is a single digit representing a 3×3 grid value (or X for the base).

5. Syntax Definition

5.1. Overview

A HGBN v1 string represents a complete badge by concatenating multiple six-character segments. The string is always ordered starting with the asset that should be at the bottom (base, identified by b), followed by the assets on top (symbols, identified by s).

Note

The trailing hash in the file name (e.g., b01bfc395d8c4be707922c3da5b3f561) is probably used for image caching and security and is ignored in the notation specification. It is created by using MD5 on the notation string concatenated with the constant ef2356a4926bf225eb86c75c52309c32.

5.2. Grammar

The following Extended Backus-Naur Form (EBNF) defines the syntax of HGBN v1.0:

<hgbn>           ::= <baseSegment><symbolSegment>+
<baseSegment>    ::= "b"<assetId><colorId><basePosition>
<symbolSegment>  ::= <symbolType><assetId><colorId><position>
<symbolType>     ::= "s"
<assetId>        ::= <digit><digit>
<colorId>        ::= <digit><digit>
<basePosition>   ::= "X"
<position>       ::= <gridDigit>
<digit>          ::= "0" | "1" | "2" | "3" | "4" | "5" | "6" | "7" | "8" | "9"
<gridDigit>      ::= "1" | "2" | "3" | "4" | "5" | "6" | "7" | "8" | "9"****

5.3. Lexical Constraints

Field	Type	Format	Description
`segmentId`	Character	`b`, or `s`	`b` indicates a base segment; `s` indicates a symbol segment.
`assetId`	Integer	Two digits (00-99)	Identifier for the image asset.
`colorId`	Integer	Two digits (00-99)	Color tint identifier for the asset.
`position`	Integer	One digit (1-9)	Position on a 3×3 grid where the element is placed.

5.4. Regular Expression (Simplified)

The following regular expression can be used to validate the general structure of an HGBN v1.0 string:

/^(b\d{2}\d{2}X)((s|t)\d{2}\d{2}[1-9]){0,4}$/

6. Processing Model

6.1. Badge Composition Semantics

The base segment is the foundation for the badge and MUST appear as the first segment.
Symbol segments MUST be layered on top of the base in the order they appear in the string.
The order of symbols affects rendering, with earlier symbols possibly appearing underneath later ones.

6.2. Rendering Considerations

The assetId corresponds to a specific image asset stored in the system.
The colorId instructs how the asset image is tinted. Uncolorable portions (mask) of the asset remain unchanged.
The position value, within a 3×3 grid (positions 1-9), determines where the asset is placed. Implementations MUST render the asset at the corresponding grid cell. The asset MUST NOT overflow the badge area. The base element has the X position to represent that its position MUST NOT be changed.

6.3. Error Handling

Error Code	Description
ERR_ASSET_ID_RANGE	`assetId` is not a two-digit number between 00 and 99.
ERR_COLOR_ID_RANGE	`colorId` is not a two-digit number between 00 and 99.
ERR_INVALID_POSITION	`position` is not a digit between 0 and 8.
ERR_SYNTAX	The badge string is missing required segments or delimiters.

An HGBN-compliant parser MUST reject invalid strings and report an appropriate error.

7. Example Entries

7.1. Basic Example

Consider the following example HGBN v1.0 string (without the trailing hash):

b1001Xs05175s05173s12114

Explanation:

b1001X → Base with asset id 10, color id 01, at grid position X.
s05175 → Symbol with asset id 05, color id 17, at grid position 5.
s05173 → Symbol with asset id 05, color id 17, at grid position 3.
s12114 → Symbol with asset id 12, color id 11, at grid position 4.

7.2. Complete Example

A badge without the base could be specified as:

s44114s04115s04113s05074

Explanation:

s44114 → Symbol with asset id 44, color id 11, at grid position 4.
s04115 → Symbol with asset id 04, color id 11, at grid position 5.
s04113 → Symbol with asset id 04, color id 11, at grid position 3.
s05074 → Symbol with asset id 05, color id 07, at grid position 4.

7.3. Other Examples

8. Extensibility and Future Work

Possible future extensions of HGBN MAY include:

Additional Segment Types: More identifiers beyond b, and s to support new features.
Expanded Ranges: Extending the ranges of asset ids or color ids for upcoming visual designs.
Positional Enhancements: Defining more granular placements or layering priorities beyond the basic 3×3 grid.

Revisions to the specification SHALL be versioned appropriately, and backward compatibility MAY be maintained where possible.

9. Security Considerations

Although HGBN is a textual notation and does not execute code, implementations MUST sanitize and validate input strings rigorously to prevent issues such as:

Buffer overflows
Injection attacks
Improper rendering due to malformed input

Strict adherence to the syntax and processing guidelines is required for safe implementation.

10. Reference Tables for Group Badge Assets

10.1. Base Assets

Not available

10.2. Symbol Assets

Not available

10.3. Color IDs and Tints

Not avaliable

10.4. Grid Positions

Position Id	Grid Cell
1	Top-left
2	Top-center
3	Top-right
4	Middle-left
5	Center
6	Middle-right
7	Bottom-left
8	Bottom-center
9	Bottom-right

11. References

Archived Habbo Home of Kinas from hhbr
Archived Group Page of puppaplaah from hhbr
Habbo Group Badge Render Service (also avaliable as .gif and from badge-fill for non-transparent background)
GitHub Repo why/group-badges

Changelog

v1.0.0 - 2025-04-10
- Initial draft of the HGBN specification.
v1.0.1 - 2025-04-12
- Updating to reflect old badges.
v1.0.2 - 2025-04-17
- Standardizing the spec structure.
- Minor touches of the draft.
v1.0.3 - 2025-04-18
- Minor grammar fixes.
v1.0.4 - 2025-05-02
- Markdown Alert tag fix.
v1.0.5 - 2025-05-07
- More details about the hash.

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