# NetworkConnections

## NetworkConnections

A **NetworkConnection** in FishNet is a core object that represents a single connected client within the networking system. As soon as a client connects to the server, a NetworkConnection is created to represent it, perform actions on it, and gather information about that specific client.

### Purposes

* **Client representation:**\
  Each connected player/client has a corresponding NetworkConnection instance. This object tracks the client's identity, state, and the objects it owns.
* **Ownership and authority:**\
  NetworkConnection tracks which networked objects (such as player avatars) the client owns, enabling authority checks and state management.
* **Authentication and state:**\
  It manages authentication state, and notes if it’s disconnecting.
* **Scene tracking**\
  It is used to track which networked scenes the client has loaded into.
* **Events:**\
  It provides events for actions like gaining or losing ownership of objects and loading start scenes.
* **Custom data:**\
  Developers can associate custom data with a connection for gameplay or server logic. (This data is not automatically synchronized across the network.)
* **Disconnection:**\
  Provides methods to disconnect the client, either immediately or after sending pending data.

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### Important fields and properties

**ClientId** — One important field is the [`ClientId`](https://fish-networking.com/FishNet/api/api/FishNet.Connection.NetworkConnection.html#FishNet_Connection_NetworkConnection_ClientId). This is a unique ID for the NetworkConnection and it is used in a few other places in Fish-Networking. If a ClientId is not set, it defaults to -1, and generally ClientIds increment from 0 until the maximum integer value before reusing old ones from the beginning.

**FirstObject** — FishNet doesn't have a forced Player GameObject, but you can get the first object owned by a client with the **FirstObject** property. You can also set it with the `SetFirstObject` method, which can be useful if you have the object destroyed and re-instantiated.

**Objects** — This field is a HashSet of all the network objects owned by this connection. It is available to this connection and server.

**Scenes** — These are the networked scenes this connection is considered a part of.

**CustomData** — As mentioned above, this is a user-definable object for storing arbitrary data on the connection. It is not synced at all.

{% hint style="success" %}
Many more useful fields, properties, and methods are available and can be found in the [API page](https://fish-networking.com/FishNet/api/api/FishNet.Connection.NetworkConnection.html).
{% endhint %}

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### Where to get them and where to use them?

#### How is it created/used?

* Each client has a NetworkConnection representing itself, this can be accessed with `ClientManager.Connection`, or `LocalConnecton` from within a NetworkBehaviour.
* The server maintains a dictionary of NetworkConnection instances for all connected clients, this is available at `ServerManager.Clients`. It is also available on clients under the `ClientManager.Clients`. You should use the ServerManager version if the instance is running as a server. The dictionary key is the Client ID and the value is the NetworkConnection.
* NetworkObjects can have an owner, which is a NetworkConnection that has authority over the object. From the NetworkObject or NetworkBehaviour you can get the NetworkConnection with the `Owner` property.
* When calling [TargetRpcs](https://fish-networking.gitbook.io/docs/guides/features/network-communication/remote-procedure-calls) you will need to provide a NetworkConnection as the first argument of the method, this represents which client you will send the RPC to.