Populating `squad.actives` is the proven way to make a club item resident — the squad parser writes each element straight into a club-item slot, both kits came back resident with the client writing `category 4` itself, and the pre-match kit selector worked. But a populated array was then observed to cost the rest of the squad. On a full client relaunch the resident item map fell from 24 entries to just the 2 kits, the 23-slot player vector came back fully null, and the starting-11 screen was empty; the manager and staff were gone too. Every host response was 200/outcome=ok with no warning, so the loss is entirely client-side parse behaviour. `actives` sorts first in the squad object, so `captain`, `formation`, `manager`, `players` and everything else after it are lost — consistent with the element loop leaving the tokenizer misaligned. The same payload produced a correct 24-node map on an earlier relaunch, so the interaction is not yet understood and is not safely shippable. An empty squad is far worse than a missing kit, so the array is now gated behind `HostConfig::squad_actives` (env `OPENFUT_FIFA17_SQUAD_ACTIVES`) and off by default. The projection, identity plumbing and tests are kept intact: they are correct and are what the investigation will re-enable. Staging redeployed with the flag off and verified back to 23/23 populated player slots and `actives: []`.
OpenFUT
⚠️ Status — see
docs/PROJECT_STATE.md(canonical). The working, actively-developed target is FIFA 17, not FIFA 23. Everything below this banner describes the superseded FIFA 23bridgelineage and is kept for historical context.Run the server (canonical):
cd fifa17-recon/docker/fifa17-python && docker compose up -d— seefifa17-recon/FUT-RUNBOOK.md.openfut-coreis the shared offline backend (still used by the FIFA 17 path);openfut-bridgeis the retired FIFA 23 integration.
Offline Ultimate Team — like SPT, but for FIFA 23.
OpenFUT replaces EA's retired FUT servers with a fully offline, single-player backend. You own FIFA 23 legitimately. You just want to keep playing after EA shut down the servers.
Repositories
| Repo | Purpose |
|---|---|
openfut-core |
Game-independent offline FUT backend |
openfut-bridge |
FIFA 23 integration layer + reverse-engineering proxy |
Architecture
FIFA 23 client
│
▼
┌─────────────────┐
│ openfut-bridge │ ← intercepts FUT traffic, maps routes, logs unknown
└────────┬────────┘
│
▼
┌─────────────────┐
│ openfut-core │ ← offline FUT backend: profiles, packs, squads, SBCs
└─────────────────┘
│
▼
SQLite database
Core is game-independent. It speaks a clean REST API and knows nothing about FIFA 23 internals.
Bridge is FIFA-specific. It speaks FIFA 23's wire protocol and translates it into Core API calls. Bridge is where all reverse engineering work happens.
Current Status
| Feature | Status |
|---|---|
| Local profiles + clubs | ✅ Working |
| Coin system | ✅ Working |
| Pack generator | ✅ Working |
| Card collection | ✅ Working |
| Squad builder | ✅ Working |
| Objectives engine | ✅ Working |
| SBC engine | ✅ Working |
| Match rewards | ✅ Working |
| NPC transfer market | ✅ Working |
| Statistics | ✅ Working |
| FIFA 23 integration | 🔴 Reverse engineering in progress |
| Chemistry calculation | 🟡 In progress |
| Full Draft mode | 🟡 In progress |
| Squad Battles AI generator | 🟡 In progress |
| Objectives claim flow | 🟡 In progress |
Running
# Start the offline backend
cd openfut-core
cargo run
# Start the proxy (for traffic capture / FIFA integration)
cd openfut-bridge
cargo run
Core listens on http://127.0.0.1:8080 by default.
Bridge listens on http://127.0.0.1:8443 by default.
Design Principles
- Offline-first. No EA account required. No internet connection needed.
- Single-player only. This is not a multiplayer server emulator.
- Data-driven. All cards, packs, SBCs, and objectives are JSON files. Everything is moddable.
- Clean architecture. Core has zero knowledge of FIFA 23. Bridge has zero game logic.
- No copyrighted assets. No real player images, no EA trademarks in data files.
Disclaimer
This project is not affiliated with EA Sports. You must own FIFA 23 legitimately to use this software. This project does not bypass any ownership verification and is intended only to restore offline playability of a game whose online services have been retired.