diff --git a/cmd/tmsp-cli/tmsp_cli.go b/cmd/tmsp-cli/tmsp_cli.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d90dd10b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/tmsp-cli/tmsp_cli.go
@@ -0,0 +1,270 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"bufio"
+	"encoding/hex"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"net"
+	"os"
+	"strings"
+
+	. "github.com/tendermint/go-common"
+	"github.com/tendermint/go-wire"
+	"github.com/tendermint/tmsp/types"
+
+	"github.com/codegangsta/cli"
+)
+
+// connection is a global variable so it can be reused by the console
+var conn net.Conn
+
+func main() {
+	app := cli.NewApp()
+	app.Name = "cli"
+	app.Usage = "cli [command] [args...]"
+	app.Flags = []cli.Flag{
+		cli.StringFlag{
+			Name:  "address",
+			Value: "tcp://127.0.0.1:46658",
+			Usage: "address of application socket",
+		},
+	}
+	app.Commands = []cli.Command{
+		{
+			Name:  "batch",
+			Usage: "Run a batch of tmsp commands against an application",
+			Action: func(c *cli.Context) {
+				cmdBatch(app, c)
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			Name:  "console",
+			Usage: "Start an interactive tmsp console for multiple commands",
+			Action: func(c *cli.Context) {
+				cmdConsole(app, c)
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			Name:  "echo",
+			Usage: "Have the application echo a message",
+			Action: func(c *cli.Context) {
+				cmdEcho(c)
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			Name:  "info",
+			Usage: "Get some info about the application",
+			Action: func(c *cli.Context) {
+				cmdInfo(c)
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			Name:  "set_option",
+			Usage: "Set an option on the application",
+			Action: func(c *cli.Context) {
+				cmdSetOption(c)
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			Name:  "append_tx",
+			Usage: "Append a new tx to application",
+			Action: func(c *cli.Context) {
+				cmdAppendTx(c)
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			Name:  "get_hash",
+			Usage: "Get application Merkle root hash",
+			Action: func(c *cli.Context) {
+				cmdGetHash(c)
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			Name:  "commit",
+			Usage: "Commit the application state",
+			Action: func(c *cli.Context) {
+				cmdCommit(c)
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			Name:  "rollback",
+			Usage: "Roll back the application state to the latest commit",
+			Action: func(c *cli.Context) {
+				cmdRollback(c)
+			},
+		},
+	}
+	app.Before = before
+	app.Run(os.Args)
+
+}
+
+func before(c *cli.Context) error {
+	if conn == nil {
+		var err error
+		conn, err = Connect(c.GlobalString("address"))
+		if err != nil {
+			Exit(err.Error())
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+func cmdBatch(app *cli.App, c *cli.Context) {
+	bufReader := bufio.NewReader(os.Stdin)
+	for {
+		line, more, err := bufReader.ReadLine()
+		if more {
+			Exit("input line is too long")
+		} else if err == io.EOF {
+			break
+		} else if len(line) == 0 {
+			continue
+		} else if err != nil {
+			Exit(err.Error())
+		}
+		args := []string{"tmsp"}
+		args = append(args, strings.Split(string(line), " ")...)
+		app.Run(args)
+	}
+}
+
+func cmdConsole(app *cli.App, c *cli.Context) {
+	for {
+		fmt.Printf("> ")
+		bufReader := bufio.NewReader(os.Stdin)
+		line, more, err := bufReader.ReadLine()
+		if more {
+			Exit("input is too long")
+		} else if err != nil {
+			Exit(err.Error())
+		}
+
+		args := []string{"tmsp"}
+		args = append(args, strings.Split(string(line), " ")...)
+		app.Run(args)
+	}
+}
+
+// Have the application echo a message
+func cmdEcho(c *cli.Context) {
+	args := c.Args()
+	if len(args) != 1 {
+		Exit("echo takes 1 argument")
+	}
+	res, err := makeRequest(conn, types.RequestEcho{args[0]})
+	if err != nil {
+		Exit(err.Error())
+	}
+	fmt.Println(res)
+}
+
+// Get some info from the application
+func cmdInfo(c *cli.Context) {
+	res, err := makeRequest(conn, types.RequestInfo{})
+	if err != nil {
+		Exit(err.Error())
+	}
+	fmt.Println(res)
+}
+
+// Set an option on the application
+func cmdSetOption(c *cli.Context) {
+	args := c.Args()
+	if len(args) != 2 {
+		Exit("set_option takes 2 arguments (key, value)")
+	}
+	_, err := makeRequest(conn, types.RequestSetOption{args[0], args[1]})
+	if err != nil {
+		Exit(err.Error())
+	}
+	fmt.Printf("%s=%s\n", args[0], args[1])
+}
+
+// Append a new tx to application
+func cmdAppendTx(c *cli.Context) {
+	args := c.Args()
+	if len(args) != 1 {
+		Exit("append_tx takes 1 argument")
+	}
+	txString := args[0]
+	tx := []byte(txString)
+	if len(txString) > 2 && strings.HasPrefix(txString, "0x") {
+		var err error
+		tx, err = hex.DecodeString(txString[2:])
+		if err != nil {
+			Exit(err.Error())
+		}
+	}
+
+	res, err := makeRequest(conn, types.RequestAppendTx{tx})
+	if err != nil {
+		Exit(err.Error())
+	}
+	fmt.Println("Response:", res)
+}
+
+// Get application Merkle root hash
+func cmdGetHash(c *cli.Context) {
+	res, err := makeRequest(conn, types.RequestGetHash{})
+	if err != nil {
+		Exit(err.Error())
+	}
+	fmt.Printf("%X\n", res.(types.ResponseGetHash).Hash)
+}
+
+// Commit the application state
+func cmdCommit(c *cli.Context) {
+	_, err := makeRequest(conn, types.RequestCommit{})
+	if err != nil {
+		Exit(err.Error())
+	}
+	fmt.Println("Committed.")
+}
+
+// Roll back the application state to the latest commit
+func cmdRollback(c *cli.Context) {
+	_, err := makeRequest(conn, types.RequestRollback{})
+	if err != nil {
+		Exit(err.Error())
+	}
+	fmt.Println("Rolled back.")
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+func makeRequest(conn net.Conn, req types.Request) (types.Response, error) {
+	var n int
+	var err error
+
+	// Write desired request
+	wire.WriteBinaryLengthPrefixed(req, conn, &n, &err)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	// Write flush request
+	wire.WriteBinaryLengthPrefixed(types.RequestFlush{}, conn, &n, &err)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	// Read desired response
+	var res types.Response
+	wire.ReadBinaryPtrLengthPrefixed(&res, conn, 0, &n, &err)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	// Read flush response
+	var resFlush types.ResponseFlush
+	wire.ReadBinaryPtrLengthPrefixed(&resFlush, conn, 0, &n, &err)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	return res, nil
+}
diff --git a/example/js/app.js b/example/js/app.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f7def6a02
--- /dev/null
+++ b/example/js/app.js
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+server = require("./server")
+wire = require("./wire")
+util = require("util")
+
+function CounterApp(){
+	this.hashCount = 0;
+	this.txCount = 0;
+	this.commitCount = 0;
+};
+
+CounterApp.prototype.open = function(){
+	return new CounterAppContext(this);
+}
+
+function CounterAppContext(app) {
+	this.hashCount = app.hashCount;
+	this.txCount = app.txCount;
+	this.commitCount = app.commitCount;
+	this.serial = false;
+}
+
+CounterAppContext.prototype.echo = function(msg){
+	return {"response": msg, "ret_code":0}
+}
+
+CounterAppContext.prototype.info = function(){
+	return {"response": [util.format("hash, tx, commit counts: %d, %d, %d", this.hashCount, this.txCount, this.commitCount)]}
+}
+
+CounterAppContext.prototype.set_option = function(key, value){
+	if (key == "serial" && value == "on"){
+		this.serial = true;
+	}
+	return {"ret_code":0}
+}
+
+CounterAppContext.prototype.append_tx = function(txBytes){
+	if (this.serial) {
+		txByteArray = new Buffer(txBytes)
+		if (txBytes.length >= 2 && txBytes.slice(0, 2) == "0x") {
+			txByteArray = wire.hex2bytes(txBytes.slice(2));
+		}	
+		r = new msg.buffer(txByteArray)
+		txValue = wire.decode_big_endian(r, txBytes.length)
+		if (txValue != this.txCount){
+			return {"ret_code":1}
+		}
+	}
+	this.txCount += 1;
+	return {"ret_code":0} // TODO: return events
+}
+
+CounterAppContext.prototype.get_hash = function(){
+	this.hashCount += 1;
+	if (this.txCount == 0){
+		return {"response": "", "ret_code":0}
+	}
+	h = wire.encode_big_endian(this.txCount, 8);
+	h = wire.reverse(h); // TODO
+	return {"response": h.toString(), "ret_code":0}
+}
+
+CounterAppContext.prototype.commit = function(){
+	this.commitCount += 1;
+	return {"ret_code":0}
+}
+
+CounterAppContext.prototype.rollback = function(){
+	return {"ret_code":0}
+}
+
+CounterAppContext.prototype.add_listener = function(){
+	return {"ret_code":0}
+}
+
+CounterAppContext.prototype.rm_listener = function(){
+	return {"ret_code":0}
+}
+
+CounterAppContext.prototype.event = function(){
+}
+
+console.log("Counter app in Javascript")
+
+var app = new CounterApp();
+var appServer = new server.AppServer(app);
+appServer.server.listen(46658)
diff --git a/example/js/msgs.js b/example/js/msgs.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a8b90ecd8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/example/js/msgs.js
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+wire = require("./wire")
+
+module.exports = {
+	types : {
+		0x01 : "echo",
+		0x02 : "flush",
+		0x03 : "info",
+		0x04 : "set_option",
+		0x21 : "append_tx",
+		0x22 : "get_hash",
+		0x23 : "commit",
+		0x24 : "rollback",
+		0x25 : "add_listener",
+		0x26 : "rm_listener",
+	},
+
+	decoder : RequestDecoder,
+
+	buffer: BytesBuffer
+
+}
+
+function RequestDecoder(buf){
+	this.buf= buf
+}
+
+var decode_string = wire.decode_string
+
+// return nothing, one thing, or a list of things
+RequestDecoder.prototype.echo = function(){ return decode_string(this.buf) };
+RequestDecoder.prototype.flush = function(){};
+RequestDecoder.prototype.info = function(){};
+RequestDecoder.prototype.set_option = function(){ return [decode_string(this.buf), decode_string(this.buf)] };
+RequestDecoder.prototype.append_tx = function(){ return decode_string(this.buf)};
+RequestDecoder.prototype.get_hash = function(){ };
+RequestDecoder.prototype.commit = function(){ };
+RequestDecoder.prototype.rollback = function(){ };
+RequestDecoder.prototype.add_listener = function(){ }; // TODO
+RequestDecoder.prototype.rm_listener = function(){ }; // TODO
+
+// buffered reader with read(n) method
+function BytesBuffer(buf){
+	this.buf = buf
+}
+
+BytesBuffer.prototype.read = function(n){
+	b = this.buf.slice(0, n)
+	this.buf = this.buf.slice(n)
+	return b
+};
+
+BytesBuffer.prototype.write = function(buf){
+	this.buf = Buffer.concat([this.buf, buf]);
+};
+
+
+BytesBuffer.prototype.size = function(){
+	return this.buf.length
+}
+
+BytesBuffer.prototype.peek = function(){
+	return this.buf[0]
+}
+
diff --git a/example/js/server.js b/example/js/server.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4ca870d9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/example/js/server.js
@@ -0,0 +1,128 @@
+
+// Load the TCP Library
+net = require('net');
+msg = require('./msgs');
+wire = require("./wire")
+
+// Takes an application and handles tmsp connection
+// which invoke methods on the app
+function AppServer(app){
+	// set the app for the socket handler
+	this.app = app;
+
+	// create a server by providing callback for 
+	// accepting new connection and callbacks for 
+	// connection events ('data', 'end', etc.)
+	this.createServer()
+}
+
+module.exports = { AppServer: AppServer };
+
+AppServer.prototype.createServer = function(){
+	app = this.app
+	conns = {} // map sockets to their state
+
+	// define the socket handler
+	this.server = net.createServer(function(socket){
+		  socket.name = socket.remoteAddress + ":" + socket.remotePort 
+		  console.log("new connection from", socket.name)
+
+		  appCtx = app.open()
+
+		  var conn = { 
+			  recBuf: new msg.buffer(new Buffer(0)),
+			  resBuf: new msg.buffer(new Buffer(0)),
+			  msgLength: 0,
+			  inProgress: false
+		  }
+		  conns[socket] = conn
+
+		  // Handle tmsp requests.
+		  socket.on('data', function (data) {
+
+		      if (data.length == 0){
+		      	// TODO err
+		      	console.log("empty data!")
+		      	return
+		      }
+		      conn = conns[socket]
+
+		      // we received data. append it
+		      conn.recBuf.write(data)
+
+		      while ( conn.recBuf.size() > 0 ){
+
+			if (conn.msgLength == 0){
+				ll = conn.recBuf.peek();
+				if (conn.recBuf.size() < 1 + ll){
+					// don't have enough bytes to read length yet
+					return
+				}
+				conn.msgLength = wire.decode_varint(conn.recBuf)
+			}
+
+			if (conn.recBuf.size() < conn.msgLength) {
+				// don't have enough to decode the message
+				return
+			}
+
+			// now we can decode
+			typeByte = conn.recBuf.read(1);
+			resTypeByte = typeByte[0] + 0x10 
+			reqType = msg.types[typeByte[0]];
+
+			if (reqType == "flush"){
+				// msgs are length prefixed
+				conn.resBuf.write(wire.encode(1));
+				conn.resBuf.write(new Buffer([resTypeByte]))
+				n = socket.write(conn.resBuf.buf);
+				conn.msgLength = 0;
+				conn.resBuf = new msg.buffer(new Buffer(0));
+				return
+			}
+
+			// decode args
+			decoder = new msg.decoder(conn.recBuf);
+			args = decoder[reqType]();
+
+			// done decoding
+			conn.msgLength = 0
+
+			var res = function(){
+				if (args == null){
+					return appCtx[reqType]();
+				} else if (Array.isArray(args)){
+					return appCtx[reqType].apply(appCtx, args);
+				} else {
+					return appCtx[reqType](args)
+				}
+			}()
+
+
+			var retCode = res["ret_code"]
+			var res = res["response"]
+
+			if (retCode != null && retCode != 0){
+				console.log("non-zero ret code", retCode)
+			}
+
+
+			if (reqType == "echo" || reqType == "info"){
+				enc = Buffer.concat([new Buffer([resTypeByte]), wire.encode(res)]);
+				// length prefixed
+				conn.resBuf.write(wire.encode(enc.length));
+				conn.resBuf.write(enc);
+			} else {
+				enc = Buffer.concat([new Buffer([resTypeByte]), wire.encode(retCode), wire.encode(res)]);
+				conn.resBuf.write(wire.encode(enc.length));
+				conn.resBuf.write(enc);
+			}
+		    }
+		  });
+
+		  socket.on('end', function () {
+		    console.log("connection ended")
+		  });
+		})
+}
+
diff --git a/example/js/wire.js b/example/js/wire.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..13ee55292
--- /dev/null
+++ b/example/js/wire.js
@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+math = require("math")
+
+module.exports = {
+	decode_string: decode_string,
+	decode_varint: decode_varint,
+	decode_big_endian: decode_big_endian,
+	encode_big_endian: encode_big_endian,
+	encode: encode,
+	reverse: reverse,
+}
+
+function reverse(buf){
+	for (var i = 0; i < buf.length/2; i++){
+		a = buf[i];
+		b = buf[buf.length-1 - i];
+		buf[i] = b;
+		buf[buf.length-1 - i] = a;
+	}
+	return buf
+}
+
+function uvarint_size(i){
+	if (i == 0){
+		return 0
+	}
+
+	for(var j = 1; j < 9; j++) {
+		if ( i < 1<<j*8 ) {
+			return j
+		}
+	}
+
+	return 8
+}
+
+function encode_big_endian(i, size){
+	if (size == 0){
+		return new Buffer(0);
+	}
+	b = encode_big_endian(math.floor(i/256), size-1);
+	return Buffer.concat([b, new Buffer([i%256])]);
+}
+
+function decode_big_endian(reader, size){
+	if (size == 0){ return 0 }
+	firstByte = reader.read(1)[0];
+	return firstByte*(math.pow(256, size-1)) + decode_big_endian(reader, size-1)
+}
+
+function encode_string(s){
+	size = encode_varint(s.length);
+	return Buffer.concat([size, new Buffer(s)])
+}
+
+function decode_string(reader){
+	length = decode_varint(reader);
+	return reader.read(length).toString()
+}
+
+function encode_varint(i){
+	var negate = false;
+	if (i < 0){
+		negate = true;
+		i = -i;
+	}
+	size = uvarint_size(i);
+	if (size == 0){
+		return new Buffer([0])
+	}
+
+	big_end = encode_big_endian(i, size);
+	if (negate){ size += 0xF0 }
+	var buf = new Buffer([1]);
+	return Buffer.concat([buf, big_end])
+}
+
+function decode_varint(reader){
+	size = reader.read(1)[0];
+	if (size == 0 ){
+		return 0
+	}
+	var negate = false;
+	if (size > 0xF0){ negate = true }
+	if (negate) { size = size - 0xF0 }
+	i = decode_big_endian(reader, size);
+	if (negate) { i = i * -1}
+	return i
+}
+
+function encode_list(l){
+	var l2 = l.map(encode);
+	var buf = new Buffer(encode_varint(l2.length));
+	return Buffer.concat([buf, Buffer.concat(l2)]);
+}
+
+function encode(b){
+	if (b == null){
+		return Buffer(0)
+	} else if (typeof b == "number"){
+		return encode_varint(b)
+	} else if (typeof b == "string"){
+		return encode_string(b)
+	} else if (Array.isArray(b)){
+		return encode_list(b)
+	} else{
+		console.log("UNSUPPORTED TYPE!", typeof b, b)
+	}
+}
+
+
+
+
+
diff --git a/example/python/app.py b/example/python/app.py
index a9e9d3b75..a439aa748 100644
--- a/example/python/app.py
+++ b/example/python/app.py
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ class CounterAppContext():
 			txByteArray = bytearray(txBytes)
 			if len(txBytes) >= 2 and txBytes[:2] == "0x":
 				txByteArray = hex2bytes(txBytes[2:])
-			txValue = decode_big_endian(BytesReader(txByteArray), len(txBytes))
+			txValue = decode_big_endian(BytesBuffer(txByteArray), len(txBytes))
 			if txValue != self.txCount:
 				return None, 1
 		self.txCount += 1
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ class CounterAppContext():
 		return str(h), 0
 
 	def commit(self):
+		self.commitCount += 1
 		return 0 
 
 	def rollback(self):
diff --git a/example/python/tmsp/reader.py b/example/python/tmsp/reader.py
index f1b3dfae4..3b1f87fcb 100644
--- a/example/python/tmsp/reader.py
+++ b/example/python/tmsp/reader.py
@@ -1,14 +1,32 @@
 
 # Simple read() method around a bytearray
-class BytesReader():
+class BytesBuffer():
 	def __init__(self, b):
 		self.buf = b
+		self.readCount = 0
+
+	def count(self):
+		return self.readCount
+
+	def reset_count(self):
+		self.readCount = 0
+	
+	def size(self):
+		return len(self.buf)
+
+	def peek(self):
+		return self.buf[0]
+
+	def write(self, b):
+		# b should be castable to byte array
+		self.buf += bytearray(b)
 
 	def read(self, n):
 		if len(self.buf) < n:
 			print "reader err: buf less than n"
 			# TODO: exception
 			return
+		self.readCount += n
 		r = self.buf[:n]
 		self.buf = self.buf[n:]
 		return r
diff --git a/example/python/tmsp/server.py b/example/python/tmsp/server.py
index e25e4e1fd..0beb59d13 100644
--- a/example/python/tmsp/server.py
+++ b/example/python/tmsp/server.py
@@ -8,11 +8,29 @@ from wire import *
 from reader import *
 from msg import *
 
+# hold the asyncronous state of a connection
+# ie. we may not get enough bytes on one read to decode the message
+class Connection():
+	def __init__(self, fd, appCtx):
+		self.fd = fd
+		self.appCtx = appCtx
+		self.recBuf = BytesBuffer(bytearray())
+		self.resBuf = BytesBuffer(bytearray())
+		self.msgLength = 0
+		self.decoder = RequestDecoder(self.recBuf)
+		self.inProgress = False # are we in the middle of a message
+	
+	def recv(this):
+	    data = this.fd.recv(1024)
+	    if not data: # what about len(data) == 0
+		raise IOError("dead connection")
+	    this.recBuf.write(data)
+
 # TMSP server responds to messges by calling methods on the app
 class TMSPServer():
     def __init__(self, app, port=5410):
 	self.app = app
-	self.appMap = {} # map conn file descriptors to (appContext, msgDecoder)
+	self.appMap = {} # map conn file descriptors to (appContext, reqBuf, resBuf, msgDecoder)
 
         self.port = port 
         self.listen_backlog = 10
@@ -31,12 +49,13 @@ class TMSPServer():
 
     def handle_new_connection(self, r):
         new_fd, new_addr = r.accept()
+	new_fd.setblocking(0) # non-blocking
         self.read_list.append(new_fd)
         self.write_list.append(new_fd)
         print 'new connection to', new_addr
 
 	appContext = self.app.open()
-	self.appMap[new_fd] = (appContext, RequestDecoder(ConnReader(new_fd)))
+	self.appMap[new_fd] = Connection(new_fd, appContext)
 
     def handle_conn_closed(self, r):
         self.read_list.remove(r)
@@ -45,25 +64,63 @@ class TMSPServer():
         print "connection closed"
 
     def handle_recv(self, r):
-	appCtx, conn = self.appMap[r]
-	response = bytearray()
+#	appCtx, recBuf, resBuf, conn 
+	conn = self.appMap[r]
 	while True:
 		try:
-		    # first read the request type and get the msg decoder
-		    typeByte = conn.reader.read(1)
+	 	    print "recv loop"
+		    # check if we need more data first
+		    if conn.inProgress:
+			    if conn.msgLength == 0 or conn.recBuf.size() < conn.msgLength:
+				conn.recv()
+		    else:
+			    if conn.recBuf.size() == 0:
+			    	conn.recv()
+
+		    conn.inProgress = True
+
+		    # see if we have enough to get the message length
+		    if conn.msgLength == 0:
+		    	ll = conn.recBuf.peek()
+			if conn.recBuf.size() < 1 + ll:
+		    	    # we don't have enough bytes to read the length yet
+		    	    return
+		        print "decoding msg length"
+		        conn.msgLength = decode_varint(conn.recBuf)
+
+		    # see if we have enough to decode the message
+		    if conn.recBuf.size() < conn.msgLength:
+			    return
+
+		    # now we can decode the message
+
+		    # first read the request type and get the particular msg decoder
+		    typeByte = conn.recBuf.read(1)
 		    typeByte = int(typeByte[0])
 		    resTypeByte = typeByte+0x10
 		    req_type = message_types[typeByte]
 
 		    if req_type == "flush":
-			    response += bytearray([resTypeByte]) 
-			    sent = r.send(str(response))
+			    # messages are length prefixed
+			    conn.resBuf.write(encode(1))
+			    conn.resBuf.write([resTypeByte])
+			    sent = conn.fd.send(str(conn.resBuf.buf))
+			    conn.msgLength = 0
+		    	    conn.inProgress = False
+			    conn.resBuf = BytesBuffer(bytearray())
 			    return
 
-		    decoder = getattr(conn, req_type)
+		    decoder = getattr(conn.decoder, req_type)
 
+		    print "decoding args"
 		    req_args = decoder()
-		    req_f = getattr(appCtx, req_type)
+		    print "got args", req_args
+
+		    # done decoding message
+		    conn.msgLength = 0
+		    conn.inProgress = False
+
+		    req_f = getattr(conn.appCtx, req_type)
 		    if req_args == None:
 			res = req_f()
 		    elif isinstance(req_args, tuple):
@@ -82,9 +139,18 @@ class TMSPServer():
 			    print "non-zero retcode:", ret_code
 
 		    if req_type in ("echo", "info"): # these dont return a ret code
-		    	response += bytearray([resTypeByte]) + encode(res)
+			enc = encode(res)
+			# messages are length prefixed
+			conn.resBuf.write(encode(len(enc) + 1))
+			conn.resBuf.write([resTypeByte])
+			conn.resBuf.write(enc)
 		    else:
-		    	response += bytearray([resTypeByte]) + encode(ret_code) + encode(res)
+			enc, encRet = encode(res), encode(ret_code)
+			# messages are length prefixed
+			conn.resBuf.write(encode(len(enc)+len(encRet)+1))
+			conn.resBuf.write([resTypeByte])
+			conn.resBuf.write(encRet)
+			conn.resBuf.write(enc)
 		except TypeError as e: 
 			print "TypeError on reading from connection:", e
 			self.handle_conn_closed(r)
@@ -97,8 +163,8 @@ class TMSPServer():
 			print "IOError on reading from connection:", e
 			self.handle_conn_closed(r)
 			return
-		except:
-			print "error reading from connection", sys.exc_info()[0] # TODO better
+		except Exception as e:
+			print "error reading from connection", str(e) # sys.exc_info()[0] # TODO better
 			self.handle_conn_closed(r)
 			return
 
@@ -112,7 +178,7 @@ class TMSPServer():
                         self.handle_new_connection(r)
 
 			# undo adding to read list ...
-                    except NameError as e: 
+                    except rameError as e: 
 			print "Could not connect due to NameError:", e
                     except TypeError as e: 
 			print "Could not connect due to TypeError:", e
diff --git a/tests/test.sh b/tests/test.sh
index 848d14cbc..9ee9be135 100644
--- a/tests/test.sh
+++ b/tests/test.sh
@@ -11,3 +11,7 @@ bash tests/test_counter.sh
 # test python counter
 cd example/python
 COUNTER_APP="python app.py" bash $ROOT/tests/test_counter.sh
+
+# test js counter
+cd ../js
+COUNTER_APP="node app.js" bash $ROOT/tests/test_counter.sh
diff --git a/tests/test_counter.sh b/tests/test_counter.sh
index 41909dde8..8bbd8d376 100644
--- a/tests/test_counter.sh
+++ b/tests/test_counter.sh
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ $COUNTER_APP &> /dev/null &
 PID=`echo $!`
 
 if [[ "$?" != 0 ]]; then
-	echo "Error running tmsp command"
+	echo "Error running tmsp app"
 	echo $OUTPUT
 	exit 1
 fi
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ append_tx abc
 STDIN`
 
 if [[ "$?" != 0 ]]; then
-	echo "Error running tmsp command"
+	echo "Error running tmsp batch command"
 	echo $OUTPUT
 	exit 1
 fi