diff --git a/native/README.md b/native/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0cd280f87
--- /dev/null
+++ b/native/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+# velocity-natives
+
+This directory contains native acceleration code for Velocity, along with
+traditional Java fallbacks.
+
+## Compression
+
+* **Supported platforms**: macOS 10.13, Linux amd64 (precompiled binary is built on Debian 9 with JDK 8)
+* **Rationale**: Using a native zlib wrapper, we can avoid multiple trips into Java just to copy memory around.
+
+## Encryption
+
+* No natives available yet, this will use the support inside your Java install.
+
+## OS support
+
+If you are on Alpine Linux, `apk add libc6-compat` will enable native support.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/native/build.gradle b/native/build.gradle
index 13647ccf9..089fba5e9 100644
--- a/native/build.gradle
+++ b/native/build.gradle
@@ -5,4 +5,6 @@ plugins {
 dependencies {
     compile "com.google.guava:guava:${guavaVersion}"
     compile "io.netty:netty-buffer:${nettyVersion}"
+    testCompile "org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-api:${junitVersion}"
+    testCompile "org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-engine:${junitVersion}"
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/native/compile-linux.sh b/native/compile-linux.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..d3d7abab3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/native/compile-linux.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Modify as you need.
+gcc -I$JAVA_HOME/include/ -I$JAVA_HOME/include/linux/ -shared -lz src/main/c/*.c -o src/main/resources/linux_x64/velocity-compress.so
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/native/compile-osx.sh b/native/compile-osx.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..d7a53149f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/native/compile-osx.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Modify as you need.
+export JAVA_HOME=/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_144.jdk/Contents/Home
+clang -I$JAVA_HOME/include/ -I$JAVA_HOME/include/darwin/ -shared -lz src/main/c/*.c -o src/main/resources/macosx/velocity-compress.dylib
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/native/src/main/c/jni_util.c b/native/src/main/c/jni_util.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e5356c93f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/native/src/main/c/jni_util.c
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+#include <jni.h>
+#include "jni_util.h"
+
+JNIEXPORT void JNICALL
+throwException(JNIEnv *env, const char *type, const char *msg)
+{
+    jclass klazz = (*env)->FindClass(env, type);
+
+    if (klazz != 0) {
+        (*env)->ThrowNew(env, klazz, msg);
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/native/src/main/c/jni_util.h b/native/src/main/c/jni_util.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8938b26c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/native/src/main/c/jni_util.h
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+#include <jni.h>
+
+JNIEXPORT void JNICALL
+throwException(JNIEnv *env, const char *type, const char *msg);
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/native/src/main/c/jni_zlib_deflate.c b/native/src/main/c/jni_zlib_deflate.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4ef0fe34b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/native/src/main/c/jni_zlib_deflate.c
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+#include <assert.h>
+#include <jni.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <zlib.h>
+#include "jni_util.h"
+
+static jfieldID finishedID;
+static jfieldID consumedID;
+
+JNIEXPORT void JNICALL
+Java_com_velocitypowered_natives_compression_NativeZlibDeflate_initIDs(JNIEnv *env, jclass cls)
+{
+    finishedID = (*env)->GetFieldID(env, cls, "finished", "Z");
+    consumedID = (*env)->GetFieldID(env, cls, "consumed", "I");
+}
+
+JNIEXPORT jlong JNICALL
+Java_com_velocitypowered_natives_compression_NativeZlibDeflate_init(JNIEnv *env,
+    jobject obj,
+    jint level)
+{
+    z_stream* stream = calloc(1, sizeof(z_stream));
+
+    if (stream == 0) {
+        // Out of memory!
+        throwException(env, "java/lang/OutOfMemoryError", "zlib allocate stream");
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    char *msg;
+    int ret = deflateInit(stream, level);
+
+    switch (ret) {
+        case Z_OK:
+            return (jlong) stream;
+        case Z_MEM_ERROR:
+            free(stream);
+            throwException(env, "java/lang/OutOfMemoryError", "zlib init");
+            return 0;
+        case Z_STREAM_ERROR:
+            free(stream);
+            char message[32];
+            snprintf(message, 32, "invalid level %d", level);
+            throwException(env, "java/lang/IllegalArgumentException", message);
+            return 0;
+        default:
+            msg = stream->msg;
+            free(stream);
+            throwException(env, "java/util/zip/DataFormatException", msg);
+            return 0;
+    }
+}
+
+JNIEXPORT void JNICALL
+Java_com_velocitypowered_natives_compression_NativeZlibDeflate_free(JNIEnv *env,
+    jobject obj,
+    jlong ctx)
+{
+    z_stream* stream = (z_stream*) ctx;
+    int ret = deflateEnd(stream);
+    char *msg = stream->msg;
+    free((void*) ctx);
+
+    switch (ret) {
+        case Z_OK:
+            break;
+        case Z_STREAM_ERROR:
+            if (msg == NULL) {
+                msg = "stream state inconsistent";
+            }
+        case Z_DATA_ERROR:
+            if (msg == NULL) {
+                msg = "data was discarded";
+            }
+            throwException(env, "java/lang/IllegalArgumentException", msg);
+            break;
+    }
+}
+
+JNIEXPORT int JNICALL
+Java_com_velocitypowered_natives_compression_NativeZlibDeflate_process(JNIEnv *env,
+    jobject obj,
+    jlong ctx,
+    jlong sourceAddress,
+    jint sourceLength,
+    jlong destinationAddress,
+    jint destinationLength,
+    jboolean flush)
+{
+    z_stream* stream = (z_stream*) ctx;
+    stream->next_in = (Bytef *) sourceAddress;
+    stream->next_out = (Bytef *) destinationAddress;
+    stream->avail_in = sourceLength;
+    stream->avail_out = destinationLength;
+
+    int res = deflate(stream, flush ? Z_FINISH : Z_NO_FLUSH);
+    switch (res) {
+        case Z_STREAM_END:
+            // The stream has ended.
+            (*env)->SetBooleanField(env, obj, finishedID, JNI_TRUE);
+            // fall-through
+        case Z_OK:
+            // Not yet completed, but progress has been made. Tell Java how many bytes we've processed.
+            (*env)->SetIntField(env, obj, consumedID, sourceLength - stream->avail_in);
+            return destinationLength - stream->avail_out;
+        case Z_BUF_ERROR:
+            // This is not fatal. Just say we need more data. Usually this applies to the next_out buffer,
+            // which NativeVelocityCompressor will notice and will expand the buffer.
+            return 0;
+        default:
+            throwException(env, "java/util/zip/DataFormatException", stream->msg);
+            return 0;
+    }
+}
+
+JNIEXPORT void JNICALL
+Java_com_velocitypowered_natives_compression_NativeZlibDeflate_reset(JNIEnv *env,
+    jobject obj,
+    jlong ctx)
+{
+    z_stream* stream = (z_stream*) ctx;
+    int ret = deflateReset(stream);
+    assert(ret == Z_OK);
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/native/src/main/c/jni_zlib_inflate.c b/native/src/main/c/jni_zlib_inflate.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0695e4c91
--- /dev/null
+++ b/native/src/main/c/jni_zlib_inflate.c
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+#include <assert.h>
+#include <jni.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <zlib.h>
+#include "jni_util.h"
+
+static jfieldID finishedID;
+static jfieldID consumedID;
+
+JNIEXPORT void JNICALL
+Java_com_velocitypowered_natives_compression_NativeZlibInflate_initIDs(JNIEnv *env, jclass cls)
+{
+    finishedID = (*env)->GetFieldID(env, cls, "finished", "Z");
+    consumedID = (*env)->GetFieldID(env, cls, "consumed", "I");
+}
+
+JNIEXPORT jlong JNICALL
+Java_com_velocitypowered_natives_compression_NativeZlibInflate_init(JNIEnv *env,
+    jobject obj)
+{
+    z_stream* stream = calloc(1, sizeof(z_stream));
+
+    if (stream == 0) {
+        // Out of memory!
+        throwException(env, "java/lang/OutOfMemoryError", "zlib allocate stream");
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    char *msg;
+    int ret = inflateInit(stream);
+
+    switch (ret) {
+        case Z_OK:
+            return (jlong) stream;
+        case Z_MEM_ERROR:
+            free(stream);
+            throwException(env, "java/lang/OutOfMemoryError", "zlib init");
+            return 0;
+        case Z_STREAM_ERROR:
+            free(stream);
+            throwException(env, "java/lang/IllegalArgumentException", "stream clobbered?");
+            return 0;
+        default:
+            msg = stream->msg;
+            free(stream);
+            throwException(env, "java/util/zip/DataFormatException", msg);
+            return 0;
+    }
+}
+
+JNIEXPORT void JNICALL
+Java_com_velocitypowered_natives_compression_NativeZlibInflate_free(JNIEnv *env,
+    jobject obj,
+    jlong ctx)
+{
+    z_stream* stream = (z_stream*) ctx;
+    int ret = inflateEnd(stream);
+    char *msg = stream->msg;
+    free((void*) ctx);
+
+    switch (ret) {
+        case Z_OK:
+            break;
+        case Z_STREAM_ERROR:
+            if (msg == NULL) {
+                msg = "stream state inconsistent";
+            }
+        case Z_DATA_ERROR:
+            if (msg == NULL) {
+                msg = "data was discarded";
+            }
+            throwException(env, "java/lang/IllegalArgumentException", msg);
+            break;
+    }
+}
+
+JNIEXPORT int JNICALL
+Java_com_velocitypowered_natives_compression_NativeZlibInflate_process(JNIEnv *env,
+    jobject obj,
+    jlong ctx,
+    jlong sourceAddress,
+    jint sourceLength,
+    jlong destinationAddress,
+    jint destinationLength)
+{
+    z_stream* stream = (z_stream*) ctx;
+    stream->next_in = (Bytef *) sourceAddress;
+    stream->next_out = (Bytef *) destinationAddress;
+    stream->avail_in = sourceLength;
+    stream->avail_out = destinationLength;
+
+    int res = inflate(stream, Z_PARTIAL_FLUSH);
+    switch (res) {
+        case Z_STREAM_END:
+            // The stream has ended
+            (*env)->SetBooleanField(env, obj, finishedID, JNI_TRUE);
+            // fall-through
+        case Z_OK:
+            // Not yet completed, but progress has been made. Tell Java how many bytes we've processed.
+            (*env)->SetIntField(env, obj, consumedID, sourceLength - stream->avail_in);
+            return destinationLength - stream->avail_out;
+        case Z_BUF_ERROR:
+            // This is not fatal. Just say we need more data. Usually this applies to the next_out buffer,
+            // which NativeVelocityCompressor will notice and will expand the buffer.
+            return 0;
+        default:
+            throwException(env, "java/util/zip/DataFormatException", stream->msg);
+            return 0;
+    }
+}
+
+JNIEXPORT void JNICALL
+Java_com_velocitypowered_natives_compression_NativeZlibInflate_reset(JNIEnv *env,
+    jobject obj,
+    jlong ctx)
+{
+    z_stream* stream = (z_stream*) ctx;
+    int ret = inflateReset(stream);
+    assert(ret == Z_OK);
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/JavaVelocityCompressor.java b/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/JavaVelocityCompressor.java
index 6f04a4aec..e66ca01ee 100644
--- a/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/JavaVelocityCompressor.java
+++ b/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/JavaVelocityCompressor.java
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ public class JavaVelocityCompressor implements VelocityCompressor {
     public JavaVelocityCompressor() {
         this.deflater = new Deflater();
         this.inflater = new Inflater();
-        this.buf = new byte[8192];
+        this.buf = new byte[ZLIB_BUFFER_SIZE];
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/NativeVelocityCompressor.java b/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/NativeVelocityCompressor.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f14f016ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/NativeVelocityCompressor.java
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+package com.velocitypowered.natives.compression;
+
+import io.netty.buffer.ByteBuf;
+
+import java.util.zip.DataFormatException;
+
+public class NativeVelocityCompressor implements VelocityCompressor {
+    private final NativeZlibInflate inflate = new NativeZlibInflate();
+    private final long inflateCtx;
+    private final NativeZlibDeflate deflate = new NativeZlibDeflate();
+    private final long deflateCtx;
+    private boolean disposed = false;
+
+    public NativeVelocityCompressor() {
+        this.inflateCtx = inflate.init();
+        this.deflateCtx = deflate.init(7);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void inflate(ByteBuf source, ByteBuf destination) throws DataFormatException {
+        source.memoryAddress();
+        destination.memoryAddress();
+
+        while (!inflate.finished && source.isReadable()) {
+            if (!destination.isWritable()) {
+                destination.ensureWritable(ZLIB_BUFFER_SIZE);
+            }
+            int produced = inflate.process(inflateCtx, source.memoryAddress() + source.readerIndex(), source.readableBytes(),
+                    destination.memoryAddress() + destination.writerIndex(), destination.writableBytes());
+            source.readerIndex(source.readerIndex() + inflate.consumed);
+            destination.writerIndex(destination.writerIndex() + produced);
+        }
+
+        inflate.reset(inflateCtx);
+        inflate.consumed = 0;
+        inflate.finished = false;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void deflate(ByteBuf source, ByteBuf destination) throws DataFormatException {
+        source.memoryAddress();
+        destination.memoryAddress();
+
+        while (!deflate.finished) {
+            if (!destination.isWritable()) {
+                destination.ensureWritable(ZLIB_BUFFER_SIZE);
+            }
+            int produced = deflate.process(deflateCtx, source.memoryAddress() + source.readerIndex(), source.readableBytes(),
+                    destination.memoryAddress() + destination.writerIndex(), destination.writableBytes(), !source.isReadable());
+            source.readerIndex(source.readerIndex() + deflate.consumed);
+            destination.writerIndex(destination.writerIndex() + produced);
+        }
+
+        deflate.reset(deflateCtx);
+        deflate.consumed = 0;
+        deflate.finished = false;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void dispose() {
+        if (!disposed) {
+            inflate.free(inflateCtx);
+            deflate.free(deflateCtx);
+        }
+        disposed = true;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/NativeZlibDeflate.java b/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/NativeZlibDeflate.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7eb92c570
--- /dev/null
+++ b/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/NativeZlibDeflate.java
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+package com.velocitypowered.natives.compression;
+
+/**
+ * Represents a native interface for zlib's deflate functions.
+ */
+class NativeZlibDeflate {
+    boolean finished;
+    int consumed;
+
+    native long init(int level);
+
+    native long free(long ctx);
+
+    native int process(long ctx, long sourceAddress, int sourceLength, long destinationAddress, int destinationLength,
+                       boolean flush);
+
+    native void reset(long ctx);
+
+    static {
+        initIDs();
+    }
+
+    static native void initIDs();
+}
diff --git a/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/NativeZlibInflate.java b/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/NativeZlibInflate.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..310b4c3b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/NativeZlibInflate.java
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+package com.velocitypowered.natives.compression;
+
+/**
+ * Represents a native interface for zlib's inflate functions.
+ */
+public class NativeZlibInflate {
+    boolean finished;
+    int consumed;
+
+    native long init();
+
+    native long free(long ctx);
+
+    native int process(long ctx, long sourceAddress, int sourceLength, long destinationAddress, int destinationLength);
+
+    native void reset(long ctx);
+
+    static {
+        initIDs();
+    }
+
+    static native void initIDs();
+}
diff --git a/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/VelocityCompressor.java b/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/VelocityCompressor.java
index c8056a54e..18dce695d 100644
--- a/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/VelocityCompressor.java
+++ b/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/VelocityCompressor.java
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ import io.netty.buffer.ByteBuf;
 import java.util.zip.DataFormatException;
 
 public interface VelocityCompressor extends Disposable {
+    int ZLIB_BUFFER_SIZE = 8192;
+
     void inflate(ByteBuf source, ByteBuf destination) throws DataFormatException;
 
     void deflate(ByteBuf source, ByteBuf destination) throws DataFormatException;
diff --git a/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/util/NativeCodeLoader.java b/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/util/NativeCodeLoader.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6119b9f42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/util/NativeCodeLoader.java
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+package com.velocitypowered.natives.util;
+
+import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
+
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.function.BooleanSupplier;
+import java.util.function.Supplier;
+
+public class NativeCodeLoader<T> {
+    private final List<Variant<T>> variants;
+    private Variant<T> selected;
+
+    public NativeCodeLoader(List<Variant<T>> variants) {
+        this.variants = ImmutableList.copyOf(variants);
+    }
+
+    public Supplier<T> supply() {
+        if (selected == null) {
+            selected = select();
+        }
+        return selected.supplier;
+    }
+
+    private Variant<T> select() {
+        for (Variant<T> variant : variants) {
+            T got = variant.get();
+            if (got == null) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            return variant;
+        }
+        throw new IllegalArgumentException("Can't find any suitable variants");
+    }
+
+    public String getLoadedVariant() {
+        for (Variant<T> variant : variants) {
+            T got = variant.get();
+            if (got == null) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            return variant.name;
+        }
+        throw new IllegalArgumentException("Can't find any suitable variants");
+    }
+
+    static class Variant<T> {
+        private boolean available;
+        private final Runnable setup;
+        private final String name;
+        private final Supplier<T> supplier;
+        private boolean hasBeenSetup = false;
+
+        Variant(BooleanSupplier available, Runnable setup, String name, Supplier<T> supplier) {
+            this.available = available.getAsBoolean();
+            this.setup = setup;
+            this.name = name;
+            this.supplier = supplier;
+        }
+
+        public boolean setup() {
+            if (available && !hasBeenSetup) {
+                try {
+                    setup.run();
+                    hasBeenSetup = true;
+                } catch (Exception e) {
+                    //logger.error("Unable to set up {}", name, e);
+                    available = false;
+                }
+            }
+            return hasBeenSetup;
+        }
+
+        public T get() {
+            if (!hasBeenSetup) {
+                setup();
+            }
+
+            if (available) {
+                return supplier.get();
+            }
+
+            return null;
+        }
+    }
+
+    public static final BooleanSupplier MACOS = () -> System.getProperty("os.name").equalsIgnoreCase("Mac OS X") &&
+            System.getProperty("os.arch").equals("x86_64");
+    public static final BooleanSupplier LINUX = () -> System.getProperties().getProperty("os.name").equalsIgnoreCase("Linux") &&
+            System.getProperty("os.arch").equals("amd64");
+    public static final BooleanSupplier MAC_AND_LINUX = () -> MACOS.getAsBoolean() || LINUX.getAsBoolean();
+    public static final BooleanSupplier ALWAYS = () -> true;
+}
diff --git a/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/util/Natives.java b/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/util/Natives.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..86fb3651f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/native/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/util/Natives.java
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+package com.velocitypowered.natives.util;
+
+import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
+import com.velocitypowered.natives.compression.JavaVelocityCompressor;
+import com.velocitypowered.natives.compression.NativeVelocityCompressor;
+import com.velocitypowered.natives.compression.VelocityCompressor;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.nio.file.StandardCopyOption;
+
+public class Natives {
+    private Natives() {
+        throw new AssertionError();
+    }
+
+    private static Runnable copyAndLoadNative(String path) {
+        return () -> {
+            try {
+                Path tempFile = Files.createTempFile("native-", path.substring(path.lastIndexOf('.')));
+                Files.copy(Natives.class.getResourceAsStream(path), tempFile, StandardCopyOption.REPLACE_EXISTING);
+                Runtime.getRuntime().addShutdownHook(new Thread(() -> {
+                    try {
+                        Files.deleteIfExists(tempFile);
+                    } catch (IOException ignored) {
+                        // Well, it doesn't matter...
+                    }
+                }));
+                System.load(tempFile.toAbsolutePath().toString());
+            } catch (IOException e) {
+                throw new RuntimeException(e);
+            }
+        };
+    }
+
+    public static final NativeCodeLoader<VelocityCompressor> compressor = new NativeCodeLoader<>(
+            ImmutableList.of(
+                    new NativeCodeLoader.Variant<>(NativeCodeLoader.MACOS,
+                            copyAndLoadNative("/macosx/velocity-compress.dylib"), "native compression (macOS)",
+                            NativeVelocityCompressor::new),
+                    new NativeCodeLoader.Variant<>(NativeCodeLoader.LINUX,
+                            copyAndLoadNative("/linux_x64/velocity-compress.so"), "native compression (Linux amd64)",
+                            NativeVelocityCompressor::new),
+                    new NativeCodeLoader.Variant<>(NativeCodeLoader.ALWAYS, () -> {}, "Java compression", JavaVelocityCompressor::new)
+            )
+    );
+}
diff --git a/native/src/main/resources/linux_x64/velocity-compress.so b/native/src/main/resources/linux_x64/velocity-compress.so
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..be9509931
Binary files /dev/null and b/native/src/main/resources/linux_x64/velocity-compress.so differ
diff --git a/native/src/main/resources/macosx/velocity-compress.dylib b/native/src/main/resources/macosx/velocity-compress.dylib
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..1d45475d9
Binary files /dev/null and b/native/src/main/resources/macosx/velocity-compress.dylib differ
diff --git a/native/src/test/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/VelocityCompressorTest.java b/native/src/test/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/VelocityCompressorTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7273ecbd1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/native/src/test/java/com/velocitypowered/natives/compression/VelocityCompressorTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+package com.velocitypowered.natives.compression;
+
+import com.velocitypowered.natives.util.Natives;
+import io.netty.buffer.ByteBuf;
+import io.netty.buffer.ByteBufUtil;
+import io.netty.buffer.Unpooled;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.condition.EnabledOnOs;
+
+import java.util.Random;
+import java.util.zip.DataFormatException;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.fail;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.condition.OS.LINUX;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.condition.OS.MAC;
+
+class VelocityCompressorTest {
+    @Test
+    @EnabledOnOs({ MAC, LINUX })
+    void nativeIntegrityCheck() throws DataFormatException {
+        VelocityCompressor compressor = Natives.compressor.supply().get();
+        if (compressor instanceof JavaVelocityCompressor) {
+            fail("Loaded regular compressor");
+        }
+        check(compressor);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void javaIntegrityCheck() throws DataFormatException {
+        JavaVelocityCompressor compressor = new JavaVelocityCompressor();
+        check(compressor);
+    }
+
+    private void check(VelocityCompressor compressor) throws DataFormatException {
+        ByteBuf source = Unpooled.directBuffer();
+        ByteBuf dest = Unpooled.directBuffer();
+        ByteBuf decompressed = Unpooled.directBuffer();
+
+        Random random = new Random(1);
+        byte[] randomBytes = new byte[1 << 21];
+        random.nextBytes(randomBytes);
+        source.writeBytes(randomBytes);
+
+        try {
+            compressor.deflate(source, dest);
+            compressor.inflate(dest, decompressed);
+            source.readerIndex(0);
+            assertTrue(ByteBufUtil.equals(source, decompressed));
+        } finally {
+            source.release();
+            dest.release();
+            compressor.dispose();
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/proxy/src/main/java/com.velocitypowered/proxy/VelocityServer.java b/proxy/src/main/java/com.velocitypowered/proxy/VelocityServer.java
index ea79f7742..45c005e1a 100644
--- a/proxy/src/main/java/com.velocitypowered/proxy/VelocityServer.java
+++ b/proxy/src/main/java/com.velocitypowered/proxy/VelocityServer.java
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package com.velocitypowered.proxy;
 
 import com.google.gson.Gson;
 import com.google.gson.GsonBuilder;
+import com.velocitypowered.natives.util.Natives;
 import com.velocitypowered.network.ConnectionManager;
 import com.velocitypowered.proxy.config.VelocityConfiguration;
 import com.velocitypowered.proxy.connection.http.NettyHttpClient;
@@ -52,6 +53,8 @@ public class VelocityServer {
     }
 
     public void start() {
+        logger.info("Using {}", Natives.compressor.getLoadedVariant());
+
         // Create a key pair
         logger.info("Booting up Velocity...");
         try {
diff --git a/proxy/src/main/java/com.velocitypowered/proxy/connection/MinecraftConnection.java b/proxy/src/main/java/com.velocitypowered/proxy/connection/MinecraftConnection.java
index 5496f725e..8f2430524 100644
--- a/proxy/src/main/java/com.velocitypowered/proxy/connection/MinecraftConnection.java
+++ b/proxy/src/main/java/com.velocitypowered/proxy/connection/MinecraftConnection.java
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 package com.velocitypowered.proxy.connection;
 
 import com.google.common.base.Preconditions;
+import com.velocitypowered.natives.compression.VelocityCompressor;
+import com.velocitypowered.natives.util.Natives;
 import com.velocitypowered.proxy.protocol.PacketWrapper;
 import com.velocitypowered.proxy.protocol.StateRegistry;
 import com.velocitypowered.natives.compression.JavaVelocityCompressor;
@@ -189,7 +191,7 @@ public class MinecraftConnection extends ChannelInboundHandlerAdapter {
             return;
         }
 
-        JavaVelocityCompressor compressor = new JavaVelocityCompressor();
+        VelocityCompressor compressor = Natives.compressor.supply().get();
         MinecraftCompressEncoder encoder = new MinecraftCompressEncoder(threshold, compressor);
         MinecraftCompressDecoder decoder = new MinecraftCompressDecoder(threshold, compressor);
 
diff --git a/proxy/src/main/java/com.velocitypowered/proxy/protocol/netty/MinecraftCompressDecoder.java b/proxy/src/main/java/com.velocitypowered/proxy/protocol/netty/MinecraftCompressDecoder.java
index 3e48c4030..2f6ace563 100644
--- a/proxy/src/main/java/com.velocitypowered/proxy/protocol/netty/MinecraftCompressDecoder.java
+++ b/proxy/src/main/java/com.velocitypowered/proxy/protocol/netty/MinecraftCompressDecoder.java
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ public class MinecraftCompressDecoder extends MessageToMessageDecoder<ByteBuf> {
         }
 
         Preconditions.checkState(uncompressedSize >= threshold, "Uncompressed size %s doesn't make sense with threshold %s", uncompressedSize, threshold);
+        // Try to use the uncompressed size, but place a cap if it might be too big (possibly malicious).
         ByteBuf uncompressed = ctx.alloc().buffer(Math.min(uncompressedSize, MAXIMUM_INITIAL_BUFFER_SIZE));
         try {
             compressor.inflate(msg, uncompressed);
diff --git a/proxy/src/main/java/com.velocitypowered/proxy/protocol/netty/MinecraftCompressEncoder.java b/proxy/src/main/java/com.velocitypowered/proxy/protocol/netty/MinecraftCompressEncoder.java
index 226c36832..ac3eac297 100644
--- a/proxy/src/main/java/com.velocitypowered/proxy/protocol/netty/MinecraftCompressEncoder.java
+++ b/proxy/src/main/java/com.velocitypowered/proxy/protocol/netty/MinecraftCompressEncoder.java
@@ -25,7 +25,8 @@ public class MinecraftCompressEncoder extends MessageToByteEncoder<ByteBuf> {
             return;
         }
 
-        ByteBuf compressedBuffer = ctx.alloc().buffer();
+        // in other words, see if a plain 8KiB buffer fits us well
+        ByteBuf compressedBuffer = ctx.alloc().buffer(8192);
         try {
             int uncompressed = msg.readableBytes();
             compressor.deflate(msg, compressedBuffer);