diff --git a/host/libs/allocd/utils.h b/host/libs/allocd/utils.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e426dae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/host/libs/allocd/utils.h
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2020 The Android Open Source Project
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include <android-base/logging.h>
+#include <json/json.h>
+
+#include <optional>
+#include <string>
+
+#include "common/libs/fs/shared_fd.h"
+#include "host/libs/allocd/request.h"
+#include "host/libs/config/logging.h"
+
+namespace cuttlefish {
+
+static constexpr int send_flags = 0;
+static constexpr int recv_flags = 0;
+
+// returns true if successfully sent the whole message
+bool SendJsonMsg(cuttlefish::SharedFD client_socket, const Json::Value& resp);
+
+std::optional<Json::Value> RecvJsonMsg(cuttlefish::SharedFD client_socket);
+
+}  // namespace cuttlefish