A system for aggregating context information for messages includes a context container that associates names with context values and metadata for context entries. The system further includes a network protocol component configured to read messages from a network transport, an encoder component configured translate messages from a raw format into a canonical message format. The canonical message format is an enveloped message containing an application payload and message metadata. The context container is associated with a message in the canonical format. The system further includes an extraction component configured to retrieve context from a native network transport protocol and insert the context values and metadata into the context container, a plurality of additional protocol components configured to add, remove, or modify entries in the context container, and one or more higher level application components configured to operate on the canonical message using the context entries.