diff --git a/lib/mgmt_msg_native.h b/lib/mgmt_msg_native.h
index ab305b125b..7273170a13 100644
--- a/lib/mgmt_msg_native.h
+++ b/lib/mgmt_msg_native.h
@@ -162,6 +162,22 @@ DECLARE_MTYPE(MSG_NATIVE_NOTIFY);
 #define MGMT_MSG_DATASTORE_RUNNING     2
 #define MGMT_MSG_DATASTORE_OPERATIONAL 3
 
+/*
+ * Formats
+ */
+#define MGMT_MSG_FORMAT_XML    1
+#define MGMT_MSG_FORMAT_JSON   2
+#define MGMT_MSG_FORMAT_BINARY 3 /* non-standard libyang internal format */
+
+/*
+ * Now we're using LYD_FORMAT directly to avoid mapping code, but having our
+ * own definitions allows us to create such a mapping in the future if libyang
+ * makes a backwards incompatible change.
+ */
+_Static_assert(MGMT_MSG_FORMAT_XML == LYD_XML, "Format mismatch");
+_Static_assert(MGMT_MSG_FORMAT_JSON == LYD_JSON, "Format mismatch");
+_Static_assert(MGMT_MSG_FORMAT_BINARY == LYD_LYB, "Format mismatch");
+
 /**
  * struct mgmt_msg_header - Header common to all native messages.
  *
@@ -244,8 +260,8 @@ _Static_assert(sizeof(struct mgmt_msg_tree_data) ==
 	       "Size mismatch");
 
 /* Flags for get-data request */
-#define GET_DATA_FLAG_STATE	0x01	/* get only "config false" data */
-#define GET_DATA_FLAG_CONFIG	0x02	/* get only "config true" data */
+#define GET_DATA_FLAG_STATE	0x01	/* include "config false" data */
+#define GET_DATA_FLAG_CONFIG	0x02	/* include "config true" data */
 #define GET_DATA_FLAG_EXACT	0x04	/* get exact data node instead of the full tree */
 
 /*