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- # ws: a Node.js WebSocket library
-
- [![Version npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/ws.svg?logo=npm)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/ws)
- [![Build](https://img.shields.io/travis/websockets/ws/master.svg?logo=travis)](https://travis-ci.com/websockets/ws)
- [![Windows x86 Build](https://img.shields.io/appveyor/ci/lpinca/ws/master.svg?logo=appveyor)](https://ci.appveyor.com/project/lpinca/ws)
- [![Coverage Status](https://img.shields.io/coveralls/websockets/ws/master.svg)](https://coveralls.io/github/websockets/ws)
-
- ws is a simple to use, blazing fast, and thoroughly tested WebSocket client and
- server implementation.
-
- Passes the quite extensive Autobahn test suite: [server][server-report],
- [client][client-report].
-
- **Note**: This module does not work in the browser. The client in the docs is a
- reference to a back end with the role of a client in the WebSocket
- communication. Browser clients must use the native
- [`WebSocket`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WebSocket)
- object. To make the same code work seamlessly on Node.js and the browser, you
- can use one of the many wrappers available on npm, like
- [isomorphic-ws](https://github.com/heineiuo/isomorphic-ws).
-
- ## Table of Contents
-
- - [Protocol support](#protocol-support)
- - [Installing](#installing)
- - [Opt-in for performance and spec compliance](#opt-in-for-performance-and-spec-compliance)
- - [API docs](#api-docs)
- - [WebSocket compression](#websocket-compression)
- - [Usage examples](#usage-examples)
- - [Sending and receiving text data](#sending-and-receiving-text-data)
- - [Sending binary data](#sending-binary-data)
- - [Simple server](#simple-server)
- - [External HTTP/S server](#external-https-server)
- - [Multiple servers sharing a single HTTP/S server](#multiple-servers-sharing-a-single-https-server)
- - [Client authentication](#client-authentication)
- - [Server broadcast](#server-broadcast)
- - [echo.websocket.org demo](#echowebsocketorg-demo)
- - [Use the Node.js streams API](#use-the-nodejs-streams-api)
- - [Other examples](#other-examples)
- - [FAQ](#faq)
- - [How to get the IP address of the client?](#how-to-get-the-ip-address-of-the-client)
- - [How to detect and close broken connections?](#how-to-detect-and-close-broken-connections)
- - [How to connect via a proxy?](#how-to-connect-via-a-proxy)
- - [Changelog](#changelog)
- - [License](#license)
-
- ## Protocol support
-
- - **HyBi drafts 07-12** (Use the option `protocolVersion: 8`)
- - **HyBi drafts 13-17** (Current default, alternatively option
- `protocolVersion: 13`)
-
- ## Installing
-
- ```
- npm install ws
- ```
-
- ### Opt-in for performance and spec compliance
-
- There are 2 optional modules that can be installed along side with the ws
- module. These modules are binary addons which improve certain operations.
- Prebuilt binaries are available for the most popular platforms so you don't
- necessarily need to have a C++ compiler installed on your machine.
-
- - `npm install --save-optional bufferutil`: Allows to efficiently perform
- operations such as masking and unmasking the data payload of the WebSocket
- frames.
- - `npm install --save-optional utf-8-validate`: Allows to efficiently check if a
- message contains valid UTF-8 as required by the spec.
-
- ## API docs
-
- See [`/doc/ws.md`](./doc/ws.md) for Node.js-like documentation of ws classes and
- utility functions.
-
- ## WebSocket compression
-
- ws supports the [permessage-deflate extension][permessage-deflate] which enables
- the client and server to negotiate a compression algorithm and its parameters,
- and then selectively apply it to the data payloads of each WebSocket message.
-
- The extension is disabled by default on the server and enabled by default on the
- client. It adds a significant overhead in terms of performance and memory
- consumption so we suggest to enable it only if it is really needed.
-
- Note that Node.js has a variety of issues with high-performance compression,
- where increased concurrency, especially on Linux, can lead to [catastrophic
- memory fragmentation][node-zlib-bug] and slow performance. If you intend to use
- permessage-deflate in production, it is worthwhile to set up a test
- representative of your workload and ensure Node.js/zlib will handle it with
- acceptable performance and memory usage.
-
- Tuning of permessage-deflate can be done via the options defined below. You can
- also use `zlibDeflateOptions` and `zlibInflateOptions`, which is passed directly
- into the creation of [raw deflate/inflate streams][node-zlib-deflaterawdocs].
-
- See [the docs][ws-server-options] for more options.
-
- ```js
- const WebSocket = require('ws');
-
- const wss = new WebSocket.Server({
- port: 8080,
- perMessageDeflate: {
- zlibDeflateOptions: {
- // See zlib defaults.
- chunkSize: 1024,
- memLevel: 7,
- level: 3
- },
- zlibInflateOptions: {
- chunkSize: 10 * 1024
- },
- // Other options settable:
- clientNoContextTakeover: true, // Defaults to negotiated value.
- serverNoContextTakeover: true, // Defaults to negotiated value.
- serverMaxWindowBits: 10, // Defaults to negotiated value.
- // Below options specified as default values.
- concurrencyLimit: 10, // Limits zlib concurrency for perf.
- threshold: 1024 // Size (in bytes) below which messages
- // should not be compressed.
- }
- });
- ```
-
- The client will only use the extension if it is supported and enabled on the
- server. To always disable the extension on the client set the
- `perMessageDeflate` option to `false`.
-
- ```js
- const WebSocket = require('ws');
-
- const ws = new WebSocket('ws://www.host.com/path', {
- perMessageDeflate: false
- });
- ```
-
- ## Usage examples
-
- ### Sending and receiving text data
-
- ```js
- const WebSocket = require('ws');
-
- const ws = new WebSocket('ws://www.host.com/path');
-
- ws.on('open', function open() {
- ws.send('something');
- });
-
- ws.on('message', function incoming(data) {
- console.log(data);
- });
- ```
-
- ### Sending binary data
-
- ```js
- const WebSocket = require('ws');
-
- const ws = new WebSocket('ws://www.host.com/path');
-
- ws.on('open', function open() {
- const array = new Float32Array(5);
-
- for (var i = 0; i < array.length; ++i) {
- array[i] = i / 2;
- }
-
- ws.send(array);
- });
- ```
-
- ### Simple server
-
- ```js
- const WebSocket = require('ws');
-
- const wss = new WebSocket.Server({ port: 8080 });
-
- wss.on('connection', function connection(ws) {
- ws.on('message', function incoming(message) {
- console.log('received: %s', message);
- });
-
- ws.send('something');
- });
- ```
-
- ### External HTTP/S server
-
- ```js
- const fs = require('fs');
- const https = require('https');
- const WebSocket = require('ws');
-
- const server = https.createServer({
- cert: fs.readFileSync('/path/to/cert.pem'),
- key: fs.readFileSync('/path/to/key.pem')
- });
- const wss = new WebSocket.Server({ server });
-
- wss.on('connection', function connection(ws) {
- ws.on('message', function incoming(message) {
- console.log('received: %s', message);
- });
-
- ws.send('something');
- });
-
- server.listen(8080);
- ```
-
- ### Multiple servers sharing a single HTTP/S server
-
- ```js
- const http = require('http');
- const WebSocket = require('ws');
- const url = require('url');
-
- const server = http.createServer();
- const wss1 = new WebSocket.Server({ noServer: true });
- const wss2 = new WebSocket.Server({ noServer: true });
-
- wss1.on('connection', function connection(ws) {
- // ...
- });
-
- wss2.on('connection', function connection(ws) {
- // ...
- });
-
- server.on('upgrade', function upgrade(request, socket, head) {
- const pathname = url.parse(request.url).pathname;
-
- if (pathname === '/foo') {
- wss1.handleUpgrade(request, socket, head, function done(ws) {
- wss1.emit('connection', ws, request);
- });
- } else if (pathname === '/bar') {
- wss2.handleUpgrade(request, socket, head, function done(ws) {
- wss2.emit('connection', ws, request);
- });
- } else {
- socket.destroy();
- }
- });
-
- server.listen(8080);
- ```
-
- ### Client authentication
-
- ```js
- const http = require('http');
- const WebSocket = require('ws');
-
- const server = http.createServer();
- const wss = new WebSocket.Server({ noServer: true });
-
- wss.on('connection', function connection(ws, request, client) {
- ws.on('message', function message(msg) {
- console.log(`Received message ${msg} from user ${client}`);
- });
- });
-
- server.on('upgrade', function upgrade(request, socket, head) {
- // This function is not defined on purpose. Implement it with your own logic.
- authenticate(request, (err, client) => {
- if (err || !client) {
- socket.write('HTTP/1.1 401 Unauthorized\r\n\r\n');
- socket.destroy();
- return;
- }
-
- wss.handleUpgrade(request, socket, head, function done(ws) {
- wss.emit('connection', ws, request, client);
- });
- });
- });
-
- server.listen(8080);
- ```
-
- Also see the provided [example][session-parse-example] using `express-session`.
-
- ### Server broadcast
-
- A client WebSocket broadcasting to all connected WebSocket clients, including
- itself.
-
- ```js
- const WebSocket = require('ws');
-
- const wss = new WebSocket.Server({ port: 8080 });
-
- wss.on('connection', function connection(ws) {
- ws.on('message', function incoming(data) {
- wss.clients.forEach(function each(client) {
- if (client.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) {
- client.send(data);
- }
- });
- });
- });
- ```
-
- A client WebSocket broadcasting to every other connected WebSocket clients,
- excluding itself.
-
- ```js
- const WebSocket = require('ws');
-
- const wss = new WebSocket.Server({ port: 8080 });
-
- wss.on('connection', function connection(ws) {
- ws.on('message', function incoming(data) {
- wss.clients.forEach(function each(client) {
- if (client !== ws && client.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) {
- client.send(data);
- }
- });
- });
- });
- ```
-
- ### echo.websocket.org demo
-
- ```js
- const WebSocket = require('ws');
-
- const ws = new WebSocket('wss://echo.websocket.org/', {
- origin: 'https://websocket.org'
- });
-
- ws.on('open', function open() {
- console.log('connected');
- ws.send(Date.now());
- });
-
- ws.on('close', function close() {
- console.log('disconnected');
- });
-
- ws.on('message', function incoming(data) {
- console.log(`Roundtrip time: ${Date.now() - data} ms`);
-
- setTimeout(function timeout() {
- ws.send(Date.now());
- }, 500);
- });
- ```
-
- ### Use the Node.js streams API
-
- ```js
- const WebSocket = require('ws');
-
- const ws = new WebSocket('wss://echo.websocket.org/', {
- origin: 'https://websocket.org'
- });
-
- const duplex = WebSocket.createWebSocketStream(ws, { encoding: 'utf8' });
-
- duplex.pipe(process.stdout);
- process.stdin.pipe(duplex);
- ```
-
- ### Other examples
-
- For a full example with a browser client communicating with a ws server, see the
- examples folder.
-
- Otherwise, see the test cases.
-
- ## FAQ
-
- ### How to get the IP address of the client?
-
- The remote IP address can be obtained from the raw socket.
-
- ```js
- const WebSocket = require('ws');
-
- const wss = new WebSocket.Server({ port: 8080 });
-
- wss.on('connection', function connection(ws, req) {
- const ip = req.socket.remoteAddress;
- });
- ```
-
- When the server runs behind a proxy like NGINX, the de-facto standard is to use
- the `X-Forwarded-For` header.
-
- ```js
- wss.on('connection', function connection(ws, req) {
- const ip = req.headers['x-forwarded-for'].split(/\s*,\s*/)[0];
- });
- ```
-
- ### How to detect and close broken connections?
-
- Sometimes the link between the server and the client can be interrupted in a way
- that keeps both the server and the client unaware of the broken state of the
- connection (e.g. when pulling the cord).
-
- In these cases ping messages can be used as a means to verify that the remote
- endpoint is still responsive.
-
- ```js
- const WebSocket = require('ws');
-
- function noop() {}
-
- function heartbeat() {
- this.isAlive = true;
- }
-
- const wss = new WebSocket.Server({ port: 8080 });
-
- wss.on('connection', function connection(ws) {
- ws.isAlive = true;
- ws.on('pong', heartbeat);
- });
-
- const interval = setInterval(function ping() {
- wss.clients.forEach(function each(ws) {
- if (ws.isAlive === false) return ws.terminate();
-
- ws.isAlive = false;
- ws.ping(noop);
- });
- }, 30000);
-
- wss.on('close', function close() {
- clearInterval(interval);
- });
- ```
-
- Pong messages are automatically sent in response to ping messages as required by
- the spec.
-
- Just like the server example above your clients might as well lose connection
- without knowing it. You might want to add a ping listener on your clients to
- prevent that. A simple implementation would be:
-
- ```js
- const WebSocket = require('ws');
-
- function heartbeat() {
- clearTimeout(this.pingTimeout);
-
- // Use `WebSocket#terminate()`, which immediately destroys the connection,
- // instead of `WebSocket#close()`, which waits for the close timer.
- // Delay should be equal to the interval at which your server
- // sends out pings plus a conservative assumption of the latency.
- this.pingTimeout = setTimeout(() => {
- this.terminate();
- }, 30000 + 1000);
- }
-
- const client = new WebSocket('wss://echo.websocket.org/');
-
- client.on('open', heartbeat);
- client.on('ping', heartbeat);
- client.on('close', function clear() {
- clearTimeout(this.pingTimeout);
- });
- ```
-
- ### How to connect via a proxy?
-
- Use a custom `http.Agent` implementation like [https-proxy-agent][] or
- [socks-proxy-agent][].
-
- ## Changelog
-
- We're using the GitHub [releases][changelog] for changelog entries.
-
- ## License
-
- [MIT](LICENSE)
-
- [changelog]: https://github.com/websockets/ws/releases
- [client-report]: http://websockets.github.io/ws/autobahn/clients/
- [https-proxy-agent]: https://github.com/TooTallNate/node-https-proxy-agent
- [node-zlib-bug]: https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/8871
- [node-zlib-deflaterawdocs]:
- https://nodejs.org/api/zlib.html#zlib_zlib_createdeflateraw_options
- [permessage-deflate]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7692
- [server-report]: http://websockets.github.io/ws/autobahn/servers/
- [session-parse-example]: ./examples/express-session-parse
- [socks-proxy-agent]: https://github.com/TooTallNate/node-socks-proxy-agent
- [ws-server-options]:
- https://github.com/websockets/ws/blob/master/doc/ws.md#new-websocketserveroptions-callback
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