449 lines
13 KiB
Markdown
449 lines
13 KiB
Markdown
# ws: a Node.js WebSocket library
|
|
|
|
[![Version npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/ws.svg?logo=npm)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/ws)
|
|
[![Linux Build](https://img.shields.io/travis/websockets/ws/master.svg?logo=travis)](https://travis-ci.org/websockets/ws)
|
|
[![Windows 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)
|
|
- [Server broadcast](#server-broadcast)
|
|
- [echo.websocket.org demo](#echowebsocketorg-demo)
|
|
- [Other examples](#other-examples)
|
|
- [Error handling best practices](#error-handling-best-practices)
|
|
- [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 docs for the ws classes.
|
|
|
|
## 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 = new 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 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);
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
### Server broadcast
|
|
|
|
```js
|
|
const WebSocket = require('ws');
|
|
|
|
const wss = new WebSocket.Server({ port: 8080 });
|
|
|
|
// Broadcast to all.
|
|
wss.broadcast = function broadcast(data) {
|
|
wss.clients.forEach(function each(client) {
|
|
if (client.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) {
|
|
client.send(data);
|
|
}
|
|
});
|
|
};
|
|
|
|
wss.on('connection', function connection(ws) {
|
|
ws.on('message', function incoming(data) {
|
|
// Broadcast to everyone else.
|
|
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);
|
|
});
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
### Other examples
|
|
|
|
For a full example with a browser client communicating with a ws server, see the
|
|
examples folder.
|
|
|
|
Otherwise, see the test cases.
|
|
|
|
## Error handling best practices
|
|
|
|
```js
|
|
// If the WebSocket is closed before the following send is attempted
|
|
ws.send('something');
|
|
|
|
// Errors (both immediate and async write errors) can be detected in an optional
|
|
// callback. The callback is also the only way of being notified that data has
|
|
// actually been sent.
|
|
ws.send('something', function ack(error) {
|
|
// If error is not defined, the send has been completed, otherwise the error
|
|
// object will indicate what failed.
|
|
});
|
|
|
|
// Immediate errors can also be handled with `try...catch`, but **note** that
|
|
// since sends are inherently asynchronous, socket write failures will *not* be
|
|
// captured when this technique is used.
|
|
try {
|
|
ws.send('something');
|
|
} catch (e) {
|
|
/* handle error */
|
|
}
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
## 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.connection.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);
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
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()` and not `WebSocket#close()`. 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)
|
|
|
|
[https-proxy-agent]: https://github.com/TooTallNate/node-https-proxy-agent
|
|
[socks-proxy-agent]: https://github.com/TooTallNate/node-socks-proxy-agent
|
|
[client-report]: http://websockets.github.io/ws/autobahn/clients/
|
|
[server-report]: http://websockets.github.io/ws/autobahn/servers/
|
|
[permessage-deflate]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7692
|
|
[changelog]: https://github.com/websockets/ws/releases
|
|
[node-zlib-bug]: https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/8871
|
|
[node-zlib-deflaterawdocs]:
|
|
https://nodejs.org/api/zlib.html#zlib_zlib_createdeflateraw_options
|
|
[ws-server-options]:
|
|
https://github.com/websockets/ws/blob/master/doc/ws.md#new-websocketserveroptions-callback
|