[6a3a178] | 1 | # ws: a Node.js WebSocket library
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| 2 |
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| 3 | [![Version npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/ws.svg?logo=npm)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/ws)
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[e29cc2e] | 4 | [![Linux Build](https://img.shields.io/travis/websockets/ws/master.svg?logo=travis)](https://travis-ci.org/websockets/ws)
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| 5 | [![Windows Build](https://img.shields.io/appveyor/ci/lpinca/ws/master.svg?logo=appveyor)](https://ci.appveyor.com/project/lpinca/ws)
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[6a3a178] | 6 | [![Coverage Status](https://img.shields.io/coveralls/websockets/ws/master.svg)](https://coveralls.io/github/websockets/ws)
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| 7 |
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| 8 | ws is a simple to use, blazing fast, and thoroughly tested WebSocket client and
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| 9 | server implementation.
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| 10 |
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| 11 | Passes the quite extensive Autobahn test suite: [server][server-report],
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| 12 | [client][client-report].
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| 13 |
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| 14 | **Note**: This module does not work in the browser. The client in the docs is a
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| 15 | reference to a back end with the role of a client in the WebSocket
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| 16 | communication. Browser clients must use the native
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| 17 | [`WebSocket`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WebSocket)
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| 18 | object. To make the same code work seamlessly on Node.js and the browser, you
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| 19 | can use one of the many wrappers available on npm, like
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| 20 | [isomorphic-ws](https://github.com/heineiuo/isomorphic-ws).
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| 21 |
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| 22 | ## Table of Contents
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| 23 |
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| 24 | - [Protocol support](#protocol-support)
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| 25 | - [Installing](#installing)
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| 26 | - [Opt-in for performance and spec compliance](#opt-in-for-performance-and-spec-compliance)
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| 27 | - [API docs](#api-docs)
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| 28 | - [WebSocket compression](#websocket-compression)
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| 29 | - [Usage examples](#usage-examples)
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| 30 | - [Sending and receiving text data](#sending-and-receiving-text-data)
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| 31 | - [Sending binary data](#sending-binary-data)
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| 32 | - [Simple server](#simple-server)
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| 33 | - [External HTTP/S server](#external-https-server)
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| 34 | - [Multiple servers sharing a single HTTP/S server](#multiple-servers-sharing-a-single-https-server)
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| 35 | - [Server broadcast](#server-broadcast)
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| 36 | - [echo.websocket.org demo](#echowebsocketorg-demo)
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| 37 | - [Other examples](#other-examples)
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[e29cc2e] | 38 | - [Error handling best practices](#error-handling-best-practices)
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[6a3a178] | 39 | - [FAQ](#faq)
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| 40 | - [How to get the IP address of the client?](#how-to-get-the-ip-address-of-the-client)
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| 41 | - [How to detect and close broken connections?](#how-to-detect-and-close-broken-connections)
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| 42 | - [How to connect via a proxy?](#how-to-connect-via-a-proxy)
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| 43 | - [Changelog](#changelog)
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| 44 | - [License](#license)
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| 45 |
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| 46 | ## Protocol support
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| 47 |
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| 48 | - **HyBi drafts 07-12** (Use the option `protocolVersion: 8`)
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| 49 | - **HyBi drafts 13-17** (Current default, alternatively option
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| 50 | `protocolVersion: 13`)
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| 51 |
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| 52 | ## Installing
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| 53 |
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| 54 | ```
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| 55 | npm install ws
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| 56 | ```
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| 57 |
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[e29cc2e] | 58 | ### Opt-in for performance and spec compliance
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[6a3a178] | 59 |
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| 60 | There are 2 optional modules that can be installed along side with the ws
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| 61 | module. These modules are binary addons which improve certain operations.
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| 62 | Prebuilt binaries are available for the most popular platforms so you don't
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| 63 | necessarily need to have a C++ compiler installed on your machine.
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| 64 |
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| 65 | - `npm install --save-optional bufferutil`: Allows to efficiently perform
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| 66 | operations such as masking and unmasking the data payload of the WebSocket
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| 67 | frames.
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| 68 | - `npm install --save-optional utf-8-validate`: Allows to efficiently check if a
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[e29cc2e] | 69 | message contains valid UTF-8 as required by the spec.
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[6a3a178] | 70 |
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| 71 | ## API docs
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| 72 |
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[e29cc2e] | 73 | See [`/doc/ws.md`](./doc/ws.md) for Node.js-like docs for the ws classes.
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[6a3a178] | 74 |
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| 75 | ## WebSocket compression
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| 76 |
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| 77 | ws supports the [permessage-deflate extension][permessage-deflate] which enables
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| 78 | the client and server to negotiate a compression algorithm and its parameters,
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| 79 | and then selectively apply it to the data payloads of each WebSocket message.
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| 80 |
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| 81 | The extension is disabled by default on the server and enabled by default on the
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| 82 | client. It adds a significant overhead in terms of performance and memory
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| 83 | consumption so we suggest to enable it only if it is really needed.
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| 84 |
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| 85 | Note that Node.js has a variety of issues with high-performance compression,
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| 86 | where increased concurrency, especially on Linux, can lead to [catastrophic
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| 87 | memory fragmentation][node-zlib-bug] and slow performance. If you intend to use
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| 88 | permessage-deflate in production, it is worthwhile to set up a test
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| 89 | representative of your workload and ensure Node.js/zlib will handle it with
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| 90 | acceptable performance and memory usage.
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| 91 |
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| 92 | Tuning of permessage-deflate can be done via the options defined below. You can
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| 93 | also use `zlibDeflateOptions` and `zlibInflateOptions`, which is passed directly
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| 94 | into the creation of [raw deflate/inflate streams][node-zlib-deflaterawdocs].
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| 95 |
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| 96 | See [the docs][ws-server-options] for more options.
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| 97 |
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| 98 | ```js
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| 99 | const WebSocket = require('ws');
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| 100 |
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| 101 | const wss = new WebSocket.Server({
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| 102 | port: 8080,
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| 103 | perMessageDeflate: {
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| 104 | zlibDeflateOptions: {
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| 105 | // See zlib defaults.
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| 106 | chunkSize: 1024,
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| 107 | memLevel: 7,
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| 108 | level: 3
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| 109 | },
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| 110 | zlibInflateOptions: {
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| 111 | chunkSize: 10 * 1024
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| 112 | },
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| 113 | // Other options settable:
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| 114 | clientNoContextTakeover: true, // Defaults to negotiated value.
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| 115 | serverNoContextTakeover: true, // Defaults to negotiated value.
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| 116 | serverMaxWindowBits: 10, // Defaults to negotiated value.
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| 117 | // Below options specified as default values.
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| 118 | concurrencyLimit: 10, // Limits zlib concurrency for perf.
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| 119 | threshold: 1024 // Size (in bytes) below which messages
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| 120 | // should not be compressed.
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| 121 | }
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| 122 | });
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| 123 | ```
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| 124 |
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| 125 | The client will only use the extension if it is supported and enabled on the
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| 126 | server. To always disable the extension on the client set the
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| 127 | `perMessageDeflate` option to `false`.
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| 128 |
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| 129 | ```js
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| 130 | const WebSocket = require('ws');
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| 131 |
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| 132 | const ws = new WebSocket('ws://www.host.com/path', {
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| 133 | perMessageDeflate: false
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| 134 | });
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| 135 | ```
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| 136 |
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| 137 | ## Usage examples
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| 138 |
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| 139 | ### Sending and receiving text data
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| 140 |
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| 141 | ```js
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| 142 | const WebSocket = require('ws');
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| 143 |
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| 144 | const ws = new WebSocket('ws://www.host.com/path');
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| 145 |
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| 146 | ws.on('open', function open() {
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| 147 | ws.send('something');
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| 148 | });
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| 149 |
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| 150 | ws.on('message', function incoming(data) {
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| 151 | console.log(data);
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| 152 | });
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| 153 | ```
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| 154 |
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| 155 | ### Sending binary data
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| 156 |
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| 157 | ```js
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| 158 | const WebSocket = require('ws');
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| 159 |
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| 160 | const ws = new WebSocket('ws://www.host.com/path');
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| 161 |
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| 162 | ws.on('open', function open() {
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| 163 | const array = new Float32Array(5);
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| 164 |
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| 165 | for (var i = 0; i < array.length; ++i) {
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| 166 | array[i] = i / 2;
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| 167 | }
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| 168 |
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| 169 | ws.send(array);
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| 170 | });
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| 171 | ```
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| 172 |
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| 173 | ### Simple server
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| 174 |
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| 175 | ```js
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| 176 | const WebSocket = require('ws');
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| 177 |
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| 178 | const wss = new WebSocket.Server({ port: 8080 });
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| 179 |
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| 180 | wss.on('connection', function connection(ws) {
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| 181 | ws.on('message', function incoming(message) {
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| 182 | console.log('received: %s', message);
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| 183 | });
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| 184 |
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| 185 | ws.send('something');
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| 186 | });
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| 187 | ```
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| 188 |
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| 189 | ### External HTTP/S server
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| 190 |
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| 191 | ```js
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| 192 | const fs = require('fs');
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| 193 | const https = require('https');
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| 194 | const WebSocket = require('ws');
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| 195 |
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[e29cc2e] | 196 | const server = new https.createServer({
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[6a3a178] | 197 | cert: fs.readFileSync('/path/to/cert.pem'),
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| 198 | key: fs.readFileSync('/path/to/key.pem')
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| 199 | });
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| 200 | const wss = new WebSocket.Server({ server });
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| 201 |
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| 202 | wss.on('connection', function connection(ws) {
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| 203 | ws.on('message', function incoming(message) {
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| 204 | console.log('received: %s', message);
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| 205 | });
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| 206 |
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| 207 | ws.send('something');
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| 208 | });
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| 209 |
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| 210 | server.listen(8080);
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| 211 | ```
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| 212 |
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| 213 | ### Multiple servers sharing a single HTTP/S server
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| 214 |
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| 215 | ```js
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| 216 | const http = require('http');
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| 217 | const WebSocket = require('ws');
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| 218 |
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| 219 | const server = http.createServer();
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| 220 | const wss1 = new WebSocket.Server({ noServer: true });
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| 221 | const wss2 = new WebSocket.Server({ noServer: true });
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| 222 |
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| 223 | wss1.on('connection', function connection(ws) {
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| 224 | // ...
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| 225 | });
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| 226 |
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| 227 | wss2.on('connection', function connection(ws) {
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| 228 | // ...
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| 229 | });
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| 230 |
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| 231 | server.on('upgrade', function upgrade(request, socket, head) {
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| 232 | const pathname = url.parse(request.url).pathname;
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| 233 |
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| 234 | if (pathname === '/foo') {
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| 235 | wss1.handleUpgrade(request, socket, head, function done(ws) {
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| 236 | wss1.emit('connection', ws, request);
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| 237 | });
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| 238 | } else if (pathname === '/bar') {
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| 239 | wss2.handleUpgrade(request, socket, head, function done(ws) {
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| 240 | wss2.emit('connection', ws, request);
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| 241 | });
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| 242 | } else {
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| 243 | socket.destroy();
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| 244 | }
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| 245 | });
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| 246 |
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| 247 | server.listen(8080);
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| 248 | ```
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| 249 |
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| 250 | ### Server broadcast
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| 251 |
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| 252 | ```js
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| 253 | const WebSocket = require('ws');
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| 254 |
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| 255 | const wss = new WebSocket.Server({ port: 8080 });
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| 256 |
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[e29cc2e] | 257 | // Broadcast to all.
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| 258 | wss.broadcast = function broadcast(data) {
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| 259 | wss.clients.forEach(function each(client) {
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| 260 | if (client.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) {
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| 261 | client.send(data);
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| 262 | }
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[6a3a178] | 263 | });
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[e29cc2e] | 264 | };
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[6a3a178] | 265 |
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| 266 | wss.on('connection', function connection(ws) {
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| 267 | ws.on('message', function incoming(data) {
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[e29cc2e] | 268 | // Broadcast to everyone else.
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[6a3a178] | 269 | wss.clients.forEach(function each(client) {
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| 270 | if (client !== ws && client.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) {
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| 271 | client.send(data);
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| 272 | }
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| 273 | });
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| 274 | });
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| 275 | });
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| 276 | ```
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| 277 |
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| 278 | ### echo.websocket.org demo
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| 279 |
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| 280 | ```js
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| 281 | const WebSocket = require('ws');
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| 282 |
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| 283 | const ws = new WebSocket('wss://echo.websocket.org/', {
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| 284 | origin: 'https://websocket.org'
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| 285 | });
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| 286 |
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| 287 | ws.on('open', function open() {
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| 288 | console.log('connected');
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| 289 | ws.send(Date.now());
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| 290 | });
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| 291 |
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| 292 | ws.on('close', function close() {
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| 293 | console.log('disconnected');
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| 294 | });
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| 295 |
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| 296 | ws.on('message', function incoming(data) {
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| 297 | console.log(`Roundtrip time: ${Date.now() - data} ms`);
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| 298 |
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| 299 | setTimeout(function timeout() {
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| 300 | ws.send(Date.now());
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| 301 | }, 500);
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| 302 | });
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| 303 | ```
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| 304 |
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| 305 | ### Other examples
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| 306 |
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| 307 | For a full example with a browser client communicating with a ws server, see the
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| 308 | examples folder.
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| 309 |
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| 310 | Otherwise, see the test cases.
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| 311 |
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[e29cc2e] | 312 | ## Error handling best practices
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| 313 |
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| 314 | ```js
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| 315 | // If the WebSocket is closed before the following send is attempted
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| 316 | ws.send('something');
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| 317 |
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| 318 | // Errors (both immediate and async write errors) can be detected in an optional
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| 319 | // callback. The callback is also the only way of being notified that data has
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| 320 | // actually been sent.
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| 321 | ws.send('something', function ack(error) {
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| 322 | // If error is not defined, the send has been completed, otherwise the error
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| 323 | // object will indicate what failed.
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| 324 | });
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| 325 |
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| 326 | // Immediate errors can also be handled with `try...catch`, but **note** that
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| 327 | // since sends are inherently asynchronous, socket write failures will *not* be
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| 328 | // captured when this technique is used.
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| 329 | try {
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| 330 | ws.send('something');
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| 331 | } catch (e) {
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| 332 | /* handle error */
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| 333 | }
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| 334 | ```
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| 335 |
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[6a3a178] | 336 | ## FAQ
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| 337 |
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| 338 | ### How to get the IP address of the client?
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| 339 |
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| 340 | The remote IP address can be obtained from the raw socket.
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| 341 |
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| 342 | ```js
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| 343 | const WebSocket = require('ws');
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| 344 |
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| 345 | const wss = new WebSocket.Server({ port: 8080 });
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| 346 |
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| 347 | wss.on('connection', function connection(ws, req) {
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[e29cc2e] | 348 | const ip = req.connection.remoteAddress;
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[6a3a178] | 349 | });
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| 350 | ```
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| 351 |
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| 352 | When the server runs behind a proxy like NGINX, the de-facto standard is to use
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| 353 | the `X-Forwarded-For` header.
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| 354 |
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| 355 | ```js
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| 356 | wss.on('connection', function connection(ws, req) {
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| 357 | const ip = req.headers['x-forwarded-for'].split(/\s*,\s*/)[0];
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| 358 | });
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| 359 | ```
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| 360 |
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| 361 | ### How to detect and close broken connections?
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| 362 |
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| 363 | Sometimes the link between the server and the client can be interrupted in a way
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| 364 | that keeps both the server and the client unaware of the broken state of the
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| 365 | connection (e.g. when pulling the cord).
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| 366 |
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| 367 | In these cases ping messages can be used as a means to verify that the remote
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| 368 | endpoint is still responsive.
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| 369 |
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| 370 | ```js
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| 371 | const WebSocket = require('ws');
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| 372 |
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| 373 | function noop() {}
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| 374 |
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| 375 | function heartbeat() {
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| 376 | this.isAlive = true;
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| 377 | }
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| 378 |
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| 379 | const wss = new WebSocket.Server({ port: 8080 });
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| 380 |
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| 381 | wss.on('connection', function connection(ws) {
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| 382 | ws.isAlive = true;
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| 383 | ws.on('pong', heartbeat);
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| 384 | });
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| 385 |
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| 386 | const interval = setInterval(function ping() {
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| 387 | wss.clients.forEach(function each(ws) {
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| 388 | if (ws.isAlive === false) return ws.terminate();
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| 389 |
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| 390 | ws.isAlive = false;
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| 391 | ws.ping(noop);
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| 392 | });
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| 393 | }, 30000);
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| 394 | ```
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| 395 |
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| 396 | Pong messages are automatically sent in response to ping messages as required by
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| 397 | the spec.
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| 398 |
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| 399 | Just like the server example above your clients might as well lose connection
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| 400 | without knowing it. You might want to add a ping listener on your clients to
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| 401 | prevent that. A simple implementation would be:
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| 402 |
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| 403 | ```js
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| 404 | const WebSocket = require('ws');
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| 405 |
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| 406 | function heartbeat() {
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| 407 | clearTimeout(this.pingTimeout);
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| 408 |
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[e29cc2e] | 409 | // Use `WebSocket#terminate()` and not `WebSocket#close()`. Delay should be
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| 410 | // equal to the interval at which your server sends out pings plus a
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| 411 | // conservative assumption of the latency.
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[6a3a178] | 412 | this.pingTimeout = setTimeout(() => {
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| 413 | this.terminate();
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| 414 | }, 30000 + 1000);
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| 415 | }
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| 416 |
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| 417 | const client = new WebSocket('wss://echo.websocket.org/');
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| 418 |
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| 419 | client.on('open', heartbeat);
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| 420 | client.on('ping', heartbeat);
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| 421 | client.on('close', function clear() {
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| 422 | clearTimeout(this.pingTimeout);
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| 423 | });
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| 424 | ```
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| 425 |
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| 426 | ### How to connect via a proxy?
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| 427 |
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| 428 | Use a custom `http.Agent` implementation like [https-proxy-agent][] or
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| 429 | [socks-proxy-agent][].
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| 430 |
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| 431 | ## Changelog
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| 432 |
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| 433 | We're using the GitHub [releases][changelog] for changelog entries.
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| 434 |
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| 435 | ## License
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| 436 |
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| 437 | [MIT](LICENSE)
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| 438 |
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| 439 | [https-proxy-agent]: https://github.com/TooTallNate/node-https-proxy-agent
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[e29cc2e] | 440 | [socks-proxy-agent]: https://github.com/TooTallNate/node-socks-proxy-agent
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| 441 | [client-report]: http://websockets.github.io/ws/autobahn/clients/
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| 442 | [server-report]: http://websockets.github.io/ws/autobahn/servers/
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| 443 | [permessage-deflate]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7692
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| 444 | [changelog]: https://github.com/websockets/ws/releases
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[6a3a178] | 445 | [node-zlib-bug]: https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/8871
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| 446 | [node-zlib-deflaterawdocs]:
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| 447 | https://nodejs.org/api/zlib.html#zlib_zlib_createdeflateraw_options
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| 448 | [ws-server-options]:
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| 449 | https://github.com/websockets/ws/blob/master/doc/ws.md#new-websocketserveroptions-callback
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