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495 lines
14 KiB
495 lines
14 KiB
# ws: a Node.js WebSocket library |
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[![Version npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/ws.svg?logo=npm)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/ws) |
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[![CI](https://img.shields.io/github/workflow/status/websockets/ws/CI/master?label=CI&logo=github)](https://github.com/websockets/ws/actions?query=workflow%3ACI+branch%3Amaster) |
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[![Coverage Status](https://img.shields.io/coveralls/websockets/ws/master.svg?logo=coveralls)](https://coveralls.io/github/websockets/ws) |
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ws is a simple to use, blazing fast, and thoroughly tested WebSocket client and |
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server implementation. |
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Passes the quite extensive Autobahn test suite: [server][server-report], |
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[client][client-report]. |
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**Note**: This module does not work in the browser. The client in the docs is a |
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reference to a back end with the role of a client in the WebSocket |
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communication. Browser clients must use the native |
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[`WebSocket`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WebSocket) |
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object. To make the same code work seamlessly on Node.js and the browser, you |
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can use one of the many wrappers available on npm, like |
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[isomorphic-ws](https://github.com/heineiuo/isomorphic-ws). |
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## Table of Contents |
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- [Protocol support](#protocol-support) |
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- [Installing](#installing) |
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- [Opt-in for performance](#opt-in-for-performance) |
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- [API docs](#api-docs) |
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- [WebSocket compression](#websocket-compression) |
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- [Usage examples](#usage-examples) |
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- [Sending and receiving text data](#sending-and-receiving-text-data) |
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- [Sending binary data](#sending-binary-data) |
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- [Simple server](#simple-server) |
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- [External HTTP/S server](#external-https-server) |
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- [Multiple servers sharing a single HTTP/S server](#multiple-servers-sharing-a-single-https-server) |
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- [Client authentication](#client-authentication) |
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- [Server broadcast](#server-broadcast) |
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- [Round-trip time](#round-trip-time) |
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- [Use the Node.js streams API](#use-the-nodejs-streams-api) |
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- [Other examples](#other-examples) |
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- [FAQ](#faq) |
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- [How to get the IP address of the client?](#how-to-get-the-ip-address-of-the-client) |
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- [How to detect and close broken connections?](#how-to-detect-and-close-broken-connections) |
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- [How to connect via a proxy?](#how-to-connect-via-a-proxy) |
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- [Changelog](#changelog) |
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- [License](#license) |
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## Protocol support |
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- **HyBi drafts 07-12** (Use the option `protocolVersion: 8`) |
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- **HyBi drafts 13-17** (Current default, alternatively option |
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`protocolVersion: 13`) |
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## Installing |
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``` |
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npm install ws |
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``` |
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### Opt-in for performance |
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There are 2 optional modules that can be installed along side with the ws |
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module. These modules are binary addons which improve certain operations. |
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Prebuilt binaries are available for the most popular platforms so you don't |
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necessarily need to have a C++ compiler installed on your machine. |
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- `npm install --save-optional bufferutil`: Allows to efficiently perform |
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operations such as masking and unmasking the data payload of the WebSocket |
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frames. |
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- `npm install --save-optional utf-8-validate`: Allows to efficiently check if a |
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message contains valid UTF-8. |
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To not even try to require and use these modules, use the |
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[`WS_NO_BUFFER_UTIL`](./doc/ws.md#ws_no_buffer_util) and |
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[`WS_NO_UTF_8_VALIDATE`](./doc/ws.md#ws_no_utf_8_validate) environment |
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variables. These might be useful to enhance security in systems where a user can |
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put a package in the package search path of an application of another user, due |
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to how the Node.js resolver algorithm works. |
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## API docs |
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See [`/doc/ws.md`](./doc/ws.md) for Node.js-like documentation of ws classes and |
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utility functions. |
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## WebSocket compression |
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ws supports the [permessage-deflate extension][permessage-deflate] which enables |
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the client and server to negotiate a compression algorithm and its parameters, |
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and then selectively apply it to the data payloads of each WebSocket message. |
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The extension is disabled by default on the server and enabled by default on the |
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client. It adds a significant overhead in terms of performance and memory |
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consumption so we suggest to enable it only if it is really needed. |
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Note that Node.js has a variety of issues with high-performance compression, |
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where increased concurrency, especially on Linux, can lead to [catastrophic |
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memory fragmentation][node-zlib-bug] and slow performance. If you intend to use |
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permessage-deflate in production, it is worthwhile to set up a test |
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representative of your workload and ensure Node.js/zlib will handle it with |
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acceptable performance and memory usage. |
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Tuning of permessage-deflate can be done via the options defined below. You can |
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also use `zlibDeflateOptions` and `zlibInflateOptions`, which is passed directly |
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into the creation of [raw deflate/inflate streams][node-zlib-deflaterawdocs]. |
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See [the docs][ws-server-options] for more options. |
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```js |
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import WebSocket, { WebSocketServer } from 'ws'; |
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const wss = new WebSocketServer({ |
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port: 8080, |
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perMessageDeflate: { |
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zlibDeflateOptions: { |
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// See zlib defaults. |
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chunkSize: 1024, |
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memLevel: 7, |
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level: 3 |
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}, |
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zlibInflateOptions: { |
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chunkSize: 10 * 1024 |
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}, |
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// Other options settable: |
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clientNoContextTakeover: true, // Defaults to negotiated value. |
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serverNoContextTakeover: true, // Defaults to negotiated value. |
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serverMaxWindowBits: 10, // Defaults to negotiated value. |
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// Below options specified as default values. |
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concurrencyLimit: 10, // Limits zlib concurrency for perf. |
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threshold: 1024 // Size (in bytes) below which messages |
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// should not be compressed if context takeover is disabled. |
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} |
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}); |
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``` |
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The client will only use the extension if it is supported and enabled on the |
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server. To always disable the extension on the client set the |
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`perMessageDeflate` option to `false`. |
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```js |
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import WebSocket from 'ws'; |
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const ws = new WebSocket('ws://www.host.com/path', { |
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perMessageDeflate: false |
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}); |
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``` |
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## Usage examples |
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### Sending and receiving text data |
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```js |
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import WebSocket from 'ws'; |
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const ws = new WebSocket('ws://www.host.com/path'); |
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ws.on('open', function open() { |
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ws.send('something'); |
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}); |
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ws.on('message', function message(data) { |
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console.log('received: %s', data); |
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}); |
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``` |
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### Sending binary data |
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```js |
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import WebSocket from 'ws'; |
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const ws = new WebSocket('ws://www.host.com/path'); |
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ws.on('open', function open() { |
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const array = new Float32Array(5); |
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for (var i = 0; i < array.length; ++i) { |
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array[i] = i / 2; |
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} |
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ws.send(array); |
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}); |
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``` |
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### Simple server |
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```js |
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import { WebSocketServer } from 'ws'; |
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const wss = new WebSocketServer({ port: 8080 }); |
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wss.on('connection', function connection(ws) { |
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ws.on('message', function message(data) { |
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console.log('received: %s', data); |
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}); |
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ws.send('something'); |
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}); |
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``` |
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### External HTTP/S server |
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```js |
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import { createServer } from 'https'; |
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import { readFileSync } from 'fs'; |
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import { WebSocketServer } from 'ws'; |
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const server = createServer({ |
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cert: readFileSync('/path/to/cert.pem'), |
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key: readFileSync('/path/to/key.pem') |
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}); |
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const wss = new WebSocketServer({ server }); |
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wss.on('connection', function connection(ws) { |
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ws.on('message', function message(data) { |
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console.log('received: %s', data); |
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}); |
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ws.send('something'); |
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}); |
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server.listen(8080); |
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``` |
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### Multiple servers sharing a single HTTP/S server |
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```js |
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import { createServer } from 'http'; |
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import { parse } from 'url'; |
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import { WebSocketServer } from 'ws'; |
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const server = createServer(); |
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const wss1 = new WebSocketServer({ noServer: true }); |
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const wss2 = new WebSocketServer({ noServer: true }); |
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wss1.on('connection', function connection(ws) { |
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// ... |
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}); |
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wss2.on('connection', function connection(ws) { |
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// ... |
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}); |
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server.on('upgrade', function upgrade(request, socket, head) { |
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const { pathname } = parse(request.url); |
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if (pathname === '/foo') { |
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wss1.handleUpgrade(request, socket, head, function done(ws) { |
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wss1.emit('connection', ws, request); |
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}); |
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} else if (pathname === '/bar') { |
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wss2.handleUpgrade(request, socket, head, function done(ws) { |
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wss2.emit('connection', ws, request); |
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}); |
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} else { |
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socket.destroy(); |
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} |
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}); |
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server.listen(8080); |
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``` |
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### Client authentication |
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```js |
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import { createServer } from 'http'; |
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import { WebSocketServer } from 'ws'; |
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const server = createServer(); |
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const wss = new WebSocketServer({ noServer: true }); |
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wss.on('connection', function connection(ws, request, client) { |
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ws.on('message', function message(data) { |
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console.log(`Received message ${data} from user ${client}`); |
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}); |
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}); |
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server.on('upgrade', function upgrade(request, socket, head) { |
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// This function is not defined on purpose. Implement it with your own logic. |
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authenticate(request, function next(err, client) { |
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if (err || !client) { |
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socket.write('HTTP/1.1 401 Unauthorized\r\n\r\n'); |
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socket.destroy(); |
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return; |
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} |
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wss.handleUpgrade(request, socket, head, function done(ws) { |
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wss.emit('connection', ws, request, client); |
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}); |
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}); |
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}); |
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server.listen(8080); |
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``` |
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Also see the provided [example][session-parse-example] using `express-session`. |
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### Server broadcast |
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A client WebSocket broadcasting to all connected WebSocket clients, including |
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itself. |
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```js |
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import WebSocket, { WebSocketServer } from 'ws'; |
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const wss = new WebSocketServer({ port: 8080 }); |
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wss.on('connection', function connection(ws) { |
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ws.on('message', function message(data, isBinary) { |
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wss.clients.forEach(function each(client) { |
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if (client.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) { |
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client.send(data, { binary: isBinary }); |
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} |
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}); |
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}); |
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}); |
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``` |
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A client WebSocket broadcasting to every other connected WebSocket clients, |
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excluding itself. |
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```js |
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import WebSocket, { WebSocketServer } from 'ws'; |
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const wss = new WebSocketServer({ port: 8080 }); |
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wss.on('connection', function connection(ws) { |
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ws.on('message', function message(data, isBinary) { |
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wss.clients.forEach(function each(client) { |
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if (client !== ws && client.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) { |
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client.send(data, { binary: isBinary }); |
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} |
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}); |
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}); |
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}); |
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``` |
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### Round-trip time |
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```js |
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import WebSocket from 'ws'; |
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const ws = new WebSocket('wss://websocket-echo.com/'); |
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ws.on('open', function open() { |
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console.log('connected'); |
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ws.send(Date.now()); |
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}); |
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ws.on('close', function close() { |
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console.log('disconnected'); |
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}); |
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ws.on('message', function message(data) { |
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console.log(`Round-trip time: ${Date.now() - data} ms`); |
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setTimeout(function timeout() { |
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ws.send(Date.now()); |
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}, 500); |
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}); |
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``` |
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### Use the Node.js streams API |
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```js |
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import WebSocket, { createWebSocketStream } from 'ws'; |
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const ws = new WebSocket('wss://websocket-echo.com/'); |
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const duplex = createWebSocketStream(ws, { encoding: 'utf8' }); |
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duplex.pipe(process.stdout); |
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process.stdin.pipe(duplex); |
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``` |
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### Other examples |
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For a full example with a browser client communicating with a ws server, see the |
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examples folder. |
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Otherwise, see the test cases. |
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## FAQ |
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### How to get the IP address of the client? |
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The remote IP address can be obtained from the raw socket. |
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```js |
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import { WebSocketServer } from 'ws'; |
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const wss = new WebSocketServer({ port: 8080 }); |
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wss.on('connection', function connection(ws, req) { |
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const ip = req.socket.remoteAddress; |
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}); |
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``` |
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When the server runs behind a proxy like NGINX, the de-facto standard is to use |
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the `X-Forwarded-For` header. |
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```js |
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wss.on('connection', function connection(ws, req) { |
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const ip = req.headers['x-forwarded-for'].split(',')[0].trim(); |
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}); |
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``` |
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### How to detect and close broken connections? |
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Sometimes the link between the server and the client can be interrupted in a way |
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that keeps both the server and the client unaware of the broken state of the |
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connection (e.g. when pulling the cord). |
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In these cases ping messages can be used as a means to verify that the remote |
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endpoint is still responsive. |
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```js |
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import { WebSocketServer } from 'ws'; |
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function heartbeat() { |
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this.isAlive = true; |
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} |
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const wss = new WebSocketServer({ port: 8080 }); |
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wss.on('connection', function connection(ws) { |
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ws.isAlive = true; |
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ws.on('pong', heartbeat); |
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}); |
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const interval = setInterval(function ping() { |
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wss.clients.forEach(function each(ws) { |
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if (ws.isAlive === false) return ws.terminate(); |
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ws.isAlive = false; |
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ws.ping(); |
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}); |
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}, 30000); |
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wss.on('close', function close() { |
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clearInterval(interval); |
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}); |
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``` |
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Pong messages are automatically sent in response to ping messages as required by |
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the spec. |
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Just like the server example above your clients might as well lose connection |
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without knowing it. You might want to add a ping listener on your clients to |
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prevent that. A simple implementation would be: |
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```js |
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import WebSocket from 'ws'; |
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function heartbeat() { |
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clearTimeout(this.pingTimeout); |
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// Use `WebSocket#terminate()`, which immediately destroys the connection, |
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// instead of `WebSocket#close()`, which waits for the close timer. |
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// Delay should be equal to the interval at which your server |
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// sends out pings plus a conservative assumption of the latency. |
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this.pingTimeout = setTimeout(() => { |
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this.terminate(); |
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}, 30000 + 1000); |
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} |
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const client = new WebSocket('wss://websocket-echo.com/'); |
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client.on('open', heartbeat); |
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client.on('ping', heartbeat); |
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client.on('close', function clear() { |
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clearTimeout(this.pingTimeout); |
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}); |
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``` |
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### How to connect via a proxy? |
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Use a custom `http.Agent` implementation like [https-proxy-agent][] or |
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[socks-proxy-agent][]. |
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## Changelog |
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We're using the GitHub [releases][changelog] for changelog entries. |
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## License |
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[MIT](LICENSE) |
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[changelog]: https://github.com/websockets/ws/releases |
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[client-report]: http://websockets.github.io/ws/autobahn/clients/ |
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[https-proxy-agent]: https://github.com/TooTallNate/node-https-proxy-agent |
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[node-zlib-bug]: https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/8871 |
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[node-zlib-deflaterawdocs]: |
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https://nodejs.org/api/zlib.html#zlib_zlib_createdeflateraw_options |
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[permessage-deflate]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7692 |
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[server-report]: http://websockets.github.io/ws/autobahn/servers/ |
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[session-parse-example]: ./examples/express-session-parse |
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[socks-proxy-agent]: https://github.com/TooTallNate/node-socks-proxy-agent |
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[ws-server-options]: ./doc/ws.md#new-websocketserveroptions-callback
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