Heldinhow/websocket-real-time

WebSocket Real-Time Communication

Overview

WebSockets provide persistent bidirectional communication between clients and servers. This skill should be invoked when building real-time applications like chat, live dashboards, or collaborative tools.

Core Principles

• Persistent Connection: Single connection for bidirectional communication
• Message Protocol: Define message format for your application
• Connection Lifecycle: Handle connect, disconnect, error events
• Reconnection: Implement automatic reconnection

Preparation Checklist

• [ ] Choose WebSocket library (ws, Socket.io)
• [ ] Design message protocol
• [ ] Plan connection handling
• [ ] Design for scaling

Step-by-Step Process

1. Server: Set up WebSocket server
2. Upgrade: Handle HTTP to WebSocket upgrade
3. Message: Implement send/receive logic
4. Lifecycle: Handle connect/disconnect
5. Reconnect: Add reconnection logic
6. Scale: Plan for horizontal scaling

Do's and Don'ts

• ✅ Do use secure WebSocket (wss://)
• ✅ Do implement heartbeat/ping-pong
• ✅ Do handle reconnection
• ❌ Don't send sensitive data unencrypted
• ❌ Don't skip error handling
• ❌ Don't ignore scaling challenges

Anti-Patterns

• No Heartbeat: Not detecting dead connections
• No Reconnection: Not handling dropped connections
• Large Messages: Sending too much data
• No Error Handling: Ignoring errors