websocket-stream


Use HTML5 websockets using the Node Streams API.

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This module works in Node or in Browsers that support WebSockets. You can use browserify to package this module for browser use.

``javascript
var websocket = require('websocket-stream')
var ws = websocket('ws://echo.websocket.org')
process.stdin.pipe(ws)
ws.pipe(process.stdout)
`

In the example above ws is a duplex stream. That means you can pipe output to anything that accepts streams. You can also pipe data into streams (such as a webcam feed or audio data).

The underlying WebSocket instance is available as ws.socket.

#### Options

The available options differs depending on if you use this module in the browser or with node.js. Options can be passed in as the third or second argument - WebSocket(address, [protocols], [options]).

##### options.browserBufferSize

How much to allow the socket.bufferedAmount to grow before starting to throttle writes. This option has no effect in node.js.

Default: 1024 * 512 (512KiB)

##### options.browserBufferTimeout

How long to wait before checking if the socket buffer has drained sufficently for another write. This option has no effect in node.js.

Default: 1000 (1 second)

##### options.objectMode

Send each chunk on its own, and do not try to pack them in a single
websocket frame.

Default: false

##### options.binary

Always convert to Buffer in Node.js before sending.
Forces options.objectMode to false.

Default: true

##### options.perMessageDeflate

We recommend disabling the per message deflate
extension to achieve the best
throughput.

Default: true on the client, false on the server.

Example:

`js
var websocket = require('websocket-stream')
var ws = websocket('ws://realtimecats.com', {
perMessageDeflate: false
})
`

Beware that this option is ignored by browser clients. To make sure that permessage-deflate is never used, disable it on the server.

##### Other options

When used in node.js see the ws.WebSocket documentation

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Using the ws module you can make a websocket server and use this module to get websocket streams on the server:

`javascript
var websocket = require('websocket-stream')
var wss = websocket.createServer({server: someHTTPServer}, handle)

function handle(stream, request) {
// request is the upgrade request sent by the client.
fs.createReadStream('bigdata.json').pipe(stream)
}
`

We recommend disabling the per message deflate
extension to achieve the best
throughput:

`javascript
var websocket = require('websocket-stream')
var wss = websocket.createServer({
perMessageDeflate: false,
server: someHTTPServer
}, handle)

function handle(stream) {
fs.createReadStream('bigdata.json').pipe(stream)
}
`

You can even use it on express.js with the express-ws library:

`js
const express = require('express');
const expressWebSocket = require('express-ws');
const websocketStream = require('websocket-stream/stream');
const app = express();

// extend express app with app.ws()
expressWebSocket(app, null, {
// ws options here
perMessageDeflate: false,
});

app.ws('/bigdata.json', function(ws, req) {
// convert ws instance to stream
const stream = websocketStream(ws, {
// websocket-stream options here
binary: true,
});

fs.createReadStream('bigdata.json').pipe(stream);
});

app.listen(3000);
`

Run the tests

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`
npm test
`

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First start the echo server by running node test-server.js

Then run npm start and open localhost:9966` in your browser and open the Dev Tools console to see test output.

license

BSD LICENSE