📡 WebSocket API in AWS API Gateway – Real-time Magic Explained

Namaste Developers! 🙏
Are you fed up with polling APIs every few seconds? Desire real-time updates similar to those glitzy chat programs?
WebSocket APIs in AWS API Gateway are here to save the day — desi style. 🌶️

🧠 What is a WebSocket API?

Using a WebSocket API in Amazon API Gateway is similar to communicating with your backend in both directions. In contrast to the typical request-response paradigm (such as REST), in this case *the client and server are free to communicate at any time! *

Imagine:

A friend keeps messaging you only after you poke them (REST 😅)
Another friend can ping you anytime with updates — that’s WebSocket!

🧪 Why Use WebSockets?

✅ Real-time communication
✅ No need to poll every few seconds
✅ Reduced latency
✅ Backend can push data to clients
✅ Scalable with AWS Lambda and other services

💡 Use Cases (Made in India Style 😄)

Use Case	Example
💬 Chat App	Real-time messaging like WhatsApp
📊 Financial App	Live stock price updates
🕹️ Game Server	Multiplayer games like Ludo King
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Collaboration	Real-time whiteboards or Google Docs
📡 IoT Devices	Smart home device updates

🔁 REST vs WebSocket: Table of Truth

Feature	REST API	WebSocket API
Communication	One-way (Client → Server)	Two-way (Client ⇄ Server)
Latency	Higher (polling)	Lower (push-based)
Real-time	❌	✅
Connection	New connection every time	Persistent connection
Protocol	HTTP	ws / wss

🏗️ WebSocket API Components in API Gateway

Let’s simplify the AWS docs:

Routes → Think of them as message types ($connect, $disconnect, custom ones like sendmessage)
Integrations → Backend Lambda, HTTP, or AWS service that handles route logic
Connection ID → Unique ID for each client connection, like a WhatsApp contact

🔄 WebSocket API Lifecycle

Client connects → $connect route triggers a Lambda
Client sends a message → Route like sendmessage triggers another Lambda
Backend responds → Can use callback URL to push messages back to client
Client disconnects → $disconnect route triggers clean-up Lambda

🧱 How to Create One? (Teaser)

In the next post, I will show how to create a WebSocket API using:

API Gateway
AWS Lambda
DynamoDB for chat persistence
Postman for testing
Bonus: CloudFormation version 🎯

📚 Blog Series Roadmap: Real-Time Chat App using AWS WebSocket API

Blog	Topic
✅ Part 1	Intro to WebSocket API in API Gateway (This Post)

🧩 Summary

WebSocket API in API Gateway brings real-time capabilities to your app — effortlessly. Whether you’re building the next chatting app, stock dashboard, or a Ludo room — this is the tech you need.