WebSocket Communication in Node.js With Native ws Library

WebSockets enable real-time, two-way communication between clients and servers over a single TCP connection. They’re perfect for building chat apps, live notifications, collaborative tools, and more. In this guide, we’ll walk through implementing a basic WebSocket server and client using Node.js and the ws library.

Step 1: Install the ws Library

npm install ws

Step 2: Create a WebSocket Server

// server.js const WebSocket = require('ws'); const server = new WebSocket.Server({ port: 8080 }); server.on('connection', socket => { console.log('Client connected'); socket.on('message', message => { console.log(`Received: ${message}`); // Echo the message back socket.send(`Server says: ${message}`); }); socket.on('close', () => { console.log('Client disconnected'); }); }); 

This sets up a WebSocket server on port 8080. When a client connects, it can send and receive messages in real time.

Step 3: Create a WebSocket Client (Browser)

<script> const socket = new WebSocket('ws://localhost:8080'); socket.addEventListener('open', () => { console.log('Connected to WebSocket server'); socket.send('Hello from client!'); }); socket.addEventListener('message', event => { console.log('Message from server:', event.data); }); socket.addEventListener('close', () => { console.log('Connection closed'); }); </script> 

Step 4: Broadcast Messages to All Clients

server.on('connection', socket => { socket.on('message', message => { // Broadcast to all connected clients server.clients.forEach(client => { if (client !== socket && client.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) { client.send(`Broadcast: ${message}`); } }); }); }); 

Security Note

For production use, always secure your WebSocket connection using WSS (WebSocket over HTTPS), and validate or sanitize all messages to avoid injection attacks.

Conclusion

The ws library offers a powerful and minimal API for real-time communication in Node.js. It’s lightweight, fast, and production-ready for many use cases, from live dashboards to collaborative tools and gaming backends.

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