The following example attaches socket.io to a plain Node.JS
HTTP server listening on port 3000
.
var server = require('http').createServer();
var io = require('socket.io')(server);
io.on('connection', function(client){
client.on('event', function(data){});
client.on('disconnect', function(){});
});
server.listen(3000);
var io = require('socket.io')();
io.on('connection', function(client){});
io.listen(3000);
Starting with 3.0, express applications have become request handler
functions that you pass to http
or http
Server
instances. You need
to pass the Server
to socket.io
, and not the express application
function.
var app = require('express')();
var server = require('http').createServer(app);
var io = require('socket.io')(server);
io.on('connection', function(){ /* … */ });
server.listen(3000);
Like Express.JS, Koa works by exposing an application as a request
handler function, but only by calling the callback
method.
var app = require('koa')();
var server = require('http').createServer(app.callback());
var io = require('socket.io')(server);
io.on('connection', function(){ /* … */ });
server.listen(3000);
Exposed by require('socket.io')
.
Creates a new Server
. Works with and without new
:
var io = require('socket.io')();
// or
var Server = require('socket.io');
var io = new Server();
Optionally, the first or second argument (see below) of the Server
constructor can be an options object.
The following options are supported:
serveClient
sets the value for Server#serveClient()path
sets the value for Server#path()
The same options passed to socket.io are always passed to
the engine.io
Server
that gets created. See engine.io
options
as reference.
Creates a new Server
and attaches it to the given srv
. Optionally
opts
can be passed.
Binds socket.io to a new http.Server
that listens on port
.
If v
is true
the attached server (see Server#attach
) will serve
the client files. Defaults to true
.
This method has no effect after attach
is called.
// pass a server and the `serveClient` option
var io = require('socket.io')(http, { serveClient: false });
// or pass no server and then you can call the method
var io = require('socket.io')();
io.serveClient(false);
io.attach(http);
If no arguments are supplied this method returns the current value.
Sets the path v
under which engine.io
and the static files will be
served. Defaults to /socket.io
.
If no arguments are supplied this method returns the current value.
Sets the adapter v
. Defaults to an instance of the Adapter
that
ships with socket.io which is memory based. See
socket.io-adapter.
If no arguments are supplied this method returns the current value.
Sets the allowed origins v
. Defaults to any origins being allowed.
If no arguments are supplied this method returns the current value.
Sets the allowed origins as dynamic function. Function takes two arguments origin:String
and callback(error, success)
, where success
is a boolean value indicating whether origin is allowed or not.
Potential drawbacks:
origin
it may have value of *
socket.io
is used together with Express
, the CORS headers will be affected only for socket.io
requests. For Express can use corsThe default (/
) namespace.
Attaches the Server
to an engine.io instance on srv
with the
supplied opts
(optionally).
Attaches the Server
to an engine.io instance that is bound to port
with the given opts
(optionally).
Synonym of Server#attach
.
Advanced use only. Binds the server to a specific engine.io Server
(or compatible API) instance.
Advanced use only. Creates a new socket.io
client from the incoming
engine.io (or compatible API) socket
.
Initializes and retrieves the given Namespace
by its pathname
identifier nsp
.
If the namespace was already initialized it returns it right away.
Emits an event to all connected clients. The following two are equivalent:
var io = require('socket.io')();
io.sockets.emit('an event sent to all connected clients');
io.emit('an event sent to all connected clients');
For other available methods, see Namespace
below.
Closes socket.io server.
The optional fn
is passed to the server.close([callback])
method of the
core net
module and is called on error or when all connections are closed.
The callback is expected to implement the common single argument err
signature (if any).
var Server = require('socket.io');
var PORT = 3030;
var server = require('http').Server();
var io = Server(PORT);
io.close(); // Close current server
server.listen(PORT); // PORT is free to use
io = Server(server);
See Namespace#use
below.
Represents a pool of sockets connected under a given scope identified
by a pathname (eg: /chat
).
By default the client always connects to /
.
connection
/ connect
. Fired upon a connection.
Parameters:
Socket
the incoming socket.The namespace identifier property.
Hash of Socket
objects that are connected to this namespace indexed
by id
.
Gets a list of client IDs connected to this namespace (across all nodes if applicable).
An example to get all clients in a namespace:
var io = require('socket.io')();
io.of('/chat').clients(function(error, clients){
if (error) throw error;
console.log(clients); // => [PZDoMHjiu8PYfRiKAAAF, Anw2LatarvGVVXEIAAAD]
});
An example to get all clients in namespace's room:
var io = require('socket.io')();
io.of('/chat').in('general').clients(function(error, clients){
if (error) throw error;
console.log(clients); // => [Anw2LatarvGVVXEIAAAD]
});
As with broadcasting, the default is all clients from the default namespace ('/'):
var io = require('socket.io')();
io.clients(function(error, clients){
if (error) throw error;
console.log(clients); // => [6em3d4TJP8Et9EMNAAAA, G5p55dHhGgUnLUctAAAB]
});
Registers a middleware, which is a function that gets executed for
every incoming Socket
and receives as parameter the socket and a
function to optionally defer execution to the next registered
middleware.
var io = require('socket.io')();
io.use(function(socket, next){
if (socket.request.headers.cookie) return next();
next(new Error('Authentication error'));
});
Errors passed to middleware callbacks are sent as special error
packets to clients.
A Socket
is the fundamental class for interacting with browser
clients. A Socket
belongs to a certain Namespace
(by default /
)
and uses an underlying Client
to communicate.
It should be noted the Socket
doesn't relate directly to the actual
underlying TCP/IP socket
and it is only the name of the class.
Registers a middleware, which is a function that gets executed for
every incoming Packet
and receives as parameter the packet and a
function to optionally defer execution to the next registered
middleware.
var io = require('socket.io')();
io.on('connection', function(socket){
socket.use(function(packet, next){
if (packet.doge === true) return next();
next(new Error('Not a doge error'));
});
Errors passed to middleware callbacks are sent as special error
packets to clients.
A hash of strings identifying the rooms this client is in, indexed by room name.
A reference to the underlying Client
object.
A reference to the underlying Client
transport connection (engine.io
Socket
object). This allows access to the IO transport layer, which
still (mostly) abstracts the actual TCP/IP socket.
A getter proxy that returns the reference to the request
that
originated the underlying engine.io Client
. Useful for accessing
request headers such as Cookie
or User-Agent
.
A unique identifier for the session, that comes from the
underlying Client
.
Emits an event identified by the string name
to the client.
Any other parameters can be included.
All datastructures are supported, including Buffer
. JavaScript
functions can't be serialized/deserialized.
var io = require('socket.io')();
io.on('connection', function(client){
client.emit('an event', { some: 'data' });
});
Adds the client to the room
, and fires optionally a callback fn
with err
signature (if any).
The client is automatically a member of a room identified with its
session id (see Socket#id
).
The mechanics of joining rooms are handled by the Adapter
that has been configured (see Server#adapter
above), defaulting to
socket.io-adapter.
Removes the client from room
, and fires optionally a callback fn
with err
signature (if any).
Rooms are left automatically upon disconnection.
The mechanics of leaving rooms are handled by the Adapter
that has been configured (see Server#adapter
above), defaulting to
socket.io-adapter.
Sets a modifier for a subsequent event emission that the event will
only be broadcasted to clients that have joined the given room
.
To emit to multiple rooms, you can call to
several times.
var io = require('socket.io')();
io.on('connection', function(client){
client.to('others').emit('an event', { some: 'data' });
});
Same as Socket#to
Sets a modifier for a subsequent event emission that the event data will
only be compressed if the value is true
. Defaults to true
when you don't call the method.
var io = require('socket.io')();
io.on('connection', function(client){
client.compress(false).emit('an event', { some: 'data' });
});
Disconnects this client. If value of close is true
, closes the underlying connection.
Otherwise, it just disconnects the namespace.
disconnect
String
: the reason of the disconnection (either client or server-side)error
Object
: error datadisconnecting
rooms
yet).String
: the reason of the disconnection (either client or server-side)These are reserved events (along with connect
, newListener
and removeListener
) which cannot be used as event names.
The Client
class represents an incoming transport (engine.io)
connection. A Client
can be associated with many multiplexed Socket
that belong to different Namespace
s.
A reference to the underlying engine.io
Socket
connection.
A getter proxy that returns the reference to the request
that
originated the engine.io connection. Useful for accessing
request headers such as Cookie
or User-Agent
.
Socket.IO is powered by debug.
In order to see all the debug output, run your app with the environment variable
DEBUG
including the desired scope.
To see the output from all of Socket.IO's debugging scopes you can use:
DEBUG=socket.io* node myapp
npm test
This runs the gulp
task test
. By default the test will be run with the source code in lib
directory.
Set the environmental variable TEST_VERSION
to compat
to test the transpiled es5-compat version of the code.
The gulp
task test
will always transpile the source code into es5 and export to dist
first before running the test.
# socket.io [![Build Status](https://secure.travis-ci.org/socketio/socket.io.svg?branch=master)](https://travis-ci.org/socketio/socket.io) [![Dependency Status](https://david-dm.org/socketio/socket.io.svg)](https://david-dm.org/socketio/socket.io) [![devDependency Status](https://david-dm.org/socketio/socket.io/dev-status.svg)](https://david-dm.org/socketio/socket.io#info=devDependencies) [![NPM version](https://badge.fury.io/js/socket.io.svg)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/socket.io) ![Downloads](https://img.shields.io/npm/dm/socket.io.svg?style=flat) [![](http://slack.socket.io/badge.svg?)](http://slack.socket.io) ## How to use The following example attaches socket.io to a plain Node.JS HTTP server listening on port `3000`. ```js var server = require('http').createServer(); var io = require('socket.io')(server); io.on('connection', function(client){ client.on('event', function(data){}); client.on('disconnect', function(){}); }); server.listen(3000); ``` ### Standalone ```js var io = require('socket.io')(); io.on('connection', function(client){}); io.listen(3000); ``` ### In conjunction with Express Starting with **3.0**, express applications have become request handler functions that you pass to `http` or `http` `Server` instances. You need to pass the `Server` to `socket.io`, and not the express application function. ```js var app = require('express')(); var server = require('http').createServer(app); var io = require('socket.io')(server); io.on('connection', function(){ /* … */ }); server.listen(3000); ``` ### In conjunction with Koa Like Express.JS, Koa works by exposing an application as a request handler function, but only by calling the `callback` method. ```js var app = require('koa')(); var server = require('http').createServer(app.callback()); var io = require('socket.io')(server); io.on('connection', function(){ /* … */ }); server.listen(3000); ``` ## API ### Server Exposed by `require('socket.io')`. ### Server() Creates a new `Server`. Works with and without `new`: ```js var io = require('socket.io')(); // or var Server = require('socket.io'); var io = new Server(); ``` ### Server(opts:Object) Optionally, the first or second argument (see below) of the `Server` constructor can be an options object. The following options are supported: - `serveClient` sets the value for Server#serveClient() - `path` sets the value for Server#path() The same options passed to socket.io are always passed to the `engine.io` `Server` that gets created. See engine.io [options](https://github.com/socketio/engine.io#methods-1) as reference. ### Server(srv:http#Server, opts:Object) Creates a new `Server` and attaches it to the given `srv`. Optionally `opts` can be passed. ### Server(port:Number, opts:Object) Binds socket.io to a new `http.Server` that listens on `port`. ### Server#serveClient(v:Boolean):Server If `v` is `true` the attached server (see `Server#attach`) will serve the client files. Defaults to `true`. This method has no effect after `attach` is called. ```js // pass a server and the `serveClient` option var io = require('socket.io')(http, { serveClient: false }); // or pass no server and then you can call the method var io = require('socket.io')(); io.serveClient(false); io.attach(http); ``` If no arguments are supplied this method returns the current value. ### Server#path(v:String):Server Sets the path `v` under which `engine.io` and the static files will be served. Defaults to `/socket.io`. If no arguments are supplied this method returns the current value. ### Server#adapter(v:Adapter):Server Sets the adapter `v`. Defaults to an instance of the `Adapter` that ships with socket.io which is memory based. See [socket.io-adapter](https://github.com/socketio/socket.io-adapter). If no arguments are supplied this method returns the current value. ### Server#origins(v:String):Server Sets the allowed origins `v`. Defaults to any origins being allowed. If no arguments are supplied this method returns the current value. ### Server#origins(v:Function):Server Sets the allowed origins as dynamic function. Function takes two arguments `origin:String` and `callback(error, success)`, where `success` is a boolean value indicating whether origin is allowed or not. __Potential drawbacks__: * in some situations, when it is not possible to determine `origin` it may have value of `*` * As this function will be executed for every request, it is advised to make this function work as fast as possible * If `socket.io` is used together with `Express`, the CORS headers will be affected only for `socket.io` requests. For Express can use [cors](https://github.com/expressjs/cors) ### Server#sockets:Namespace The default (`/`) namespace. ### Server#attach(srv:http#Server, opts:Object):Server Attaches the `Server` to an engine.io instance on `srv` with the supplied `opts` (optionally). ### Server#attach(port:Number, opts:Object):Server Attaches the `Server` to an engine.io instance that is bound to `port` with the given `opts` (optionally). ### Server#listen Synonym of `Server#attach`. ### Server#bind(srv:engine#Server):Server Advanced use only. Binds the server to a specific engine.io `Server` (or compatible API) instance. ### Server#onconnection(socket:engine#Socket):Server Advanced use only. Creates a new `socket.io` client from the incoming engine.io (or compatible API) `socket`. ### Server#of(nsp:String):Namespace Initializes and retrieves the given `Namespace` by its pathname identifier `nsp`. If the namespace was already initialized it returns it right away. ### Server#emit Emits an event to all connected clients. The following two are equivalent: ```js var io = require('socket.io')(); io.sockets.emit('an event sent to all connected clients'); io.emit('an event sent to all connected clients'); ``` For other available methods, see `Namespace` below. ### Server#close([fn:Function]) Closes socket.io server. The optional `fn` is passed to the `server.close([callback])` method of the core `net` module and is called on error or when all connections are closed. The callback is expected to implement the common single argument `err` signature (if any). ```js var Server = require('socket.io'); var PORT = 3030; var server = require('http').Server(); var io = Server(PORT); io.close(); // Close current server server.listen(PORT); // PORT is free to use io = Server(server); ``` ### Server#use See `Namespace#use` below. ### Namespace Represents a pool of sockets connected under a given scope identified by a pathname (eg: `/chat`). By default the client always connects to `/`. #### Events - `connection` / `connect`. Fired upon a connection. Parameters: - `Socket` the incoming socket. ### Namespace#name:String The namespace identifier property. ### Namespace#connected:Object<Socket> Hash of `Socket` objects that are connected to this namespace indexed by `id`. ### Namespace#clients(fn:Function) Gets a list of client IDs connected to this namespace (across all nodes if applicable). An example to get all clients in a namespace: ```js var io = require('socket.io')(); io.of('/chat').clients(function(error, clients){ if (error) throw error; console.log(clients); // => [PZDoMHjiu8PYfRiKAAAF, Anw2LatarvGVVXEIAAAD] }); ``` An example to get all clients in namespace's room: ```js var io = require('socket.io')(); io.of('/chat').in('general').clients(function(error, clients){ if (error) throw error; console.log(clients); // => [Anw2LatarvGVVXEIAAAD] }); ``` As with broadcasting, the default is all clients from the default namespace ('/'): ```js var io = require('socket.io')(); io.clients(function(error, clients){ if (error) throw error; console.log(clients); // => [6em3d4TJP8Et9EMNAAAA, G5p55dHhGgUnLUctAAAB] }); ``` ### Namespace#use(fn:Function):Namespace Registers a middleware, which is a function that gets executed for every incoming `Socket` and receives as parameter the socket and a function to optionally defer execution to the next registered middleware. ```js var io = require('socket.io')(); io.use(function(socket, next){ if (socket.request.headers.cookie) return next(); next(new Error('Authentication error')); }); ``` Errors passed to middleware callbacks are sent as special `error` packets to clients. ### Socket A `Socket` is the fundamental class for interacting with browser clients. A `Socket` belongs to a certain `Namespace` (by default `/`) and uses an underlying `Client` to communicate. It should be noted the `Socket` doesn't relate directly to the actual underlying TCP/IP `socket` and it is only the name of the class. ### Socket#use(fn:Function):Socket Registers a middleware, which is a function that gets executed for every incoming `Packet` and receives as parameter the packet and a function to optionally defer execution to the next registered middleware. ```js var io = require('socket.io')(); io.on('connection', function(socket){ socket.use(function(packet, next){ if (packet.doge === true) return next(); next(new Error('Not a doge error')); }); ``` Errors passed to middleware callbacks are sent as special `error` packets to clients. ### Socket#rooms:Object A hash of strings identifying the rooms this client is in, indexed by room name. ### Socket#client:Client A reference to the underlying `Client` object. ### Socket#conn:Socket A reference to the underlying `Client` transport connection (engine.io `Socket` object). This allows access to the IO transport layer, which still (mostly) abstracts the actual TCP/IP socket. ### Socket#request:Request A getter proxy that returns the reference to the `request` that originated the underlying engine.io `Client`. Useful for accessing request headers such as `Cookie` or `User-Agent`. ### Socket#id:String A unique identifier for the session, that comes from the underlying `Client`. ### Socket#emit(name:String[, …]):Socket Emits an event identified by the string `name` to the client. Any other parameters can be included. All datastructures are supported, including `Buffer`. JavaScript functions can't be serialized/deserialized. ```js var io = require('socket.io')(); io.on('connection', function(client){ client.emit('an event', { some: 'data' }); }); ``` ### Socket#join(name:String[, fn:Function]):Socket Adds the client to the `room`, and fires optionally a callback `fn` with `err` signature (if any). The client is automatically a member of a room identified with its session id (see `Socket#id`). The mechanics of joining rooms are handled by the `Adapter` that has been configured (see `Server#adapter` above), defaulting to [socket.io-adapter](https://github.com/socketio/socket.io-adapter). ### Socket#leave(name:String[, fn:Function]):Socket Removes the client from `room`, and fires optionally a callback `fn` with `err` signature (if any). **Rooms are left automatically upon disconnection**. The mechanics of leaving rooms are handled by the `Adapter` that has been configured (see `Server#adapter` above), defaulting to [socket.io-adapter](https://github.com/socketio/socket.io-adapter). ### Socket#to(room:String):Socket Sets a modifier for a subsequent event emission that the event will only be _broadcasted_ to clients that have joined the given `room`. To emit to multiple rooms, you can call `to` several times. ```js var io = require('socket.io')(); io.on('connection', function(client){ client.to('others').emit('an event', { some: 'data' }); }); ``` ### Socket#in(room:String):Socket Same as `Socket#to` ### Socket#compress(v:Boolean):Socket Sets a modifier for a subsequent event emission that the event data will only be _compressed_ if the value is `true`. Defaults to `true` when you don't call the method. ```js var io = require('socket.io')(); io.on('connection', function(client){ client.compress(false).emit('an event', { some: 'data' }); }); ``` ### Socket#disconnect(close:Boolean):Socket Disconnects this client. If value of close is `true`, closes the underlying connection. Otherwise, it just disconnects the namespace. #### Events - `disconnect` - Fired upon disconnection. - **Arguments** - `String`: the reason of the disconnection (either client or server-side) - `error` - Fired when an error occurs. - **Arguments** - `Object`: error data - `disconnecting` - Fired when the client is going to be disconnected (but hasn't left its `rooms` yet). - **Arguments** - `String`: the reason of the disconnection (either client or server-side) These are reserved events (along with `connect`, `newListener` and `removeListener`) which cannot be used as event names. ### Client The `Client` class represents an incoming transport (engine.io) connection. A `Client` can be associated with many multiplexed `Socket` that belong to different `Namespace`s. ### Client#conn A reference to the underlying `engine.io` `Socket` connection. ### Client#request A getter proxy that returns the reference to the `request` that originated the engine.io connection. Useful for accessing request headers such as `Cookie` or `User-Agent`. ## Debug / logging Socket.IO is powered by [debug](https://github.com/visionmedia/debug). In order to see all the debug output, run your app with the environment variable `DEBUG` including the desired scope. To see the output from all of Socket.IO's debugging scopes you can use: ``` DEBUG=socket.io* node myapp ``` ## Testing ``` npm test ``` This runs the `gulp` task `test`. By default the test will be run with the source code in `lib` directory. Set the environmental variable `TEST_VERSION` to `compat` to test the transpiled es5-compat version of the code. The `gulp` task `test` will always transpile the source code into es5 and export to `dist` first before running the test. ## License [MIT](LICENSE)