webshocket 0.5.2

An enhanced module to provide a robust, socket-like abstraction for WebSockets

[!WARNING] Webshocket is still unfinished and is not ready for proper project use. It is advised not to expect any stability from this project until it reaches a stable release

Webshocket

Webshocket is a lightweight Python framework designed to handle the complexity of WebSocket-based RPC applications. It provides a high-level API for remote procedure calls, per-client session management, and efficient message broadcasting.

Why Webshocket?

Exposing local TCP projects to the internet effectively often requires expensive paid tunnels or unstable free alternatives. Webshocket solves this by running over standard WebSockets, making it natively compatible with robust, free HTTP tunnel services like Cloudflare Argo and LocalTunnel.

It combines the simplicity of raw sockets with a rich feature set for easier development:

• Free Tunneling: Works out-of-the-box with any HTTP/WebSocket tunnel.
• Developer Experience: Includes a complete RPC system, session state management, rate limiting, and pub/sub channels, no complex middleware or global state required.

Comparison with Other WebSocket Libraries

Feature	Webshocket	websockets	socket.io	FastAPI WS
RPC Layer	✅ Built-in	❌ Manual	⚠ Client-driven	❌ Manual
Streaming RPC	✅ Built-in	❌ Manual	❌ Manual	❌ Manual
Session State	✅ Connection attrs	❌ Manual	✅ Rooms	❌ Manual
Predicates/Auth	✅ Built-in	❌ Manual	⚠ Library-dependent	❌ Manual
Pub/Sub Channels	✅ Built-in	❌ Manual	✅ Rooms	❌ Manual
Rate Limiting	✅ Decorator-based	❌ Manual	❌ Manual	⚠ Middleware
Auto-Retry	✅ Built-in (exp. backoff)	❌ Manual	✅ Built-in	❌ Manual
HTTP Tunnels	✅ Designed for	✅ Compatible	⚠ HTTP fallback	✅ Compatible
Cross-Language	✅ Binary + JSON	⚠ Protocol only	✅ Client libs	⚠ Protocol only
Performance Core	picows (Cython)	Pure Python	JS-heavy	ASGI stack

Unique Features at a Glance

Webshocket simplifies complex networking logic into simple, object-oriented patterns.

1. Powerful RPC with Access Control

Define server methods effortlessly and protect them with custom rules (predicates).

class MyHandler(webshocket.WebSocketHandler):
    @webshocket.rpc_method(alias_name="add")
    async def add(self, _: webshocket.ClientConnection, a: int, b: int):
        return a + b

    # Unique: Use built-in predicates for clean access control
    @webshocket.rpc_method(requires=webshocket.Is("is_admin"))
    async def secret_function(self, conn: webshocket.ClientConnection):
        return "Sensitive Data"

2. Effortless Session State

No more look-up tables. Assign data directly to the client connection; Webshocket handles the persistence for you.

    @webshocket.rpc_method()
    async def login(self, connection: webshocket.ClientConnection, user_id: str):
        # Direct attribute assignment persists for the session
        connection.user_id = user_id
        connection.is_admin = True

        # Subscribe to updates immediately
        connection.subscribe("broadcast-channel")

3. Decorator-Based Rate Limiting

Protect your RPC methods from abuse with a simple decorator. Supports human-readable periods and optional auto-disconnect.

class MyHandler(webshocket.WebSocketHandler):
    @webshocket.rate_limit(limit=5, period="1m")  # 5 calls per minute
    @webshocket.rpc_method()
    async def expensive_operation(self, connection: webshocket.ClientConnection, query: str):
        return await run_ai_model(query)

    @webshocket.rate_limit(limit=100, period="10s", disconnect_on_limit_exceeded=True)
    @webshocket.rpc_method()
    async def chat_message(self, connection: webshocket.ClientConnection, msg: str):
        return await process_message(msg)

4. Pub/Sub Channels with Wildcard Support

Webshocket supports powerful wildcard subscriptions using glob patterns (*, ?, []). This allows clients to subscribe to a broad category of updates with a single call.

class StockHandler(webshocket.WebSocketHandler):
    @webshocket.rpc_method()
    async def watch_sector(self, connection: webshocket.ClientConnection, sector: str):
        # Client subscribes to a pattern like "tech.*"
        connection.subscribe(f"{sector}.*")

    def broadcast_stock_price(self, symbol: str, price: float):
        # If symbol is "tech.AAPL", it automatically routes to anyone
        # subscribed to "tech.*" OR "tech.AAPL"
        self.publish(symbol, {"price": price})

Smart Filtering (Predicates)

You can also combine subscriptions with Predicates to filter recipients dynamically without creating thousands of sub-channels.

    @webshocket.rpc_method()
    async def join_room(self, connection: webshocket.ClientConnection, room: str, team: str):
        connection.subscribe(room)
        connection.team = team # Persistent session state

    def send_team_update(self, room: str, team: str, data: dict):
        # Only publish to clients in 'room' whose 'team' attribute equals 'team'
        self.publish(room, data, predicate=webshocket.IsEqual("team", team))

5. Auto-Retry with Exponential Backoff

The client handles reconnection automatically, no manual retry loops needed.

async def main():
    client = webshocket.WebSocketClient("ws://your-tunnel.url")
    await client.connect(retry=True, max_retry_attempt=5, retry_interval=2)

    result = await client.send_rpc("add", 10, 20)
    print(result.data)  # 30

6. Integrated Tunnelling & Deployment

Designed to run perfectly behind free HTTP tunnels, making it the easiest way to expose a local AI or IoT project to the world.

async def main():
    server = webshocket.WebSocketServer("0.0.0.0", 5000, clientHandler=MyHandler)
    async with server:
        await server.serve_forever()

7. Cross-Language Compatibility

Webshocket is designed to be language-agnostic. While the Python client is optimized with msgspec, the server natively understands standard JSON packets. This means you can build a client in JavaScript, Java, or C# using nothing but the standard library.

// Example: Standard Browser JavaScript Client
const socket = new WebSocket("ws://your-tunnel.url");

socket.onopen = () => {
	const rpcRequest = {
		rpc: {
			type: "request",
			method: "add",
			args: [10, 20],
			kwargs: {},
		},
		source: 5,
	};

	socket.send(JSON.stringify(rpcRequest));
};

socket.onmessage = async (event) => {
	const packet = JSON.parse(await event.data.text());
	console.log("Result:", packet.rpc.response); // 30
};

8. Streaming RPC

Stream data from server to client in real-time using async generators. The client iterates over chunks as they arrive. This is perfect for AI token streaming, live feeds, or large result sets.

# Server - yield chunks as they're produced
class MyHandler(webshocket.WebSocketHandler):
    @webshocket.rpc_method()
    async def generate_report(self, connection: webshocket.ClientConnection, query: str):
        async for chunk in run_ai_model(query):
            yield chunk  # Each yield sends a packet to the client

# Client - iterate over the stream
async for packet in client.stream_rpc("generate_report", "Summarize Q4 earnings"):
    print(packet.data, end="", flush=True)

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request on our GitHub repository.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.