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Azure Web PubSub supported JSON WebSocket subprotocol

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The JSON WebSocket subprotocol, json.webpubsub.azure.v1, enables the exchange of publish/subscribe messages between clients through the service without a round trip to the upstream server. A WebSocket connection using the json.webpubsub.azure.v1 subprotocol is called a PubSub WebSocket client.

Overview

A simple WebSocket connection triggers a message event when it sends messages and relies on the server-side to process messages and do other operations.

With the json.webpubsub.azure.v1 subprotocol, you can create PubSub WebSocket clients that can:

For example, you can create a PubSub WebSocket client with the following JavaScript code:

// PubSub WebSocket client
var pubsub = new WebSocket('wss://test.webpubsub.azure.com/client/hubs/hub1', 'json.webpubsub.azure.v1');

This document describes the subprotocol json.webpubsub.azure.v1 requests and responses. Both incoming and outgoing data frames must contain JSON payloads.

Permissions

A PubSub WebSocket client can only publish to other clients when it's authorized. The roles assigned to the client determine the permissions granted to the client:

Role Permission
Not specified The client can send event requests.
webpubsub.joinLeaveGroup The client can join/leave any group.
webpubsub.sendToGroup The client can publish messages to any group.
webpubsub.joinLeaveGroup.<group> The client can join/leave the group <group>.
webpubsub.sendToGroup.<group> The client can publish messages to the group <group>.

The server can dynamically grant or revoke client permissions through REST APIs or server SDKs.

Requests

Join groups

Format:

{
    "type": "joinGroup",
    "group": "<group_name>",
    "ackId" : 1
}

Leave groups

Format:

{
    "type": "leaveGroup",
    "group": "<group_name>",
    "ackId" : 1
}

Publish messages

Format:

{
    "type": "sendToGroup",
    "group": "<group_name>",
    "ackId" : 1,
    "noEcho": true|false,
    "dataType" : "json|text|binary",
    "data": {}, // data can be string or valid json token depending on the dataType 
}
  • ackId is the identity of each request and should be unique. The service sends a ack response message to notify the process result of the request. For details, see AckId and Ack Response
  • noEcho is optional. If set to true, this message isn't echoed back to the same connection. If not set, the default value is false.
  • dataType can be set to json, text, or binary:
    • json: data can be any type that JSON supports and will be published as what it is; If dataType isn't specified, it defaults to json.
    • text: data should be in string format, and the string data will be published;
    • binary: data should be in base64 format, and the binary data will be published;

Case 1: publish text data:

{
    "type": "sendToGroup",
    "group": "<group_name>",
    "dataType" : "text",
    "data": "text data",
    "ackId": 1
}
  • The subprotocol clients in <group_name> receive:
{
    "type": "message",
    "from": "group",
    "group": "<group_name>",
    "dataType" : "text",
    "data" : "text data"
}
  • The simple WebSocket clients in <group_name> receive the string text data.

Case 2: publish JSON data:

{
    "type": "sendToGroup",
    "group": "<group_name>",
    "dataType" : "json",
    "data": {
        "hello": "world"
    }
}
  • The subprotocol clients in <group_name> receive:
{
    "type": "message",
    "from": "group",
    "group": "<group_name>",
    "dataType" : "json",
    "data" : {
        "hello": "world"
    }
}
  • The simple WebSocket clients in <group_name> receive the serialized string {"hello": "world"}.

Case 3: publish binary data:

{
    "type": "sendToGroup",
    "group": "<group_name>",
    "dataType" : "binary",
    "data": "<base64_binary>",
    "ackId": 1
}
  • The subprotocol clients in <group_name> receive:
{
    "type": "message",
    "from": "group",
    "group": "<group_name>",
    "dataType" : "binary",
    "data" : "<base64_binary>", 
}
  • The simple WebSocket clients in <group_name> receive the binary data in the binary frame.

Send custom events

Format:

{
    "type": "event",
    "event": "<event_name>",
    "ackId": 1,
    "dataType" : "json|text|binary",
    "data": {}, // data can be string or valid json token depending on the dataType 
}

dataType can be one of text, binary, or json:

  • json: data can be any type json supports and will be published as what it is; The default is json.
  • text: data is in string format, and the string data will be published;
  • binary: data is in base64 format, and the binary data will be published;

Case 1: send event with text data:

{
    "type": "event",
    "event": "<event_name>",
    "ackId": 1,
    "dataType" : "text",
    "data": "text data", 
}

The upstream event handler receives data similar to:

POST /upstream HTTP/1.1
Host: xxxxxx
WebHook-Request-Origin: xxx.webpubsub.azure.com
Content-Type: text/plain
Content-Length: nnnn
ce-specversion: 1.0
ce-type: azure.webpubsub.user.<event_name>
ce-source: /client/{connectionId}
ce-id: {eventId}
ce-time: 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z
ce-signature: sha256={connection-id-hash-primary},sha256={connection-id-hash-secondary}
ce-userId: {userId}
ce-connectionId: {connectionId}
ce-hub: {hub_name}
ce-eventName: <event_name>

text data

The Content-Type for the CloudEvents HTTP request is text/plain when dataType is text.

Case 2: send event with JSON data:

{
    "type": "event",
    "event": "<event_name>",
    "ackId": 1,
    "dataType" : "json",
    "data": {
        "hello": "world"
    }, 
}

The upstream event handler receives data similar to:

POST /upstream HTTP/1.1
Host: xxxxxx
WebHook-Request-Origin: xxx.webpubsub.azure.com
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: nnnn
ce-specversion: 1.0
ce-type: azure.webpubsub.user.<event_name>
ce-source: /client/{connectionId}
ce-id: {eventId}
ce-time: 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z
ce-signature: sha256={connection-id-hash-primary},sha256={connection-id-hash-secondary}
ce-userId: {userId}
ce-connectionId: {connectionId}
ce-hub: {hub_name}
ce-eventName: <event_name>

{
    "hello": "world"
}

The Content-Type for the CloudEvents HTTP request is application/json when dataType is json

Case 3: send event with binary data:

{
    "type": "event",
    "event": "<event_name>",
    "ackId": 1,
    "dataType" : "binary",
    "data": "base64_binary", 
}

The upstream event handler receives data similar to:

POST /upstream HTTP/1.1
Host: xxxxxx
WebHook-Request-Origin: xxx.webpubsub.azure.com
Content-Type: application/octet-stream
Content-Length: nnnn
ce-specversion: 1.0
ce-type: azure.webpubsub.user.<event_name>
ce-source: /client/{connectionId}
ce-id: {eventId}
ce-time: 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z
ce-signature: sha256={connection-id-hash-primary},sha256={connection-id-hash-secondary}
ce-userId: {userId}
ce-connectionId: {connectionId}
ce-hub: {hub_name}
ce-eventName: <event_name>

binary

The Content-Type for the CloudEvents HTTP request is application/octet-stream when dataType is binary. The WebSocket frame can be text format for text message frames or UTF8 encoded binaries for binary message frames.

The Web PubSub service declines the client if the message doesn't match the described format.

Responses

Message types received by the client can be:

  • ack - The response to a request containing an ackId.
  • message - Messages from the group or server.
  • system - Messages from the Web PubSub service.

Ack response

When the client request contains ackId, the service will return an ack response for the request. The client should handle the ack mechanism, by waiting for the ack response with an async await operation and using a timeout operation when the ack response isn't received in a certain period.

Format:

{
    "type": "ack",
    "ackId": 1, // The ack id for the request to ack
    "success": false, // true or false
    "error": {
        "name": "Forbidden|InternalServerError|Duplicate",
        "message": "<error_detail>"
    }
}

The client implementation SHOULD always check if the success is true or false first, then only read the error when success is false.

Message response

Clients can receive messages published from a group the client has joined or from the server, which, operating in a server management role, sends messages to specific clients or users.

  1. When the message is from a group

    {
    "type": "message",
    "from": "group",
    "group": "<group_name>",
    "dataType": "json|text|binary",
    "data" : {} // The data format is based on the dataType
    "fromUserId": "abc"
}

  2. When the message is from the server.

    {
    "type": "message",
    "from": "server",
    "dataType": "json|text|binary",
    "data" : {} // The data format is based on the dataType
}

Case 1: Sending data Hello World to the connection through REST API with Content-Type=text/plain

  • A simple WebSocket client receives a text WebSocket frame with data: Hello World;

  • A PubSub WebSocket client receives:

    {
    "type": "message",
    "from": "server",
    "dataType" : "text",
    "data": "Hello World", 
}

Case 2: Sending data { "Hello" : "World"} to the connection through REST API with Content-Type=application/json

  • A simple WebSocket client receives a text WebSocket frame with stringified data: { "Hello" : "World"}.

  • A PubSub WebSocket client receives:

    {
    "type": "message",
    "from": "server",
    "dataType" : "json",
    "data": {
        "Hello": "World"
    }
}

If the REST API is sending a string Hello World using application/json content type, the simple WebSocket client receives a JSON string, which is "Hello World" wrapped with double quotes (").

Case 3: Sending binary data to the connection through REST API with Content-Type=application/octet-stream

  • A simple WebSocket client receives a binary WebSocket frame with the binary data.

  • A PubSub WebSocket client receives:

    {
    "type": "message",
    "from": "server",
    "dataType" : "binary",
    "data": "<base64_binary>"
}

System response

The Web PubSub service sends system-related messages to clients.

Connected

The message sent to the client when the client successfully connects:

{
    "type": "system",
    "event": "connected",
    "userId": "user1",
    "connectionId": "abcdefghijklmnop",
}

Disconnected

The message sent to the client when the server closes the connection, or when the service declines the client.

{
    "type": "system",
    "event": "disconnected",
    "message": "reason"
}

Next steps

Use these resources to start building your own application:

Tutorial: Publish and subscribe to messages in Azure Web PubSub

Tutorial: Create a simple chatroom with Azure Web PubSub

Tutorial: Use a service-supported subprotocol for client streaming

Tutorial: Build serverless chat with Azure Functions and Web PubSub

Tutorial: Configure an event listener

Play with live demos

Explore more Azure Web PubSub samples