wscat

library6.1.0jsnpmunverified

wscat is a command-line WebSocket client and server, enabling interactive communication with WebSocket endpoints. Current stable version is 6.1.0, released irregularly as part of the websockets ecosystem. It supports both connecting to servers and listening for connections, with features like authentication, SSL/TLS, proxy support, and slash commands for control frames. Unlike browser-based WebSocket tools, wscat is lightweight and runs directly in the terminal with Node.js. Appropriate for testing, debugging, and scripting WebSocket interactions.

testing

npm install wscat

github ↗package ↗homepage ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · WSCAT

wscat

testingjavascriptv6.1.0

harness data pending

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

No compatibility data collected yet for this library.

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

wscat CLI

✓ npx wscat -c ws://example.com

✗ npm install wscat && node -e 'require("wscat")'

wscat is a CLI tool, not a library; use npx or global install.

programmatic usage

✓ import { wscat } from 'wscat'

✗ const wscat = require('wscat')

Package exports a function, but it's not documented for programmatic use.

Install wscat globally and demonstrate connect and listen modes with authentication.

# Global install npm install -g wscat # Connect to a WebSocket server wscat -c wss://echo.websocket.org # Listen on port 8080 wscat -l 8080 # Connect with authentication wscat -c wss://example.com --auth username:password

Debug

Known issues

breakingwscat v6 drops support for Node <18

fix

Upgrade Node to version 18 or later.

affects: >=6.0.0

gotchawscat is not a library; do not import programmatically

fix

Use as CLI only. For programmatic WebSocket use the 'ws' package directly.

affects: >=5.0.0

deprecatedUse of --protocol flag is deprecated

fix

Use --subprotocol instead.

affects: >=6.0.0

Errors

Common errors & fixes

Error: Cannot find module 'wscat'

wscat is not installed globally or locally

fix

Run 'npm install -g wscat' to install globally.

Error: connect ECONNREFUSED

WebSocket server is not running or unreachable

fix

Ensure the server URL is correct and the server is running.

Upgrade

Version history

6.1.0latest on npm

Audit

Dependencies

commanderrequiredcommand-line argument parsing

wsrequiredWebSocket implementation

Agent activity

33 hits · last 30 days

node

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/websockets/wscat ↗

packagewscat ↗

homepagehttps://github.com/websockets/wscat#readme ↗