WebSocket Applications: Real-Time Self-Hosted Apps

What Are WebSockets?

HTTP is request-response: client asks, server answers. WebSockets open a persistent, bidirectional connection. Server can push data to the client anytime.

Use Cases

Reverse Proxy Configuration

WebSockets require special reverse proxy configuration.

Caddy

Caddy handles WebSockets automatically. No special configuration needed. This is one of many reasons Caddy is ideal for self-hosting.

Nginx

You need explicit WebSocket upgrade headers:

location /ws {

proxy_pass http://app:3000;

proxy_http_version 1.1;

proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;

proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";

}

Cloudflare

Enable WebSockets in your Cloudflare dashboard. Free plan supports WebSockets but with a 100-second idle timeout.

Common Problems

Connection Drops

Load balancers and proxies often have idle timeouts. If no data is sent for 60 seconds, the connection drops. Solution: implement ping/pong heartbeats.

Sticky Sessions

If you have multiple app instances behind a load balancer, WebSocket connections must stick to the same instance. Use IP hash or cookie-based session affinity.

Memory Usage

Each WebSocket connection consumes server memory. A server with 1 GB RAM can typically handle 10,000-50,000 concurrent connections depending on the application.

SSL/TLS

Use wss:// (WebSocket Secure) in production. Your reverse proxy handles SSL termination — the app itself can use plain ws:// internally.

Self-Hosted Real-Time Apps

All work great on TinyPod. Caddy handles WebSocket proxying automatically.