websockify

What it is and what it does

Websockify is a WebSocket-to-TCP proxy that accepts WebSocket connections and forwards traffic bidirectionally to a target TCP server. Originally part of the noVNC project, it translates the WebSocket handshake and protocol into standard socket communication, allowing web browsers and WebSocket clients to reach any TCP-based service without native WebSocket support. It supports both plain ws:// and encrypted wss:// connections, with automatic SSL detection.

The package includes optional features for authentication via pluggable auth modules, token-based routing to multiple targets, session recording, daemonization, and wrapping local programs via LD_PRELOAD to intercept their TCP bindings. It can serve static web content on the same port and integrates with redis and jwcrypto for advanced deployments. Typical use cases include exposing remote services to web browsers, enabling browser-based access to legacy TCP services, and bridging web applications to infrastructure that lacks native WebSocket support.

Use it for:

• Proxy remote services to web browsers for integrated remote access applications.
• Enable browser-based clients to reach legacy TCP services without native WebSocket support.
• Route multiple TCP services through a single WebSocket endpoint using token-based target selection.
• Record and replay WebSocket traffic for debugging or compliance auditing with session recording.
• Serve web UI and WebSocket proxy on the same port for unified remote access deployments.

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

Translates WebSocket connections to normal TCP socket traffic, enabling WebSocket clients to communicate with any TCP-based server or application.

Yes. Websockify is a mature, actively maintained tool with no known vulnerabilities, low install friction, and a clear use case for bridging WebSocket clients to TCP services. The LGPLv3 copyleft license is standard for this class of infrastructure software. Install it if you need to expose TCP services to web clients; skip it if you have no WebSocket-to-TCP bridging requirement.

Install

websockify on PyPI

pip install websockify

uv add websockify

poetry add websockify

Installing websockify

Before you install

Low install friction with a pure Python wheel distribution. Actively maintained with recent commits and a stable release history since 2013. Four runtime dependencies (numpy, requests, jwcrypto, redis) are standard libraries with broad availability.

License in practice

Licensed under LGPLv3 (copyleft). Derivative works and modifications must be distributed under compatible terms; static linking or proprietary wrapping requires legal review.

Quickstart

pip install websockify
from websockify import server
server.WebSocketProxy(listen_host='0.0.0.0', target_host='localhost').start()

Verify before relying

• Whether numpy is truly optional or required for production use despite being listed as install_requires.
• Performance characteristics and throughput limits under typical proxy loads.
• Compatibility guarantees for the four runtime dependencies (numpy, requests, jwcrypto, redis) across their version ranges.
• Specific port configuration requirements and defaults for WebSocket listener and target connections.

Package facts

Evidence: websockify-0.13.0-py3-none-any.whl

Keywords: noVNC, websockify

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