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websocat

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A command-line client for WebSockets, like netcat (or curl) for ws:// with advanced socat-like functions.

v1.14.1
Published at
Dec 27, 2025
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The author no longer ships through GitHub Releases, but the repository is still active (last push Aug 13, 2026). Get the latest version from:

Latest release

v1.14.1Dec 27, 2025, 04:28 AM
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README

Project Overview

WebSocat is netcat, curl and socat for WebSockets.

Key Features

  • Connect to and serve WebSockets from the command line
  • Execute external programs and communicate via stdin/stdout
  • Text and binary modes with line/null-terminated record conversion
  • Inetd mode and UNIX socket support
  • SOCKS5 server integration
  • Auto-reconnect and connection-reuse modes
  • Linux, Windows, and Mac support

Target Audience

  • Developers needing to debug WebSockets
  • System administrators and DevOps engineers
  • Users needing scriptable WebSocket communication

Quick Start

  1. Connect to a public echo server: websocat ws://ws.vi-server.org/mirror
  2. Run via Docker: docker run --rm -ti ghcr.io/vi/websocat:nightly wss://ws.vi-server.org/mirror
  3. See more examples

Core Advantages

  • Feature-rich WebSocket command-line tool
  • Both server and client modes
  • Cross-platform (Linux, Windows, Mac)
  • Pre-built executables available

System Requirements

  • OS: Linux, Windows, macOS
  • Architectures: x86_64, arm64
  • Additional Dependencies: None

Notes

  • Available via multiple package managers (FreeBSD pkg, Debian apt, etc.)

Release history

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