n8n-nodes-websocket-standalone

This is a node package for n8n that adds standalone WebSocket server functionality to your workflows. It provides WebSocket Trigger and Response nodes that allow you to create independent WebSocket servers and handle real-time communication in your n8n workflows.

Features

• 🔌 WebSocket Trigger node to start workflows on WebSocket messages
• 📤 WebSocket Response node to send messages back to clients
• 🌐 Standalone WebSocket server implementation (no dependency on n8n's HTTP server)
• 🔢 Custom port configuration for each WebSocket server
• 🛣️ Custom path configuration for WebSocket endpoints
• 🔄 Robust connection handling with automatic ping/pong keep-alive
• 🔌 Connection persistence between trigger and response nodes
• 🧪 Enhanced stability for testing and production workflows

Installation

In n8n:

1. Go to Settings > Community Nodes
2. Select Install
3. Enter n8n-nodes-websocket-standalone in Enter npm package name
4. Click Install

Manual Installation:

npm install n8n-nodes-websocket-standalone

Usage

WebSocket Trigger Node

1. Add a "WebSocket Trigger" node to your workflow
2. Configure the port (default: 5680) and path (default: /ws)
3. Optionally set a custom connection ID
4. The node will create a WebSocket server at ws://localhost:{port}{path}
5. When a message is received, the workflow will be triggered with the message data

WebSocket Response Node

1. Add a "WebSocket Response" node after your processing nodes
2. Configure how to obtain the server ID and client ID:
   • From input (using the data passed from the trigger node)
   • Custom (manually specify IDs)
   • Use context server (automatically find active server)
3. Set your response data (JSON or plain text)
4. The node will send the response to the specified client(s)

Example Client Code (Browser)

// Connect to your configured WebSocket server
const ws = new WebSocket('ws://localhost:5680/ws');

// Send a message
ws.send(JSON.stringify({ 
    message: 'Hello from client!' 
}));

// Receive messages
ws.onmessage = (event) => {
    console.log('Received:', event.data);
};

Example Client Code (Node.js)

const WebSocket = require('ws');

// Connect to your configured WebSocket server
const ws = new WebSocket('ws://localhost:5680/ws');

// Send a message when connection is established
ws.on('open', function open() {
  ws.send(JSON.stringify({ 
    message: 'Hello from Node.js client!' 
  }));
});

// Receive messages
ws.on('message', function message(data) {
  console.log('Received:', data);
});

Advantages Over Other WebSocket Nodes

• Standalone Operation: Works independently of n8n's HTTP server
• Customizable Endpoints: Configure port and path for each WebSocket server
• Connection Stability: Maintains connections between trigger and response nodes
• Keep-Alive Mechanism: Automatic ping/pong to prevent timeouts
• Execution Tracking: Prevents connections from closing during workflow testing
• Retry Logic: Reliable message delivery with automatic retries

Development

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/subinsoman/n8n-nodes-websocket-standalone.git

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Build the package

npm run build

4. Link to your n8n installation

npm link
cd /path/to/n8n
npm link n8n-nodes-websocket-standalone

License

MIT

Support

For issues and feature requests, please create an issue on GitHub.