websocat

name	websocat
description	Use this skill when the user wants to connect to WebSockets, test WebSocket servers, or interact with WebSocket endpoints from the terminal.

websocat Plugin

Command-line client for WebSockets, like netcat or curl for ws://. Connect, send, and receive WebSocket messages from the terminal with advanced socat-like functions.

Commands

WebSocket Connection

• websocat websocket connect — Connect to WebSocket server

Utility

• websocat _ _ — Passthrough to websocat CLI

Usage Examples

• "Connect to WebSocket server"
• "Test WebSocket endpoint"
• "Send WebSocket message"
• "Listen on WebSocket port"

Installation

brew install websocat

Or via Cargo:

cargo install websocat

Examples

# Connect to WebSocket server
websocat websocket connect ws://echo.websocket.org

# Connect with text mode
websocat websocket connect ws://echo.websocket.org --text

# Set ping interval
websocat websocket connect ws://echo.websocket.org --ping-interval 30

# Set protocol
websocat websocket connect ws://example.com --protocol chat

# Add custom header
websocat websocket connect ws://example.com --header "Authorization: Bearer token"

# Secure WebSocket connection
websocat websocket connect wss://echo.websocket.org

# Any websocat command with passthrough
websocat _ _ ws://echo.websocket.org --text
websocat _ _ wss://example.com --protocol v1.0

Key Features

• WebSocket client - Connect to ws:// and wss://
• WebSocket server - Can also act as server
• Text mode - Human-readable text mode
• Binary mode - Raw binary data support
• Ping/pong - Automatic keepalive
• Custom headers - HTTP header support
• Protocol negotiation - WebSocket subprotocols
• Proxy support - Proxy WebSocket connections
• Broadcast - Broadcast to multiple clients
• Cross-platform - Linux, macOS, Windows

Notes

• Press Ctrl+D to close connection
• Type messages and press Enter to send
• Received messages printed to stdout
• Supports SSL/TLS for wss://
• Can be used for WebSocket testing
• Great for debugging WebSocket APIs