WebSocket Server with TLS

This repository contains a simple WebSocket server implemented in Go that uses TLS for secure communication. This server listens for WebSocket connections on wss://localhost:8443/ws.

Prerequisites

• Go (version 1.16 or later)
• OpenSSL
• Node.js (with npm)
• wscat

Setup

Generate TLS Certificates

• Navigate to the repo's directory.
• Create a self-signed certificate and key, use the following OpenSSL command:

openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:4096 -keyout key.pem -out cert.pem -days 7 -nodes

Install wscat

Install wscat globally using npm:

npm install -g wscat

Running the WebSocket Server

Ensure you are in this repo's dir.

Run the WebSocket server:

go run main.go

You should see output like below, any message sent via the WS client will also be printed in the server CLI:

2024/06/12 14:57:06 WebSocket server started on wss://localhost:8443/ws
2024/06/12 14:57:27 Received message: hello
2024/06/12 14:57:34 Received message: I'm a goat
2024/06/12 14:57:39 Received message: Welcome

Testing the WebSocket Server

To test the WebSocket server using wscat, run the following command:

wscat -c wss://localhost:8443/ws --no-check

Ensure the WebSocket server is running.

Send a message: Type a message in the wscat terminal and press Enter. You should see the message echoed back.

 % wscat -c wss://localhost:8443/ws --no-check

Connected (press CTRL+C to quit)
> hello
< hello
> I'm a goat
< I'm a goat
> Welcome
< Welcome
> %

Note

The --no-check flag for wscat is used to bypass certificate validation, which is necessary when using self-signed certificates. status-go makes extensive use of self-signed certificates, we ensure the integrity of our local connections by sharing the cert data via side channels.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.