# Socket.IO

Library that enables low-latency, bidirectional and event-based communication between a client and a server.


Source: https://findsoftware.frbit.cloud/socket-io/
Last reviewed: 2026-11-03
Listed since: 2026-11-03

## Record

### Links

- home: https://socket.io
- repository: https://github.com/socketio/socket.io
- docs: https://socket.io/docs/v4/
- x: https://twitter.com/SocketIO
- forum: https://github.com/socketio/socket.io/discussions

### Identity

- status: active
- maintainer: Guillermo Rauch and Socket.IO contributors
- maintainerType: community
- parent: unknown
- firstRelease: 2010
- hqCountry: unknown

### Kind

- category: library, backend
- hosting: node
- language: javascript
- runtime: node
- runtimeMin: node 10
- basedOn: unknown

### Content

- contentStore: unknown
- databases: unknown
- adminUi: unknown
- headlessApi: unknown
- templating: unknown
- i18n: unknown

### Rendering and deploy

- runsAs: unknown
- renderingModes: unknown
- installMethod: npm

### License

- licenseModel: open-source
- license: MIT

### Releases

- currentMajor: 4
- latestReleaseDate: 2026-09-25

### Adoption

- githubStargazers: 63236
- packagistDownloads: not applicable
- npmWeeklyDownloads: 26171098
- contributors: 402
- pluginCount: unknown
- packagistMonthlyDownloads: unknown
- ecosystemsMonthlyDownloads: unknown
- httpArchiveSites: unknown
- wordpressActiveInstalls: unknown
- dependentRepos: 1351985
- dependentPackages: 10715

### Sources

- urls: https://socket.io (read 2026-11-03)
- urls: https://github.com/socketio/socket.io (read 2026-11-03)
- urls: https://socket.io/docs/v4/ (read 2026-11-03)
- firstRelease: https://github.com/socketio/socket.io (read 2026-11-03)
- maintainer: https://github.com/socketio/socket.io/blob/main/LICENSE (read 2026-11-03)
- category: https://socket.io/docs/v4/ (read 2026-11-03)
- category: https://socket.io (read 2026-11-03)
- language: https://api.github.com/repos/socketio/socket.io/languages (read 2026-11-03)
- runtime: https://socket.io/docs/v4/server-installation/ (read 2026-11-03)
- runtimeMin: https://registry.npmjs.org/socket.io/latest (read 2026-11-03)
- installMethod: https://socket.io/docs/v4/server-installation/ (read 2026-11-03)
- installMethod: https://socket.io/docs/v4/server-installation/ (read 2026-11-03)
- installMethod: https://socket.io/docs/v4/server-installation/ (read 2026-11-03)
- installMethod: https://socket.io/docs/v4/server-installation/ (read 2026-11-03)
- installMethod: https://socket.io/docs/v4/client-installation/ (read 2026-11-03)
- license: https://github.com/socketio/socket.io/blob/main/LICENSE (read 2026-11-03)
- currentMajor: https://github.com/socketio/socket.io/releases (read 2026-11-03)
- latestReleaseDate: https://registry.npmjs.org/socket.io/latest (read 2026-11-03)
- npmWeeklyDownloads: https://api.npmjs.org/downloads/range/2026-10-26:2026-11-01/socket.io (read 2026-11-03)
- dependentPackages: https://packages.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/registries/npmjs.org/packages/socket.io (read 2026-11-03)
- dependentRepos: https://packages.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/registries/npmjs.org/packages/socket.io (read 2026-11-03)
- githubStargazers: https://github.com/socketio/socket.io (read 2026-11-03)
- contributors: https://github.com/socketio/socket.io (read 2026-11-03)

## Notes

Socket.IO is a library for low-latency, bidirectional and event-based communication between a client and a server. The server is installed from the socket.io npm package with npm, Yarn, pnpm or Bun, and the browser client is a separate package. The client can also be loaded from a CDN. The connection uses WebSocket for transport when possible and falls back to HTTP long-polling when the WebSocket connection cannot be established.

## Worth knowing

Socket.IO is not a WebSocket implementation. It adds its own metadata to each packet on top of the transport, so a plain WebSocket client does not speak it. The docs advise against using it in a background service for mobile applications, because the library keeps an open TCP connection to the server.

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Data licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Attributes are recorded, never scored; absent means unknown.
Credit, in full: FindSoftware, CC BY 4.0