# websockets/wscat

WebSocket cat

Repository: https://github.com/websockets/wscat
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/wscat
Language: JavaScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2025-05-03T17:06:05+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 41/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 19, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4236, "days_push": 487, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2772, forks 250 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:19.035988+00:00)

## What it is
wscat is a command-line tool for connecting to WebSocket servers (or acting as a WebSocket server) and interactively sending and receiving messages, similar to netcat for WebSockets. It supports TLS options, custom headers, proxies, subprotocols, and slash commands for control frames.

## Use cases
- test a websocket server from the terminal
- debug websocket messages interactively
- connect to a wss endpoint with client certificates
- run a local websocket echo server for testing
- send ping and close control frames to a websocket
- connect through a proxy to a websocket endpoint

## When to choose
- you need a quick terminal-based way to inspect or test WebSocket endpoints
- you want a lightweight netcat-like tool for WebSocket debugging
- you need to test TLS, headers, subprotocols, or proxy connections to a WebSocket server

## When to avoid
- you need automated WebSocket testing in a test suite or CI
- you need a GUI client for exploring WebSocket APIs
- you need to load-test or benchmark WebSocket servers

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: websocket, http-client, developer-tools, cli
- domain: developer-tools, web-development, apis
- platform: cli, cross-platform
- tags: websocket-client, websocket-server, debugging, netcat-style, echo-testing, command-line, nodejs

## Member repositories
- websockets/wscat (main) score 41

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:19.035988+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T08:16:38.402233+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/websockets/wscat (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:19.035988+00:00, sha 1039a105ce4e)
  - registry_npm: https://registry.npmjs.org/wscat (fetched 2026-08-29T09:56:15.385607+00:00, sha 3ef86f89b601)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.