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Class: RTUSocket<ListenEvents, EmitEvents, ServerSideEvents, SocketData> ​

This is the main object for interacting with a client.

A Socket belongs to a given Namespace and uses an underlying Client to communicate.

Within each Namespace, you can also define arbitrary channels (called "rooms") that the Socket can join and leave. That provides a convenient way to broadcast to a group of socket instances.

Example ​

ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  console.log(`socket ${socket.id} connected`);

  // send an event to the client
  socket.emit("foo", "bar");

  socket.on("foobar", () => {
    // an event was received from the client
  });

  // join the room named "room1"
  socket.join("room1");

  // broadcast to everyone in the room named "room1"
  io.to("room1").emit("hello");

  // upon disconnection
  socket.on("disconnect", (reason) => {
    console.log(`socket ${socket.id} disconnected due to ${reason}`);
  });
});

Extends ​

  • StrictEventEmitter<ListenEvents, EmitEvents, SocketReservedEventsMap>

Type Parameters ​

Type ParameterDefault type
ListenEvents extends EventsMapDefaultEventsMap
EmitEvents extends EventsMapListenEvents
ServerSideEvents extends EventsMapDefaultEventsMap
SocketDataany

Constructors ​

Constructor ​

ts
new RTUSocket<ListenEvents, EmitEvents, ServerSideEvents, SocketData>(
   nsp: Namespace<ListenEvents, EmitEvents, ServerSideEvents>,
   client: Client<ListenEvents, EmitEvents, ServerSideEvents>,
   auth: Record<string, unknown>,
previousSession?: Session): Socket<ListenEvents, EmitEvents, ServerSideEvents, SocketData>;

Interface to a Client for a given Namespace.

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
nspNamespace<ListenEvents, EmitEvents, ServerSideEvents>
clientClient<ListenEvents, EmitEvents, ServerSideEvents>
authRecord<string, unknown>
previousSession?Session-

Returns ​

Socket<ListenEvents, EmitEvents, ServerSideEvents, SocketData>

Package ​

Overrides ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter<ListenEvents, EmitEvents, SocketReservedEventsMap>.constructor

Properties ​

PropertyModifierTypeDescriptionInherited from
clientreadonlyClient<ListenEvents, EmitEvents, ServerSideEvents>--
connectedpublicbooleanWhether the socket is currently connected or not. Example io.use((socket, next) => { console.log(socket.connected); // false next(); }); io.on("connection", (socket) => { console.log(socket.connected); // true });-
datapublicSocketDataAdditional information that can be attached to the Socket instance and which will be used in the Server.fetchSockets() method.-
handshakereadonlyHandshakeThe handshake details.-
idreadonlystringAn unique identifier for the session.-
nspreadonlyNamespace<ListenEvents, EmitEvents, ServerSideEvents>--
recoveredreadonlybooleanWhether the connection state was recovered after a temporary disconnection. In that case, any missed packets will be transmitted to the client, the data attribute and the rooms will be restored.-
captureRejectionsstaticbooleanValue: boolean Change the default captureRejections option on all new EventEmitter objects. Since v13.4.0, v12.16.0StrictEventEmitter.captureRejections
captureRejectionSymbolreadonlytypeof captureRejectionSymbolValue: Symbol.for('nodejs.rejection') See how to write a custom rejection handler. Since v13.4.0, v12.16.0StrictEventEmitter.captureRejectionSymbol
defaultMaxListenersstaticnumberBy default, a maximum of 10 listeners can be registered for any single event. This limit can be changed for individual EventEmitter instances using the emitter.setMaxListeners(n) method. To change the default for allEventEmitter instances, the events.defaultMaxListeners property can be used. If this value is not a positive number, a RangeError is thrown. Take caution when setting the events.defaultMaxListeners because the change affects all EventEmitter instances, including those created before the change is made. However, calling emitter.setMaxListeners(n) still has precedence over events.defaultMaxListeners. This is not a hard limit. The EventEmitter instance will allow more listeners to be added but will output a trace warning to stderr indicating that a "possible EventEmitter memory leak" has been detected. For any single EventEmitter, the emitter.getMaxListeners() and emitter.setMaxListeners() methods can be used to temporarily avoid this warning: import { EventEmitter } from 'node:events'; const emitter = new EventEmitter(); emitter.setMaxListeners(emitter.getMaxListeners() + 1); emitter.once('event', () => { // do stuff emitter.setMaxListeners(Math.max(emitter.getMaxListeners() - 1, 0)); }); The --trace-warnings command-line flag can be used to display the stack trace for such warnings. The emitted warning can be inspected with process.on('warning') and will have the additional emitter, type, and count properties, referring to the event emitter instance, the event's name and the number of attached listeners, respectively. Its name property is set to 'MaxListenersExceededWarning'. Since v0.11.2StrictEventEmitter.defaultMaxListeners
errorMonitorreadonlytypeof errorMonitorThis symbol shall be used to install a listener for only monitoring 'error' events. Listeners installed using this symbol are called before the regular 'error' listeners are called. Installing a listener using this symbol does not change the behavior once an 'error' event is emitted. Therefore, the process will still crash if no regular 'error' listener is installed. Since v13.6.0, v12.17.0StrictEventEmitter.errorMonitor

Accessors ​

broadcast ​

Get Signature ​

ts
get broadcast(): BroadcastOperator<DecorateAcknowledgementsWithMultipleResponses<EmitEvents>, SocketData>;

Sets a modifier for a subsequent event emission that the event data will only be broadcast to every sockets but the sender.

Example ​
ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  // the “foo” event will be broadcast to all connected clients, except this socket
  socket.broadcast.emit("foo", "bar");
});
Returns ​

BroadcastOperator<DecorateAcknowledgementsWithMultipleResponses<EmitEvents>, SocketData>

a new BroadcastOperator instance for chaining


conn ​

Get Signature ​

ts
get conn(): Socket;

A reference to the underlying Client transport connection (Engine.IO Socket object).

Example ​
ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  console.log(socket.conn.transport.name); // prints "polling" or "websocket"

  socket.conn.once("upgrade", () => {
    console.log(socket.conn.transport.name); // prints "websocket"
  });
});
Returns ​

Socket


disconnected ​

Get Signature ​

ts
get disconnected(): boolean;

Whether the socket is currently disconnected

Returns ​

boolean


local ​

Get Signature ​

ts
get local(): BroadcastOperator<DecorateAcknowledgementsWithMultipleResponses<EmitEvents>, SocketData>;

Sets a modifier for a subsequent event emission that the event data will only be broadcast to the current node.

Example ​
ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  // the “foo” event will be broadcast to all connected clients on this node, except this socket
  socket.local.emit("foo", "bar");
});
Returns ​

BroadcastOperator<DecorateAcknowledgementsWithMultipleResponses<EmitEvents>, SocketData>

a new BroadcastOperator instance for chaining


request ​

Get Signature ​

ts
get request(): IncomingMessage;

A reference to the request that originated the underlying Engine.IO Socket.

Returns ​

IncomingMessage


rooms ​

Get Signature ​

ts
get rooms(): Set<string>;

Returns the rooms the socket is currently in.

Example ​
ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  console.log(socket.rooms); // Set { <socket.id> }

  socket.join("room1");

  console.log(socket.rooms); // Set { <socket.id>, "room1" }
});
Returns ​

Set<string>


volatile ​

Get Signature ​

ts
get volatile(): this;

Sets a modifier for a subsequent event emission that the event data may be lost if the client is not ready to receive messages (because of network slowness or other issues, or because they’re connected through long polling and is in the middle of a request-response cycle).

Example ​
ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  socket.volatile.emit("hello"); // the client may or may not receive it
});
Returns ​

this

self

Methods ​

[captureRejectionSymbol]()? ​

ts
optional [captureRejectionSymbol]<K>(
   error: Error,
   event: string | symbol, ...
   args: AnyRest): void;

Type Parameters ​

Type Parameter
K

Parameters ​

ParameterType
errorError
eventstring | symbol
...argsAnyRest

Returns ​

void

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.[captureRejectionSymbol]

addListener() ​

ts
addListener<K>(eventName: string | symbol, listener: (...args: any[]) => void): this;

Alias for emitter.on(eventName, listener).

Type Parameters ​

Type Parameter
K

Parameters ​

ParameterType
eventNamestring | symbol
listener(...args: any[]) => void

Returns ​

this

Since ​

v0.1.26

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.addListener;

compress() ​

ts
compress(compress: boolean): this;

Sets the compress flag.

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
compressbooleanif true, compresses the sending data

Returns ​

this

self

Example ​

ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  socket.compress(false).emit("hello");
});

disconnect() ​

ts
disconnect(close?: boolean): this;

Disconnects this client.

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
close?booleanif true, closes the underlying connection

Returns ​

this

self

Example ​

ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  // disconnect this socket (the connection might be kept alive for other namespaces)
  socket.disconnect();

  // disconnect this socket and close the underlying connection
  socket.disconnect(true);
});

emit() ​

ts
emit<Ev>(ev: Ev, ...args: EventParams<EmitEvents, Ev>): boolean;

Emits to this client.

Type Parameters ​

Type Parameter
Ev extends string | symbol

Parameters ​

ParameterType
evEv
...argsEventParams<EmitEvents, Ev>

Returns ​

boolean

Always returns true.

Example ​

ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  socket.emit("hello", "world");

  // all serializable datastructures are supported (no need to call JSON.stringify)
  socket.emit("hello", 1, "2", { 3: ["4"], 5: Buffer.from([6]) });

  // with an acknowledgement from the client
  socket.emit("hello", "world", (val) => {
    // ...
  });
});

Overrides ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.emit;

emitWithAck() ​

ts
emitWithAck<Ev>(ev: Ev, ...args: AllButLast<EventParams<EmitEvents, Ev>>): Promise<FirstNonErrorArg<Last<EventParams<EmitEvents, Ev>>>>;

Emits an event and waits for an acknowledgement

Type Parameters ​

Type Parameter
Ev extends string | symbol

Parameters ​

ParameterType
evEv
...argsAllButLast<EventParams<EmitEvents, Ev>>

Returns ​

Promise<FirstNonErrorArg<Last<EventParams<EmitEvents, Ev>>>>

a Promise that will be fulfilled when the client acknowledges the event

Example ​

ts
io.on("connection", async (socket) => {
  // without timeout
  const response = await socket.emitWithAck("hello", "world");

  // with a specific timeout
  try {
    const response = await socket.timeout(1000).emitWithAck("hello", "world");
  } catch (err) {
    // the client did not acknowledge the event in the given delay
  }
});

eventNames() ​

ts
eventNames(): (string | symbol)[];

Returns an array listing the events for which the emitter has registered listeners. The values in the array are strings or Symbols.

js
import { EventEmitter } from "node:events";

const myEE = new EventEmitter();
myEE.on("foo", () => {});
myEE.on("bar", () => {});

const sym = Symbol("symbol");
myEE.on(sym, () => {});

console.log(myEE.eventNames());
// Prints: [ 'foo', 'bar', Symbol(symbol) ]

Returns ​

(string | symbol)[]

Since ​

v6.0.0

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.eventNames;

except() ​

ts
except(room: string | string[]): BroadcastOperator<DecorateAcknowledgementsWithMultipleResponses<EmitEvents>, SocketData>;

Excludes a room when broadcasting.

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
roomstring | string[]a room, or an array of rooms

Returns ​

BroadcastOperator<DecorateAcknowledgementsWithMultipleResponses<EmitEvents>, SocketData>

a new BroadcastOperator instance for chaining

Example ​

ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  // the "foo" event will be broadcast to all connected clients, except the ones that are in the "room-101" room
  // and this socket
  socket.except("room-101").emit("foo", "bar");

  // with an array of rooms
  socket.except(["room-101", "room-102"]).emit("foo", "bar");

  // with multiple chained calls
  socket.except("room-101").except("room-102").emit("foo", "bar");
});

getMaxListeners() ​

ts
getMaxListeners(): number;

Returns the current max listener value for the EventEmitter which is either set by emitter.setMaxListeners(n) or defaults to defaultMaxListeners.

Returns ​

number

Since ​

v1.0.0

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.getMaxListeners;

in() ​

ts
in(room: string | string[]): BroadcastOperator<DecorateAcknowledgementsWithMultipleResponses<EmitEvents>, SocketData>;

Targets a room when broadcasting. Similar to to(), but might feel clearer in some cases:

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
roomstring | string[]a room, or an array of rooms

Returns ​

BroadcastOperator<DecorateAcknowledgementsWithMultipleResponses<EmitEvents>, SocketData>

a new BroadcastOperator instance for chaining

Example ​

ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  // disconnect all clients in the "room-101" room, except this socket
  socket.in("room-101").disconnectSockets();
});

join() ​

ts
join(rooms: string | string[]):
  | void
| Promise<void>;

Joins a room.

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
roomsstring | string[]room or array of rooms

Returns ​

| void | Promise<void>

a Promise or nothing, depending on the adapter

Example ​

ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  // join a single room
  socket.join("room1");

  // join multiple rooms
  socket.join(["room1", "room2"]);
});

leave() ​

ts
leave(room: string):
  | void
| Promise<void>;

Leaves a room.

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
roomstring

Returns ​

| void | Promise<void>

a Promise or nothing, depending on the adapter

Example ​

ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  // leave a single room
  socket.leave("room1");

  // leave multiple rooms
  socket.leave("room1").leave("room2");
});

listenerCount() ​

ts
listenerCount<K>(eventName: string | symbol, listener?: Function): number;

Returns the number of listeners listening for the event named eventName. If listener is provided, it will return how many times the listener is found in the list of the listeners of the event.

Type Parameters ​

Type Parameter
K

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
eventNamestring | symbolThe name of the event being listened for
listener?FunctionThe event handler function

Returns ​

number

Since ​

v3.2.0

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.listenerCount;

listeners() ​

ts
listeners<Ev>(event: Ev): FallbackToUntypedListener<Ev extends "error" | "disconnect" | "disconnecting" ? SocketReservedEventsMap[Ev<Ev>] : Ev extends EventNames<ListenEvents> ? ListenEvents[Ev<Ev>] : never>[];

Returns the listeners listening to an event.

Type Parameters ​

Type Parameter
Ev extends string | symbol

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
eventEvEvent name

Returns ​

FallbackToUntypedListener<Ev extends "error" | "disconnect" | "disconnecting" ? SocketReservedEventsMap[Ev<Ev>] : Ev extends EventNames<ListenEvents> ? ListenEvents[Ev<Ev>] : never>[]

Array of listeners subscribed to event

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.listeners;

listenersAny() ​

ts
listenersAny(): (...args: any[]) => void[];

Returns an array of listeners that are listening for any event that is specified. This array can be manipulated, e.g. to remove listeners.

Returns ​

(...args: any[]) => void[]


listenersAnyOutgoing() ​

ts
listenersAnyOutgoing(): (...args: any[]) => void[];

Returns an array of listeners that are listening for any event that is specified. This array can be manipulated, e.g. to remove listeners.

Returns ​

(...args: any[]) => void[]


off() ​

ts
off<K>(eventName: string | symbol, listener: (...args: any[]) => void): this;

Alias for emitter.removeListener().

Type Parameters ​

Type Parameter
K

Parameters ​

ParameterType
eventNamestring | symbol
listener(...args: any[]) => void

Returns ​

this

Since ​

v10.0.0

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.off;

offAny() ​

ts
offAny(listener?: (...args: any[]) => void): this;

Removes the listener that will be fired when any event is received.

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
listener?(...args: any[]) => void

Returns ​

this

Example ​

ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  const catchAllListener = (event, ...args) => {
    console.log(`got event ${event}`);
  };

  socket.onAny(catchAllListener);

  // remove a specific listener
  socket.offAny(catchAllListener);

  // or remove all listeners
  socket.offAny();
});

offAnyOutgoing() ​

ts
offAnyOutgoing(listener?: (...args: any[]) => void): this;

Removes the listener that will be fired when any event is sent.

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
listener?(...args: any[]) => voidthe catch-all listener

Returns ​

this

Example ​

ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  const catchAllListener = (event, ...args) => {
    console.log(`sent event ${event}`);
  };

  socket.onAnyOutgoing(catchAllListener);

  // remove a specific listener
  socket.offAnyOutgoing(catchAllListener);

  // or remove all listeners
  socket.offAnyOutgoing();
});

on() ​

ts
on<Ev>(ev: Ev, listener: FallbackToUntypedListener<Ev extends "error" | "disconnect" | "disconnecting" ? SocketReservedEventsMap[Ev<Ev>] : Ev extends EventNames<ListenEvents> ? ListenEvents[Ev<Ev>] : never>): this;

Adds the listener function as an event listener for ev.

Type Parameters ​

Type Parameter
Ev extends string | symbol

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
evEvName of the event
listenerFallbackToUntypedListener<Ev extends "error" | "disconnect" | "disconnecting" ? SocketReservedEventsMap[Ev<Ev>] : Ev extends EventNames<ListenEvents> ? ListenEvents[Ev<Ev>] : never>Callback function

Returns ​

this

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.on;

onAny() ​

ts
onAny(listener: (...args: any[]) => void): this;

Adds a listener that will be fired when any event is received. The event name is passed as the first argument to the callback.

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
listener(...args: any[]) => void

Returns ​

this

Example ​

ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  socket.onAny((event, ...args) => {
    console.log(`got event ${event}`);
  });
});

onAnyOutgoing() ​

ts
onAnyOutgoing(listener: (...args: any[]) => void): this;

Adds a listener that will be fired when any event is sent. The event name is passed as the first argument to the callback.

Note: acknowledgements sent to the client are not included.

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
listener(...args: any[]) => void

Returns ​

this

Example ​

ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  socket.onAnyOutgoing((event, ...args) => {
    console.log(`sent event ${event}`);
  });
});

once() ​

ts
once<Ev>(ev: Ev, listener: FallbackToUntypedListener<Ev extends "error" | "disconnect" | "disconnecting" ? SocketReservedEventsMap[Ev<Ev>] : Ev extends EventNames<ListenEvents> ? ListenEvents[Ev<Ev>] : never>): this;

Adds a one-time listener function as an event listener for ev.

Type Parameters ​

Type Parameter
Ev extends string | symbol

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
evEvName of the event
listenerFallbackToUntypedListener<Ev extends "error" | "disconnect" | "disconnecting" ? SocketReservedEventsMap[Ev<Ev>] : Ev extends EventNames<ListenEvents> ? ListenEvents[Ev<Ev>] : never>Callback function

Returns ​

this

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.once;

prependAny() ​

ts
prependAny(listener: (...args: any[]) => void): this;

Adds a listener that will be fired when any event is received. The event name is passed as the first argument to the callback. The listener is added to the beginning of the listeners array.

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
listener(...args: any[]) => void

Returns ​

this


prependAnyOutgoing() ​

ts
prependAnyOutgoing(listener: (...args: any[]) => void): this;

Adds a listener that will be fired when any event is emitted. The event name is passed as the first argument to the callback. The listener is added to the beginning of the listeners array.

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
listener(...args: any[]) => void

Returns ​

this

Example ​

ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  socket.prependAnyOutgoing((event, ...args) => {
    console.log(`sent event ${event}`);
  });
});

prependListener() ​

ts
prependListener<K>(eventName: string | symbol, listener: (...args: any[]) => void): this;

Adds the listener function to the beginning of the listeners array for the event named eventName. No checks are made to see if the listener has already been added. Multiple calls passing the same combination of eventName and listener will result in the listener being added, and called, multiple times.

js
server.prependListener("connection", (stream) => {
  console.log("someone connected!");
});

Returns a reference to the EventEmitter, so that calls can be chained.

Type Parameters ​

Type Parameter
K

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
eventNamestring | symbolThe name of the event.
listener(...args: any[]) => voidThe callback function

Returns ​

this

Since ​

v6.0.0

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.prependListener;

prependOnceListener() ​

ts
prependOnceListener<K>(eventName: string | symbol, listener: (...args: any[]) => void): this;

Adds a one-timelistener function for the event named eventName to the beginning of the listeners array. The next time eventName is triggered, this listener is removed, and then invoked.

js
server.prependOnceListener("connection", (stream) => {
  console.log("Ah, we have our first user!");
});

Returns a reference to the EventEmitter, so that calls can be chained.

Type Parameters ​

Type Parameter
K

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
eventNamestring | symbolThe name of the event.
listener(...args: any[]) => voidThe callback function

Returns ​

this

Since ​

v6.0.0

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.prependOnceListener;

rawListeners() ​

ts
rawListeners<K>(eventName: string | symbol): Function[];

Returns a copy of the array of listeners for the event named eventName, including any wrappers (such as those created by .once()).

js
import { EventEmitter } from "node:events";
const emitter = new EventEmitter();
emitter.once("log", () => console.log("log once"));

// Returns a new Array with a function `onceWrapper` which has a property
// `listener` which contains the original listener bound above
const listeners = emitter.rawListeners("log");
const logFnWrapper = listeners[0];

// Logs "log once" to the console and does not unbind the `once` event
logFnWrapper.listener();

// Logs "log once" to the console and removes the listener
logFnWrapper();

emitter.on("log", () => console.log("log persistently"));
// Will return a new Array with a single function bound by `.on()` above
const newListeners = emitter.rawListeners("log");

// Logs "log persistently" twice
newListeners[0]();
emitter.emit("log");

Type Parameters ​

Type Parameter
K

Parameters ​

ParameterType
eventNamestring | symbol

Returns ​

Function[]

Since ​

v9.4.0

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.rawListeners;

removeAllListeners() ​

ts
removeAllListeners(eventName?: string | symbol): this;

Removes all listeners, or those of the specified eventName.

It is bad practice to remove listeners added elsewhere in the code, particularly when the EventEmitter instance was created by some other component or module (e.g. sockets or file streams).

Returns a reference to the EventEmitter, so that calls can be chained.

Parameters ​

ParameterType
eventName?string | symbol

Returns ​

this

Since ​

v0.1.26

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.removeAllListeners;

removeListener() ​

ts
removeListener<K>(eventName: string | symbol, listener: (...args: any[]) => void): this;

Removes the specified listener from the listener array for the event named eventName.

js
const callback = (stream) => {
  console.log("someone connected!");
};
server.on("connection", callback);
// ...
server.removeListener("connection", callback);

removeListener() will remove, at most, one instance of a listener from the listener array. If any single listener has been added multiple times to the listener array for the specified eventName, then removeListener() must be called multiple times to remove each instance.

Once an event is emitted, all listeners attached to it at the time of emitting are called in order. This implies that any removeListener() or removeAllListeners() calls after emitting and before the last listener finishes execution will not remove them fromemit() in progress. Subsequent events behave as expected.

js
import { EventEmitter } from "node:events";
class MyEmitter extends EventEmitter {}
const myEmitter = new MyEmitter();

const callbackA = () => {
  console.log("A");
  myEmitter.removeListener("event", callbackB);
};

const callbackB = () => {
  console.log("B");
};

myEmitter.on("event", callbackA);

myEmitter.on("event", callbackB);

// callbackA removes listener callbackB but it will still be called.
// Internal listener array at time of emit [callbackA, callbackB]
myEmitter.emit("event");
// Prints:
//   A
//   B

// callbackB is now removed.
// Internal listener array [callbackA]
myEmitter.emit("event");
// Prints:
//   A

Because listeners are managed using an internal array, calling this will change the position indices of any listener registered after the listener being removed. This will not impact the order in which listeners are called, but it means that any copies of the listener array as returned by the emitter.listeners() method will need to be recreated.

When a single function has been added as a handler multiple times for a single event (as in the example below), removeListener() will remove the most recently added instance. In the example the once('ping') listener is removed:

js
import { EventEmitter } from "node:events";
const ee = new EventEmitter();

function pong() {
  console.log("pong");
}

ee.on("ping", pong);
ee.once("ping", pong);
ee.removeListener("ping", pong);

ee.emit("ping");
ee.emit("ping");

Returns a reference to the EventEmitter, so that calls can be chained.

Type Parameters ​

Type Parameter
K

Parameters ​

ParameterType
eventNamestring | symbol
listener(...args: any[]) => void

Returns ​

this

Since ​

v0.1.26

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.removeListener;

send() ​

ts
send(...args: Parameters<EmitEvents["message"]>): this;

Sends a message event.

This method mimics the WebSocket.send() method.

Parameters ​

ParameterType
...argsParameters<EmitEvents["message"]>

Returns ​

this

self

See ​

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WebSocket/send

Example ​

ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  socket.send("hello");

  // this is equivalent to
  socket.emit("message", "hello");
});

setMaxListeners() ​

ts
setMaxListeners(n: number): this;

By default EventEmitters will print a warning if more than 10 listeners are added for a particular event. This is a useful default that helps finding memory leaks. The emitter.setMaxListeners() method allows the limit to be modified for this specific EventEmitter instance. The value can be set to Infinity (or 0) to indicate an unlimited number of listeners.

Returns a reference to the EventEmitter, so that calls can be chained.

Parameters ​

ParameterType
nnumber

Returns ​

this

Since ​

v0.3.5

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.setMaxListeners;

timeout() ​

ts
timeout(timeout: number): Socket<ListenEvents, DecorateAcknowledgements<EmitEvents>, ServerSideEvents, SocketData>;

Sets a modifier for a subsequent event emission that the callback will be called with an error when the given number of milliseconds have elapsed without an acknowledgement from the client:

Parameters ​

ParameterType
timeoutnumber

Returns ​

Socket<ListenEvents, DecorateAcknowledgements<EmitEvents>, ServerSideEvents, SocketData>

self

Example ​

ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  socket.timeout(5000).emit("my-event", (err) => {
    if (err) {
      // the client did not acknowledge the event in the given delay
    }
  });
});

to() ​

ts
to(room: string | string[]): BroadcastOperator<DecorateAcknowledgementsWithMultipleResponses<EmitEvents>, SocketData>;

Targets a room when broadcasting.

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
roomstring | string[]a room, or an array of rooms

Returns ​

BroadcastOperator<DecorateAcknowledgementsWithMultipleResponses<EmitEvents>, SocketData>

a new BroadcastOperator instance for chaining

Example ​

ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  // the “foo” event will be broadcast to all connected clients in the “room-101” room, except this socket
  socket.to("room-101").emit("foo", "bar");

  // the code above is equivalent to:
  io.to("room-101").except(socket.id).emit("foo", "bar");

  // with an array of rooms (a client will be notified at most once)
  socket.to(["room-101", "room-102"]).emit("foo", "bar");

  // with multiple chained calls
  socket.to("room-101").to("room-102").emit("foo", "bar");
});

use() ​

ts
use(fn: (event: Event, next: (err?: Error) => void) => void): this;

Sets up socket middleware.

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
fn(event: Event, next: (err?: Error) => void) => voidmiddleware function (event, next)

Returns ​

this

self

Example ​

ts
io.on("connection", (socket) => {
  socket.use(([event, ...args], next) => {
    if (isUnauthorized(event)) {
      return next(new Error("unauthorized event"));
    }
    // do not forget to call next
    next();
  });

  socket.on("error", (err) => {
    if (err && err.message === "unauthorized event") {
      socket.disconnect();
    }
  });
});

write() ​

ts
write(...args: Parameters<EmitEvents["message"]>): this;

Sends a message event. Alias of send.

Parameters ​

ParameterType
...argsParameters<EmitEvents["message"]>

Returns ​

this

self


addAbortListener() ​

ts
static addAbortListener(signal: AbortSignal, resource: (event: Event) => void): Disposable;

Experimental

Listens once to the abort event on the provided signal.

Listening to the abort event on abort signals is unsafe and may lead to resource leaks since another third party with the signal can call e.stopImmediatePropagation(). Unfortunately Node.js cannot change this since it would violate the web standard. Additionally, the original API makes it easy to forget to remove listeners.

This API allows safely using AbortSignals in Node.js APIs by solving these two issues by listening to the event such that stopImmediatePropagation does not prevent the listener from running.

Returns a disposable so that it may be unsubscribed from more easily.

js
import { addAbortListener } from "node:events";

function example(signal) {
  let disposable;
  try {
    signal.addEventListener("abort", (e) => e.stopImmediatePropagation());
    disposable = addAbortListener(signal, (e) => {
      // Do something when signal is aborted.
    });
  } finally {
    disposable?.[Symbol.dispose]();
  }
}

Parameters ​

ParameterType
signalAbortSignal
resource(event: Event) => void

Returns ​

Disposable

Disposable that removes the abort listener.

Since ​

v20.5.0

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.addAbortListener;

getEventListeners() ​

ts
static getEventListeners(emitter: EventEmitter<DefaultEventMap> | EventTarget, name: string | symbol): Function[];

Returns a copy of the array of listeners for the event named eventName.

For EventEmitters this behaves exactly the same as calling .listeners on the emitter.

For EventTargets this is the only way to get the event listeners for the event target. This is useful for debugging and diagnostic purposes.

js
import { getEventListeners, EventEmitter } from "node:events";

{
  const ee = new EventEmitter();
  const listener = () => console.log("Events are fun");
  ee.on("foo", listener);
  console.log(getEventListeners(ee, "foo")); // [ [Function: listener] ]
}
{
  const et = new EventTarget();
  const listener = () => console.log("Events are fun");
  et.addEventListener("foo", listener);
  console.log(getEventListeners(et, "foo")); // [ [Function: listener] ]
}

Parameters ​

ParameterType
emitterEventEmitter<DefaultEventMap> | EventTarget
namestring | symbol

Returns ​

Function[]

Since ​

v15.2.0, v14.17.0

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.getEventListeners;

getMaxListeners() ​

ts
static getMaxListeners(emitter: EventEmitter<DefaultEventMap> | EventTarget): number;

Returns the currently set max amount of listeners.

For EventEmitters this behaves exactly the same as calling .getMaxListeners on the emitter.

For EventTargets this is the only way to get the max event listeners for the event target. If the number of event handlers on a single EventTarget exceeds the max set, the EventTarget will print a warning.

js
import { getMaxListeners, setMaxListeners, EventEmitter } from "node:events";

{
  const ee = new EventEmitter();
  console.log(getMaxListeners(ee)); // 10
  setMaxListeners(11, ee);
  console.log(getMaxListeners(ee)); // 11
}
{
  const et = new EventTarget();
  console.log(getMaxListeners(et)); // 10
  setMaxListeners(11, et);
  console.log(getMaxListeners(et)); // 11
}

Parameters ​

ParameterType
emitterEventEmitter<DefaultEventMap> | EventTarget

Returns ​

number

Since ​

v19.9.0

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.getMaxListeners;

listenerCount() ​

ts
static listenerCount(emitter: EventEmitter, eventName: string | symbol): number;

A class method that returns the number of listeners for the given eventName registered on the given emitter.

js
import { EventEmitter, listenerCount } from "node:events";

const myEmitter = new EventEmitter();
myEmitter.on("event", () => {});
myEmitter.on("event", () => {});
console.log(listenerCount(myEmitter, "event"));
// Prints: 2

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
emitterEventEmitterThe emitter to query
eventNamestring | symbolThe event name

Returns ​

number

Since ​

v0.9.12

Deprecated ​

Since v3.2.0 - Use listenerCount instead.

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.listenerCount;

on() ​

Call Signature ​

ts
static on(
   emitter: EventEmitter,
   eventName: string | symbol,
options?: StaticEventEmitterIteratorOptions): AsyncIterableIterator<any[]>;
js
import { on, EventEmitter } from "node:events";
import process from "node:process";

const ee = new EventEmitter();

// Emit later on
process.nextTick(() => {
  ee.emit("foo", "bar");
  ee.emit("foo", 42);
});

for await (const event of on(ee, "foo")) {
  // The execution of this inner block is synchronous and it
  // processes one event at a time (even with await). Do not use
  // if concurrent execution is required.
  console.log(event); // prints ['bar'] [42]
}
// Unreachable here

Returns an AsyncIterator that iterates eventName events. It will throw if the EventEmitter emits 'error'. It removes all listeners when exiting the loop. The value returned by each iteration is an array composed of the emitted event arguments.

An AbortSignal can be used to cancel waiting on events:

js
import { on, EventEmitter } from "node:events";
import process from "node:process";

const ac = new AbortController();

(async () => {
  const ee = new EventEmitter();

  // Emit later on
  process.nextTick(() => {
    ee.emit("foo", "bar");
    ee.emit("foo", 42);
  });

  for await (const event of on(ee, "foo", { signal: ac.signal })) {
    // The execution of this inner block is synchronous and it
    // processes one event at a time (even with await). Do not use
    // if concurrent execution is required.
    console.log(event); // prints ['bar'] [42]
  }
  // Unreachable here
})();

process.nextTick(() => ac.abort());

Use the close option to specify an array of event names that will end the iteration:

js
import { on, EventEmitter } from "node:events";
import process from "node:process";

const ee = new EventEmitter();

// Emit later on
process.nextTick(() => {
  ee.emit("foo", "bar");
  ee.emit("foo", 42);
  ee.emit("close");
});

for await (const event of on(ee, "foo", { close: ["close"] })) {
  console.log(event); // prints ['bar'] [42]
}
// the loop will exit after 'close' is emitted
console.log("done"); // prints 'done'
Parameters ​
ParameterType
emitterEventEmitter
eventNamestring | symbol
options?StaticEventEmitterIteratorOptions
Returns ​

AsyncIterableIterator<any[]>

An AsyncIterator that iterates eventName events emitted by the emitter

Since ​

v13.6.0, v12.16.0

Inherited from ​
ts
StrictEventEmitter.on;

Call Signature ​

ts
static on(
   emitter: EventTarget,
   eventName: string,
options?: StaticEventEmitterIteratorOptions): AsyncIterableIterator<any[]>;
js
import { on, EventEmitter } from "node:events";
import process from "node:process";

const ee = new EventEmitter();

// Emit later on
process.nextTick(() => {
  ee.emit("foo", "bar");
  ee.emit("foo", 42);
});

for await (const event of on(ee, "foo")) {
  // The execution of this inner block is synchronous and it
  // processes one event at a time (even with await). Do not use
  // if concurrent execution is required.
  console.log(event); // prints ['bar'] [42]
}
// Unreachable here

Returns an AsyncIterator that iterates eventName events. It will throw if the EventEmitter emits 'error'. It removes all listeners when exiting the loop. The value returned by each iteration is an array composed of the emitted event arguments.

An AbortSignal can be used to cancel waiting on events:

js
import { on, EventEmitter } from "node:events";
import process from "node:process";

const ac = new AbortController();

(async () => {
  const ee = new EventEmitter();

  // Emit later on
  process.nextTick(() => {
    ee.emit("foo", "bar");
    ee.emit("foo", 42);
  });

  for await (const event of on(ee, "foo", { signal: ac.signal })) {
    // The execution of this inner block is synchronous and it
    // processes one event at a time (even with await). Do not use
    // if concurrent execution is required.
    console.log(event); // prints ['bar'] [42]
  }
  // Unreachable here
})();

process.nextTick(() => ac.abort());

Use the close option to specify an array of event names that will end the iteration:

js
import { on, EventEmitter } from "node:events";
import process from "node:process";

const ee = new EventEmitter();

// Emit later on
process.nextTick(() => {
  ee.emit("foo", "bar");
  ee.emit("foo", 42);
  ee.emit("close");
});

for await (const event of on(ee, "foo", { close: ["close"] })) {
  console.log(event); // prints ['bar'] [42]
}
// the loop will exit after 'close' is emitted
console.log("done"); // prints 'done'
Parameters ​
ParameterType
emitterEventTarget
eventNamestring
options?StaticEventEmitterIteratorOptions
Returns ​

AsyncIterableIterator<any[]>

An AsyncIterator that iterates eventName events emitted by the emitter

Since ​

v13.6.0, v12.16.0

Inherited from ​
ts
StrictEventEmitter.on;

once() ​

Call Signature ​

ts
static once(
   emitter: EventEmitter,
   eventName: string | symbol,
options?: StaticEventEmitterOptions): Promise<any[]>;

Creates a Promise that is fulfilled when the EventEmitter emits the given event or that is rejected if the EventEmitter emits 'error' while waiting. The Promise will resolve with an array of all the arguments emitted to the given event.

This method is intentionally generic and works with the web platform EventTarget interface, which has no special'error' event semantics and does not listen to the 'error' event.

js
import { once, EventEmitter } from "node:events";
import process from "node:process";

const ee = new EventEmitter();

process.nextTick(() => {
  ee.emit("myevent", 42);
});

const [value] = await once(ee, "myevent");
console.log(value);

const err = new Error("kaboom");
process.nextTick(() => {
  ee.emit("error", err);
});

try {
  await once(ee, "myevent");
} catch (err) {
  console.error("error happened", err);
}

The special handling of the 'error' event is only used when events.once() is used to wait for another event. If events.once() is used to wait for the 'error' event itself, then it is treated as any other kind of event without special handling:

js
import { EventEmitter, once } from "node:events";

const ee = new EventEmitter();

once(ee, "error")
  .then(([err]) => console.log("ok", err.message))
  .catch((err) => console.error("error", err.message));

ee.emit("error", new Error("boom"));

// Prints: ok boom

An AbortSignal can be used to cancel waiting for the event:

js
import { EventEmitter, once } from "node:events";

const ee = new EventEmitter();
const ac = new AbortController();

async function foo(emitter, event, signal) {
  try {
    await once(emitter, event, { signal });
    console.log("event emitted!");
  } catch (error) {
    if (error.name === "AbortError") {
      console.error("Waiting for the event was canceled!");
    } else {
      console.error("There was an error", error.message);
    }
  }
}

foo(ee, "foo", ac.signal);
ac.abort(); // Abort waiting for the event
ee.emit("foo"); // Prints: Waiting for the event was canceled!
Parameters ​
ParameterType
emitterEventEmitter
eventNamestring | symbol
options?StaticEventEmitterOptions
Returns ​

Promise<any[]>

Since ​

v11.13.0, v10.16.0

Inherited from ​
ts
StrictEventEmitter.once;

Call Signature ​

ts
static once(
   emitter: EventTarget,
   eventName: string,
options?: StaticEventEmitterOptions): Promise<any[]>;

Creates a Promise that is fulfilled when the EventEmitter emits the given event or that is rejected if the EventEmitter emits 'error' while waiting. The Promise will resolve with an array of all the arguments emitted to the given event.

This method is intentionally generic and works with the web platform EventTarget interface, which has no special'error' event semantics and does not listen to the 'error' event.

js
import { once, EventEmitter } from "node:events";
import process from "node:process";

const ee = new EventEmitter();

process.nextTick(() => {
  ee.emit("myevent", 42);
});

const [value] = await once(ee, "myevent");
console.log(value);

const err = new Error("kaboom");
process.nextTick(() => {
  ee.emit("error", err);
});

try {
  await once(ee, "myevent");
} catch (err) {
  console.error("error happened", err);
}

The special handling of the 'error' event is only used when events.once() is used to wait for another event. If events.once() is used to wait for the 'error' event itself, then it is treated as any other kind of event without special handling:

js
import { EventEmitter, once } from "node:events";

const ee = new EventEmitter();

once(ee, "error")
  .then(([err]) => console.log("ok", err.message))
  .catch((err) => console.error("error", err.message));

ee.emit("error", new Error("boom"));

// Prints: ok boom

An AbortSignal can be used to cancel waiting for the event:

js
import { EventEmitter, once } from "node:events";

const ee = new EventEmitter();
const ac = new AbortController();

async function foo(emitter, event, signal) {
  try {
    await once(emitter, event, { signal });
    console.log("event emitted!");
  } catch (error) {
    if (error.name === "AbortError") {
      console.error("Waiting for the event was canceled!");
    } else {
      console.error("There was an error", error.message);
    }
  }
}

foo(ee, "foo", ac.signal);
ac.abort(); // Abort waiting for the event
ee.emit("foo"); // Prints: Waiting for the event was canceled!
Parameters ​
ParameterType
emitterEventTarget
eventNamestring
options?StaticEventEmitterOptions
Returns ​

Promise<any[]>

Since ​

v11.13.0, v10.16.0

Inherited from ​
ts
StrictEventEmitter.once;

setMaxListeners() ​

ts
static setMaxListeners(n?: number, ...eventTargets?: (EventEmitter<DefaultEventMap> | EventTarget)[]): void;
js
import { setMaxListeners, EventEmitter } from "node:events";

const target = new EventTarget();
const emitter = new EventEmitter();

setMaxListeners(5, target, emitter);

Parameters ​

ParameterTypeDescription
n?numberA non-negative number. The maximum number of listeners per EventTarget event.
...eventTargets?(EventEmitter<DefaultEventMap> | EventTarget)[]-

Returns ​

void

Since ​

v15.4.0

Inherited from ​

ts
StrictEventEmitter.setMaxListeners;