An incomplete WebSocket client based on only socket, ssl, and uuid in Python
Tags: python, websocket, socket
Published: 2021-11-12 15:08:27

---
title: An incomplete WebSocket client based on only socket, ssl, and uuid in Python
published: true
description: 
tags: python,WebSocket,socket
---

A few days ago, I couldn't get a WebSocket library working with another library on Python 3.10. So to avoid those dependencies, I implemented my WebSocket client on a low-level socket API. I implemented one in Common Lisp first. Then I translated it to Python. My WebSocket client is very far away from being completed, but at least it can run.

The first part is import. I imported only three things that are socket, ssl, and uuid.

```Python
import socket
import ssl
import uuid
```

The second part is based on HTTP headers for telling the server to switch to the WebSocket mode.

```Python
def upgrade(s, conn_info):
    with s.makefile(mode = 'rw', encoding = "ISO-8859-1") as f:
        f.write(f'GET {conn_info["path"]} HTTP/1.1\r\n')
        f.write(f'Host: {conn_info["host"]}\r\n')
        f.write("Connection: Upgrade\r\n")
        f.write("Upgrade: websocket\r\n")
        f.write(f'Sec-Websocket-Key: {str(uuid.uuid1())}\r\n')
        f.write("Sec-WebSocket-Version: 13\r\n")
        f.write("\r\n")
        f.flush()
        
        # reading response
        for line in f:
            if line == "\n":
                break
```

The third part is reading a content length. I assume that the server keep sending text contents. In read\_payload\_len(), s.recv(1) read a byte from the socket s. & 0x7F is for masking only 7 bits. If length is 127, the length is in the next 4 bytes instead. If length is 126, the length is in the next 2 bytes. Otherwise the function just returns the length.

```Python
def read_payload_len(s):
    match s.recv(1)[0] & 0x7F:
        case 127:
            return read_extra_len(s, 4)
        case 126:
            return read_extra_len(s, 2)
        case l:
            return l
```

The read\_extra\_len reads bytes and turn them to integer.

```Python
def read_extra_len(s, num_of_bytes):
    buf = s.recv(num_of_bytes)
    len = 0
    for i in range(num_of_bytes):
        len += buf[i] << (8 * (num_of_bytes - i - 1))
    return len
```

In the fourth part, we read a web socket frame. The program determine a frame type from opcode, which in the last 4 bits of the header. I should implement PING-PONG part but I didn't. According to RFC6455, which I forgot to mention before, opcode == 0x1 means the frame is a text frame. So the program reads payload length and reads the payload.

```Python
def read_frame(s):
    header0 = s.recv(1)[0]
    opcode = header0 & 0x0F
    match opcode:
        case 0x1:
            payload_len = read_payload_len(s)
            print(s.recv(payload_len))
        case 0x9:
            print("PING")
        case 0xA:
            print("PONG")
```

The last part is for opening connections and SSL/TLS wrapper. The function created a socket and wrapped it with TLS/SSL wrapper. The sending upgrade message to ask the server to switch to Websocket mode and the keep reading frames.

```Python
def connect(conn_info):
    ctx = ssl.create_default_context()
    with socket.create_connection((conn_info["host"], conn_info["port"])) as s:
        with ctx.wrap_socket(s, server_hostname = conn_info["host"]) as ss:
            upgrade(ss, conn_info)
            while True:
                read_frame(ss)
```

In the final part, I cannot find any public Websocket endpoint besides ones from cryptocurrency exchanges. So I put Bitkub API.

```Python
connect({"host": "api.bitkub.com",
         "port": 443,
         "path": "/websocket-api/market.trade.thb_btc"})
```

And it works, but if you are unlucky, you will get PING instead.

```
> python3.10 http_ex.py 
b'{"amt":0.00004661,"bid":86911896,"rat":2140000,"sid":82187323,"stream":"market.trade.thb_btc","sym":"THB_BTC","ts":1636729677,"txn":"BTCSELL0011078574"}\n{"amt":0.23306074,"bid":86912246,"rat":2140000,"sid":82187325,"stream":"market.trade.thb_btc","sym":"THB_BTC","ts":1636729677,"txn":"BTCSELL0011078576"}'
b'{"amt":0.00466121,"bid":86912014,"rat":2140000,"sid":82187324,"stream":"market.trade.thb_btc","sym":"THB_BTC","ts":1636729677,"txn":"BTCSELL0011078575"}'
```