How does Firehose compare to socket.io?

Firehose uses HTTP-based pub-sub with a focus on server-to-client updates and reliability in older browsers, while socket.io abstracts WebSockets for full-duplex communication but can be stateful per node, as explained in the README comparison.

How to add authentication to Firehose?

Implement custom message filters to check tokens or permissions, using the on_subscribe and process methods shown in the Configuration section, which allows server-side validation without built-in features.

Can Firehose work with Rails apps?

Yes, it integrates via Rack and Sprockets for the JavaScript client, and you can run the server separately or embedded, making it suitable for adding real-time features to Rails projects.

What are Firehose's scaling limits?

Scaling depends on Redis performance and server configuration; Firehose lacks built-in clustering, so you need to manage Redis replication and load balancing manually, which can be complex for high traffic.

How to deploy Firehose with Docker?

Use the provided docker-compose setup to build and run the server, as mentioned in the Getting Started section, which simplifies local development but requires additional tuning for production.

Is Firehose good for mobile app backends?

The JavaScript client can be used in web views, but native mobile apps need custom HTTP clients, which may not be as optimized as dedicated real-time libraries for mobile platforms.

Open-Awesome

Firehose

MITRuby

A Rack application and JavaScript library for building real-time web applications with HTTP pub-sub in Ruby.

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725 stars70 forks0 contributors

What is Firehose?

Firehose is a real-time web application framework that provides an HTTP-based pub-sub system for Ruby and JavaScript. It allows servers to push updates to clients via simple RESTful endpoints, solving the need for low-latency server-to-client communication without requiring complex WebSocket setups.

Target Audience

Ruby developers building real-time features like live notifications, chat, or collaborative editing into web applications, especially those preferring HTTP simplicity over WebSocket abstractions.

Value Proposition

Developers choose Firehose for its clean, RESTful design, ease of integration with existing Ruby stacks, and reliability across browsers—including older ones—via HTTP long-polling fallbacks.

Overview

Build realtime Ruby web applications. Created by the fine folks at Poll Everywhere.

Use Cases

Best For

Adding real-time notifications to a Ruby on Rails application
Building live dashboards with auto-updating data visualizations
Implementing simple chat features without WebSocket complexity
Creating collaborative editing tools with server-push updates
Streaming live data feeds to JavaScript clients via HTTP
Replacing or simplifying socket.io setups in Ruby projects

Not Ideal For

Applications requiring full-duplex, low-latency communication like multiplayer games or live video streaming
Projects built on non-Ruby backends where integrating a Ruby-based pub-sub server is cumbersome
High-scale systems needing built-in horizontal scaling without Redis dependency management
Teams wanting pre-built client SDKs for languages beyond JavaScript and Ruby

Pros & Cons

Pros

HTTP Simplicity

Uses RESTful PUT and long-polling for pub-sub, making it easy to integrate with existing web apps without complex WebSocket setups, as shown in the curl examples.

Cross-Browser Reliability

Supports HTTP long-polling as a fallback for older browsers, ensuring real-time updates work reliably even without WebSocket support, per the philosophy section.

Ruby Native Integration

Provides a Ruby client with configurable publishing options like TTL and buffer size, seamless for Ruby developers, as detailed in the Ruby Publisher section.

Extensible Message Filters

Allows custom server-side filters for authentication and message transformation, enabling fine-grained control, with examples in the Custom MessageFilters section.

Cons

Redis Dependency

Requires Redis 2.6+ with Lua support, adding infrastructure complexity and a potential single point of failure, as stated in the Getting Started section.

Limited Client Libraries

Focuses on JavaScript and Ruby clients; other languages need custom HTTP implementations, which can hinder polyglot teams, implied by the lack of other SDKs.

Separate Deployment Overhead

Recommends deploying as a separate Rack app with tools like Capistrano, increasing operational setup compared to integrated solutions, per the Deployment section.

Open Source Alternative To

Firehose is an open-source alternative to the following products:

socket.io

Socket.IO is a JavaScript library for real-time web applications that enables bidirectional communication between web clients and servers.

Frequently Asked Questions

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