The Shrew Websocket Server

Shrew is a high‑performance WebSocket Server designed for teams and developers who need fast, reliable, real‑time communication with minimal overhead. Built for simplicity, it provides a clean room‑based messaging architecture where clients can join rooms, exchange messages instantly, and see presence updates the moment users enter or leave. This makes it ideal for chat systems, collaborative tools, dashboards, multiplayer features, or any application that depends on low‑latency bidirectional communication.
At its core, Shrew manages rooms dynamically, creating and removing them automatically as clients join or disconnect. Each room maintains a live presence list, enabling applications to display who is online without requiring extra backend logic. The server enforces per‑customer limits such as maximum rooms, maximum clients, and message‑rate throttling, ensuring fair usage and preventing abuse. It can also delegate key responsibilities to your backend — including authentication, message persistence, and room‑creation authorization — giving you full control over security and data handling.
Whether you’re building a chat platform, a support system, a collaborative workspace, or any real‑time interactive experience, Shrew provides a lightweight, dependable foundation that keeps your communication layer fast, organized, and effortless to integrate. And why the name Shrew? Because it’s small, but extremely active — just like the tiny creature that inspired it.