Pulse — Node.js Realtime Server (WebSocket)

Pulse is a self-hosted realtime WebSocket server built with Node.js — native http plus the ws library. Rooms, presence, message history, typing indicators, heartbeats and live stats out of the box, with a polished operator-style demo web client.

A backend building block you can run and own — no SaaS, no framework, a single dependency.

Highlights

• HTTP + WebSocket on a single port (native http + ws).
• Rooms, presence, per-room message history (configurable ring buffer).
• Typing indicators, heartbeat liveness, rate limiting, payload validation.
• REST: /api/health, /api/stats, /api/rooms.
• Three-pane demo client (vanilla JS) with auto-reconnect.
• ESM, Node 18+, graceful shutdown, no build step.