I wrote a tiny header-only WebSocket library in C++20 because I apparently hate myself

Hey folks 👋

I’m fully aware the world does not need another C++ WebSocket library.. but after fighting with existing ones for way too long, I ended up writing my own instead of touching grass.

It’s called wspp, and it’s a header-only, C++20 WebSocket client/server library. No Boost, no ASIO dependency soup, no macro gymnastics. Just modern C++ and a reactor-style async loop.

I’m not claiming it’s revolutionary or better than your favorite library. It’s mostly the result of:

“this should be simpler”
“why does this need 5 dependencies?”
“surely RFC 6455 isn’t that bad” (it was)

Some highlights (if you’re still reading):

Header-only (drop it in and move on)
WS and WSS (OpenSSL optional)
Async / non-blocking
Windows + Linux
Passes Autobahn tests (this surprised me the most)
Designed around C++20 instead of pretending it’s 2008

I’ve been using it for my own projects and figured I’d share it before it rots on my SSD forever. If nothing else, maybe it’s useful as:

a lightweight alternative
a reference implementation
or something to yell at in the comments 😄

Repo + examples + docs are here:
https://github.com/pinwhell/wspp

Feedback, nitpicks, “why didn’t you just use X”, or “this is terrible and here’s why” are all genuinely welcome. I’m still learning, and I’d rather hear it now than after someone builds something important on top of it.

Thanks for reading ❤️

https://redd.it/1q8thtd
@r_cpp