grpc/grpc-web
Grpc Web
gRPC-Web is a JavaScript client library that enables browser applications to call gRPC services through an HTTP proxy, using Protocol Buffers for serialization. It provides a browser-based gRPC client that supports unary, server-streaming, and bidirectional streaming RPCs, along with a code generator that produces JavaScript and TypeScript client stubs from .proto service definitions.
The library includes an interceptor framework for attaching cross-cutting logic like authentication and retries to client calls, and supports setting Unix timestamp deadlines on RPCs for server-side timeout enforcement. It generates TypeScript type definitions alongside JavaScript stubs for type-safe client code, and offers a choice between text and binary wire formats for browser compatibility.
The project provides a complete toolchain for defining gRPC services with Protocol Buffers, compiling them into client stubs, and routing browser gRPC-web traffic through compatible proxies like Envoy or Nginx. It also supports pluggable authentication mechanisms for attaching credentials to remote procedure calls.
Features
- Browser gRPC Clients - Calling gRPC services from web browsers through an HTTP proxy using Protocol Buffers for serialization.
- Protocol Buffers Serializers - Encode and decode data using a binary serialization format, ensuring efficient and type-safe payloads between client and server.
- gRPC Stub Type Definitions - Generate type definitions or full TypeScript output alongside the stub so editors provide type checking.
- Server-Pushed Message Streams - Receive a sequence of messages pushed by a gRPC service over a single connection, allowing real-time data delivery to the browser.
- gRPC Interceptor Libraries - Attaching interceptors to client calls in the browser to add cross-cutting logic like authentication and retries.
- HTTP Bidirectional Streaming - Implements bidirectional message streaming by multiplexing multiple HTTP connections or using chunked transfer encoding for real-time communication.
- gRPC-Web Bridging - Translating gRPC semantics into HTTP/1.1 or HTTP/2 requests so browsers can call remote procedures without native gRPC support.
- Unary Interceptors - Modify outgoing requests and incoming responses for unary gRPC calls by implementing a defined interceptor interface.
- Unary and Streaming Interceptors - Chain custom interceptors for unary or stream RPCs to add cross-cutting behavior like authentication or retries.
- gRPC Service Implementations - Define remote procedure calls and messages with Protocol Buffers so clients and servers in different languages can communicate.
- Pluggable Authentication Mechanisms - Integrate custom or standard authentication mechanisms into each remote procedure call.
- Server-Side Streaming - Get a sequence of messages from a server-side streaming call as they arrive without waiting for the full response.
- Bidirectional Stream Establishment - Send and receive a continuous stream of messages between client and server over a single persistent connection.
- Protocol Buffer Schemas - Describe a remote procedure call service using a language-neutral schema for structured data serialization.
- Protobuf Stub Generators - Turn schema definitions into message classes and a service client stub that handles serialization and transport.
- JavaScript Client Stubs - Generates JavaScript message classes and client stubs from .proto definitions, handling serialization and deserialization automatically.
- RPC Interceptors - Wrap unary or stream interceptors around remote calls to inject cross-cutting logic like authentication or retries.
- Bidirectional Streams - Send and receive a continuous flow of messages over a single connection for real-time bidirectional communication.
- Remote Procedure Calls - Send requests to a remote service through a proxy and receive responses using standard HTTP so frontend code can invoke backend methods.
- gRPC-Web Client Support - A JavaScript library that lets browser applications call gRPC services through an HTTP proxy using Protocol Buffers for serialization.
- Browser gRPC Streaming Clients - A client implementation that supports unary, server-streaming, and bidirectional streaming RPCs from web browsers over HTTP.
- Server-Streaming Interceptors - Wrap a server-streaming response to intercept stream events and modify response messages as they arrive.
- Wire Format Selection - Choose between a text format or a binary format for the payload, each with different browser compatibility.
- TypeScript Stub Typings - Generates .d.ts declarations or full TypeScript output alongside JavaScript stubs, providing compile-time type checking for client code.
- Proxy Configurations - Route browser gRPC-web requests through a compatible proxy such as Envoy, Nginx, or a dedicated Go proxy.
- Ordered Interceptor Chains - Attach an ordered array of unary or stream interceptors to a client instance at creation time.
- Message Interception - Wrap the response stream to intercept events and modify messages as they arrive from the server.
- Deadline Management - Specify a Unix timestamp deadline for a remote call, causing an error if the call exceeds that time.
- Client-Side Interceptor Attachment - Attach one or more interceptor instances to a client when it is instantiated, applying them to all subsequent remote procedure calls.
- Deadline Verification - Pass a timestamp header on a remote call so the server aborts the call if it exceeds the specified time limit.
- Core Libraries - Library for enabling gRPC in web clients.
