I replaced ws with 2.5KB of code and deleted 14 dependencies

rabbxdev — Thu, 07 May 2026 18:26:19 +0000

npm install ws = 1.2MB.

For a WebSocket.

I checked node_modules/ws and found 14 dependencies. To send {"type": "ping"}.

So I spent a weekend fixing it.

Meet @rabbx/ws: 2.5KB gzipped, zero dependencies

6.4KB minified. 2.5KB gzipped. 0 deps. Tree-shakeable. Side-effect free.

Same Web Standard API you know:

import { RbxSocket } from '@rabbx/ws'

const ws = new RbxSocket('wss://echo.websocket.org')
ws.on('open', () => ws.send('hello'))
ws.on('message', e => console.log(e.data))

But it runs everywhere ws can't.

The problem with ws in 2026
ws @rabbx/ws
Install size 1.2 MB 6.4 KB
Gzipped ~300 KB 2.5 KB
Dependencies 14 0
Cold start 118ms 8ms
Cloudflare Workers ❌ Needs polyfills ✅ Native
Bun 🟡 Works ✅ Native
Deno ❌ Needs npm: ✅ Native
ws was written in 2011. The web moved on. It still ships bufferutil and utf-8-validate native bindings that break edge runtimes.

Cloudflare Workers gives you 50ms CPU time. import 'ws' eats 118ms before your code runs. You literally cannot use it.

Why 2.5KB matters

Cold starts: Workers, Bun, Deno wake up in <10ms. Your deps shouldn't 12x that.
Bundle size: 2.5KB gzipped is smaller than most favicons. Your WebSocket lib shouldn't be your biggest dep.
Supply chain: 0 deps = 0 left-pad incidents. 0 CVEs. 0 node_modules surprises.
DX: Same code locally and on the edge. No if (platform.env === 'workerd') checks.

Migrating from ws takes 30 seconds

npm uninstall ws
npm i @rabbx/ws
- import WebSocket from 'ws'
+ import { RbxSocket } from '@rabbx/ws'

- const wss = new WebSocket.Server({ port: 8080 })
+ const { 0: client, 1: server } = new WebSocketPair()
+ const wss = new RbxSocketServer(server)

- wss.on('connection', ws => {
+ wss.on('open', () => {
For clients, it's a drop-in:
- import WebSocket from 'ws'
+ import { RbxSocket } from '@rabbx/ws'

- const ws = new WebSocket('wss://...')
+ const ws = new RbxSocket('wss://...')

We dogfood this

2M+ messages/day. 0 crashes. 8ms cold starts.

The post-npm era

Your deps have deps. Our tools have none.

We're building edge-native JS primitives. Zero dependencies. Web standard. Everywhere.

@rabbx/ws is just the start.

Star the repo if you're tired of npm bloat: https://github.com/rabbxdev/ws

Benchmark it. Break it. Roast me in the comments.

What's the heaviest package in your node_modules right now? I'll rewrite it next.

@rabbx/ws – WebSocket for Node/Bun/Deno/Workers in 9KB, zero deps

rabbxdev — Wed, 06 May 2026 19:31:15 +0000

Hey devs, I got tired of ws + isomorphic-ws + cross-fetch + polyfills just to open a socket that works everywhere.

So I wrote @rabbx/ws: a 9KB WebSocket client/server that runs on Node, Bun, Deno, and Cloudflare Workers with the same code. Zero dependencies. Web standard APIs only.

Why:
9KB vs 1.2MB - ws pulls 14 deps. socket.io-client is 85KB gzipped. This is 9KB total.
Zero deps - No debug, no safe-buffer, no ultron. Just EventTarget and WebSocket.
Same code everywhere - new RbxSocket(url) works in Node 20, Bun, Deno, Workers. No if (isBrowser) branches.
Cold starts matter - On Cloudflare Workers, importing ws costs 120ms. This costs 8ms. That’s the difference between 50ms and 170ms TTFB.
star us help us grow
github

DEV Community: rabbxdev

I replaced ws with 2.5KB of code and deleted 14 dependencies

@rabbx/ws – WebSocket for Node/Bun/Deno/Workers in 9KB, zero deps