Realtime

:partial{content="config-env-vars"}

Directus Realtime provides WebSockets and GraphQL Subscriptions.

Variable	Description	Default Value
WEBSOCKETS_ENABLED	Whether or not to enable all WebSocket functionality.	false
WEBSOCKETS_HEARTBEAT_ENABLED	Whether or not to enable the heartbeat ping signal.	true
WEBSOCKETS_HEARTBEAT_PERIOD	The period in seconds at which to send the ping. This period doubles as the timeout used for closing an unresponsive connection.	30

It's recommended to keep the WEBSOCKETS_HEARTBEAT_PERIOD between 30 and 120 seconds, otherwise the connections could be considered idle by other parties and therefore terminated.

WebSockets

Variable	Description	Default Value
WEBSOCKETS_REST_ENABLED	Whether or not to enable the WebSocket message handlers.	true
WEBSOCKETS_REST_PATH	The URL path at which the WebSocket endpoint will be available.	/websocket
WEBSOCKETS_REST_CONN_LIMIT	How many simultaneous connections are allowed.	Infinity
WEBSOCKETS_REST_AUTH	The method of authentication to require for this connection. One of public, handshake or strict.	handshake
WEBSOCKETS_REST_AUTH_TIMEOUT	The amount of time in seconds to wait before closing an unauthenticated connection.	30

::callout{icon="material-symbols:menu-book-outline" color="primary" to="/guides/realtime/authentication"} Read more about different authentication methods with Directus Realtime. ::

GraphQL

Variable	Description	Default Value
WEBSOCKETS_GRAPHQL_ENABLED	Whether or not to enable GraphQL Subscriptions.	true
WEBSOCKETS_GRAPHQL_PATH	The URL path at which the GraphQL Subscriptions endpoint will be available.	/graphql
WEBSOCKETS_GRAPHQL_CONN_LIMIT	How many simultaneous connections are allowed.	Infinity
WEBSOCKETS_GRAPHQL_AUTH	The method of authentication to require for this connection. One of public, handshake or strict.	handshake
WEBSOCKETS_GRAPHQL_AUTH_TIMEOUT	The amount of time in seconds to wait before closing an unauthenticated connection.	30

::callout{icon="material-symbols:menu-book-outline" color="primary" to="/guides/realtime/authentication"} Read more about different authentication methods with Directus Realtime. ::

Collaborative Editing

::callout{icon="material-symbols:info-outline"} Multi-instance collaboration requires a shared Redis instance for coordination. ::

Variable	Description	Default Value
WEBSOCKETS_COLLAB_ENABLED	Toggle collaborative editing functionality specifically (when WebSockets are enabled).	true
WEBSOCKETS_COLLAB_INSTANCE_TIMEOUT	Duration in milliseconds before a silent node is considered dead.	10000
WEBSOCKETS_COLLAB_CLUSTER_CLEANUP_CRON	Cron expression for how often to garbage-collect empty rooms.	*/1 * * * *
WEBSOCKETS_COLLAB_LOCAL_CLEANUP_INTERVAL	Duration in milliseconds between local cleanup sweeps.	60000
WEBSOCKETS_COLLAB_PERMISSIONS_CACHE_CAPACITY	LRU cache size for permission checks.	2000
WEBSOCKETS_COLLAB_STORE_NAMESPACE	The namespace used for Redis storage.	collab

Logging

Read more about logging with Directus Realtime in the logging configuration.