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This is a low-level API intended for library authors and for advanced use cases.

Start a server (Bun.listen())

To start a TCP server with Bun.listen:
https://mintcdn.com/bun-1dd33a4e/JUhaF6Mf68z_zHyy/icons/typescript.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=JUhaF6Mf68z_zHyy&q=85&s=7ac549adaea8d5487d8fbd58cc3ea35bserver.ts
Bun.listen({  hostname: "localhost",  port: 8080,  socket: {  data(socket, data) {}, // message received from client  open(socket) {}, // socket opened  close(socket, error) {}, // socket closed  drain(socket) {}, // socket ready for more data  error(socket, error) {}, // error handler  }, }); 
In Bun, a set of handlers are declared once per server instead of assigning callbacks to each socket, as with Node.js EventEmitters or the web-standard WebSocket API.
https://mintcdn.com/bun-1dd33a4e/JUhaF6Mf68z_zHyy/icons/typescript.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=JUhaF6Mf68z_zHyy&q=85&s=7ac549adaea8d5487d8fbd58cc3ea35bserver.ts
Bun.listen({  hostname: "localhost",  port: 8080,  socket: {  open(socket) {},  data(socket, data) {},  drain(socket) {},  close(socket, error) {},  error(socket, error) {},  }, }); 
For performance-sensitive servers, assigning listeners to each socket can cause significant garbage collector pressure and increase memory usage. By contrast, Bun only allocates one handler function for each event and shares it among all sockets. This is a small optimization, but it adds up.
Contextual data can be attached to a socket in the open handler.
https://mintcdn.com/bun-1dd33a4e/JUhaF6Mf68z_zHyy/icons/typescript.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=JUhaF6Mf68z_zHyy&q=85&s=7ac549adaea8d5487d8fbd58cc3ea35bserver.ts
type SocketData = { sessionId: string };  Bun.listen<SocketData>({  hostname: "localhost",  port: 8080,  socket: {  data(socket, data) {  socket.write(`${socket.data.sessionId}: ack`);   },  open(socket) {  socket.data = { sessionId: "abcd" };   },  }, }); 
To enable TLS, pass a tls object containing key and cert fields.
https://mintcdn.com/bun-1dd33a4e/JUhaF6Mf68z_zHyy/icons/typescript.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=JUhaF6Mf68z_zHyy&q=85&s=7ac549adaea8d5487d8fbd58cc3ea35bserver.ts
Bun.listen({  hostname: "localhost",  port: 8080,  socket: {  data(socket, data) {},  },  tls: {  // can be string, BunFile, TypedArray, Buffer, or array thereof  key: Bun.file("./key.pem"),   cert: Bun.file("./cert.pem"),   }, }); 
The key and cert fields expect the contents of your TLS key and certificate. This can be a string, BunFile, TypedArray, or Buffer.
https://mintcdn.com/bun-1dd33a4e/JUhaF6Mf68z_zHyy/icons/typescript.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=JUhaF6Mf68z_zHyy&q=85&s=7ac549adaea8d5487d8fbd58cc3ea35bserver.ts
Bun.listen({  // ...  tls: {  key: Bun.file("./key.pem"), // BunFile  key: fs.readFileSync("./key.pem"), // Buffer  key: fs.readFileSync("./key.pem", "utf8"), // string  key: [Bun.file("./key1.pem"), Bun.file("./key2.pem")], // array of above  }, }); 
The result of Bun.listen is a server that conforms to the TCPSocket interface.
https://mintcdn.com/bun-1dd33a4e/JUhaF6Mf68z_zHyy/icons/typescript.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=JUhaF6Mf68z_zHyy&q=85&s=7ac549adaea8d5487d8fbd58cc3ea35bserver.ts
const server = Bun.listen({  /* config*/ });  // stop listening // parameter determines whether active connections are closed server.stop(true);  // let Bun process exit even if server is still listening server.unref(); 

Create a connection (Bun.connect())

Use Bun.connect to connect to a TCP server. Specify the server to connect to with hostname and port. TCP clients can define the same set of handlers as Bun.listen, plus a couple client-specific handlers.
https://mintcdn.com/bun-1dd33a4e/JUhaF6Mf68z_zHyy/icons/typescript.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=JUhaF6Mf68z_zHyy&q=85&s=7ac549adaea8d5487d8fbd58cc3ea35bserver.ts
// The client const socket = await Bun.connect({  hostname: "localhost",  port: 8080,   socket: {  data(socket, data) {},  open(socket) {},  close(socket, error) {},  drain(socket) {},  error(socket, error) {},   // client-specific handlers  connectError(socket, error) {}, // connection failed  end(socket) {}, // connection closed by server  timeout(socket) {}, // connection timed out  }, }); 
To require TLS, specify tls: true.
// The client const socket = await Bun.connect({  // ... config  tls: true,  }); 

Hot reloading

Both TCP servers and sockets can be hot reloaded with new handlers.
const server = Bun.listen({  /* config */ });  // reloads handlers for all active server-side sockets server.reload({  socket: {  data() {  // new 'data' handler  },  }, }); 

Buffering

Currently, TCP sockets in Bun do not buffer data. For performance-sensitive code, it’s important to consider buffering carefully. For example, this:
socket.write("h"); socket.write("e"); socket.write("l"); socket.write("l"); socket.write("o"); 
…performs significantly worse than this:
socket.write("hello"); 
To simplify this for now, consider using Bun’s ArrayBufferSink with the {stream: true} option:
https://mintcdn.com/bun-1dd33a4e/JUhaF6Mf68z_zHyy/icons/typescript.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=JUhaF6Mf68z_zHyy&q=85&s=7ac549adaea8d5487d8fbd58cc3ea35bserver.ts
import { ArrayBufferSink } from "bun";  const sink = new ArrayBufferSink(); sink.start({  stream: true,   highWaterMark: 1024, });  sink.write("h"); sink.write("e"); sink.write("l"); sink.write("l"); sink.write("o");  queueMicrotask(() => {  const data = sink.flush();  const wrote = socket.write(data);  if (wrote < data.byteLength) {  // put it back in the sink if the socket is full  sink.write(data.subarray(wrote));  } }); 
CorkingSupport for corking is planned, but in the meantime backpressure must be managed manually with the drain handler.