Azure Web PubSub SDK for Java

Build real-time web applications using the Azure Web PubSub SDK for Java.

Installation

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.azure</groupId>
    <artifactId>azure-messaging-webpubsub</artifactId>
    <version>1.5.0</version>
</dependency>

Client Creation

With Connection String

import com.azure.messaging.webpubsub.WebPubSubServiceClient;
import com.azure.messaging.webpubsub.WebPubSubServiceClientBuilder;

WebPubSubServiceClient client = new WebPubSubServiceClientBuilder()
    .connectionString("<connection-string>")
    .hub("chat")
    .buildClient();

With Access Key

import com.azure.core.credential.AzureKeyCredential;

WebPubSubServiceClient client = new WebPubSubServiceClientBuilder()
    .credential(new AzureKeyCredential("<access-key>"))
    .endpoint("<endpoint>")
    .hub("chat")
    .buildClient();

With DefaultAzureCredential

import com.azure.core.credential.TokenCredential;
import com.azure.identity.AzureIdentityEnvVars;
import com.azure.identity.DefaultAzureCredentialBuilder;
import com.azure.identity.ManagedIdentityCredentialBuilder;

// Local dev: DefaultAzureCredential. Production: set AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod or AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=<specific_credential>
TokenCredential credential = new DefaultAzureCredentialBuilder()
    .requireEnvVars(AzureIdentityEnvVars.AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS)
    .build();
// Or use a specific credential directly in production:
// See https://learn.microsoft.com/java/api/overview/azure/identity-readme?view=azure-java-stable#credential-classes
// TokenCredential credential = new ManagedIdentityCredentialBuilder().build();

WebPubSubServiceClient client = new WebPubSubServiceClientBuilder()
    .credential(credential)
    .endpoint("<endpoint>")
    .hub("chat")
    .buildClient();

Async Client

import com.azure.messaging.webpubsub.WebPubSubServiceAsyncClient;

WebPubSubServiceAsyncClient asyncClient = new WebPubSubServiceClientBuilder()
    .connectionString("<connection-string>")
    .hub("chat")
    .buildAsyncClient();

Key Concepts

• Hub: Logical isolation unit for connections
• Group: Subset of connections within a hub
• Connection: Individual WebSocket client connection
• User: Entity that can have multiple connections

Core Patterns

Send to All Connections

import com.azure.messaging.webpubsub.models.WebPubSubContentType;

// Send text message
client.sendToAll("Hello everyone!", WebPubSubContentType.TEXT_PLAIN);

// Send JSON
String jsonMessage = "{\"type\": \"notification\", \"message\": \"New update!\"}";
client.sendToAll(jsonMessage, WebPubSubContentType.APPLICATION_JSON);

Send to All with Filter

import com.azure.core.http.rest.RequestOptions;
import com.azure.core.util.BinaryData;

BinaryData message = BinaryData.fromString("Hello filtered users!");

// Filter by userId
client.sendToAllWithResponse(
    message,
    WebPubSubContentType.TEXT_PLAIN,
    message.getLength(),
    new RequestOptions().addQueryParam("filter", "userId ne 'user1'"));

// Filter by groups
client.sendToAllWithResponse(
    message,
    WebPubSubContentType.TEXT_PLAIN,
    message.getLength(),
    new RequestOptions().addQueryParam("filter", "'GroupA' in groups and not('GroupB' in groups)"));

Send to Group

// Send to all connections in a group
client.sendToGroup("java-developers", "Hello Java devs!", WebPubSubContentType.TEXT_PLAIN);

// Send JSON to group
String json = "{\"event\": \"update\", \"data\": {\"version\": \"2.0\"}}";
client.sendToGroup("subscribers", json, WebPubSubContentType.APPLICATION_JSON);

Send to Specific Connection

// Send to a specific connection by ID
client.sendToConnection("connectionId123", "Private message", WebPubSubContentType.TEXT_PLAIN);

Send to User

// Send to all connections for a specific user
client.sendToUser("andy", "Hello Andy!", WebPubSubContentType.TEXT_PLAIN);

Manage Groups

// Add connection to group
client.addConnectionToGroup("premium-users", "connectionId123");

// Remove connection from group
client.removeConnectionFromGroup("premium-users", "connectionId123");

// Add user to group (all their connections)
client.addUserToGroup("admin-group", "userId456");

// Remove user from group
client.removeUserFromGroup("admin-group", "userId456");

// Check if user is in group
boolean exists = client.userExistsInGroup("admin-group", "userId456");

Manage Connections

// Check if connection exists
boolean connected = client.connectionExists("connectionId123");

// Close a connection
client.closeConnection("connectionId123");

// Close with reason
client.closeConnection("connectionId123", "Session expired");

// Check if user exists (has any connections)
boolean userOnline = client.userExists("userId456");

// Close all connections for a user
client.closeUserConnections("userId456");

// Close all connections in a group
client.closeGroupConnections("inactive-group");

Generate Client Access Token

import com.azure.messaging.webpubsub.models.GetClientAccessTokenOptions;
import com.azure.messaging.webpubsub.models.WebPubSubClientAccessToken;

// Basic token
WebPubSubClientAccessToken token = client.getClientAccessToken(
    new GetClientAccessTokenOptions());
System.out.println("URL: " + token.getUrl());

// With user ID
WebPubSubClientAccessToken userToken = client.getClientAccessToken(
    new GetClientAccessTokenOptions().setUserId("user123"));

// With roles (permissions)
WebPubSubClientAccessToken roleToken = client.getClientAccessToken(
    new GetClientAccessTokenOptions()
        .setUserId("user123")
        .addRole("webpubsub.joinLeaveGroup")
        .addRole("webpubsub.sendToGroup"));

// With groups to join on connect
WebPubSubClientAccessToken groupToken = client.getClientAccessToken(
    new GetClientAccessTokenOptions()
        .setUserId("user123")
        .addGroup("announcements")
        .addGroup("updates"));

// With custom expiration
WebPubSubClientAccessToken expToken = client.getClientAccessToken(
    new GetClientAccessTokenOptions()
        .setUserId("user123")
        .setExpiresAfter(Duration.ofHours(2)));

Grant/Revoke Permissions

import com.azure.messaging.webpubsub.models.WebPubSubPermission;

// Grant permission to send to a group
client.grantPermission(
    WebPubSubPermission.SEND_TO_GROUP,
    "connectionId123",
    new RequestOptions().addQueryParam("targetName", "chat-room"));

// Revoke permission
client.revokePermission(
    WebPubSubPermission.SEND_TO_GROUP,
    "connectionId123",
    new RequestOptions().addQueryParam("targetName", "chat-room"));

// Check permission
boolean hasPermission = client.checkPermission(
    WebPubSubPermission.SEND_TO_GROUP,
    "connectionId123",
    new RequestOptions().addQueryParam("targetName", "chat-room"));

Async Operations

asyncClient.sendToAll("Async message!", WebPubSubContentType.TEXT_PLAIN)
    .subscribe(
        unused -> System.out.println("Message sent"),
        error -> System.err.println("Error: " + error.getMessage())
    );

asyncClient.sendToGroup("developers", "Group message", WebPubSubContentType.TEXT_PLAIN)
    .doOnSuccess(v -> System.out.println("Sent to group"))
    .doOnError(e -> System.err.println("Failed: " + e))
    .subscribe();

Error Handling

import com.azure.core.exception.HttpResponseException;

try {
    client.sendToConnection("invalid-id", "test", WebPubSubContentType.TEXT_PLAIN);
} catch (HttpResponseException e) {
    System.out.println("Status: " + e.getResponse().getStatusCode());
    System.out.println("Error: " + e.getMessage());
}

Environment Variables

WEB_PUBSUB_CONNECTION_STRING=Endpoint=https://<resource>.webpubsub.azure.com;AccessKey=...  # Alternative to Entra ID auth
WEB_PUBSUB_ENDPOINT=https://<resource>.webpubsub.azure.com  # Required for AzureKeyCredential or TokenCredential auth
WEB_PUBSUB_ACCESS_KEY=<your-access-key>  # Only required for AzureKeyCredential auth
AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod  # Required only if DefaultAzureCredential is used in production

Client Roles

Role	Permission
webpubsub.joinLeaveGroup	Join/leave any group
webpubsub.sendToGroup	Send to any group
webpubsub.joinLeaveGroup.<group>	Join/leave specific group
webpubsub.sendToGroup.<group>	Send to specific group

Best Practices

1. Use Groups: Organize connections into groups for targeted messaging
2. User IDs: Associate connections with user IDs for user-level messaging
3. Token Expiration: Set appropriate token expiration for security
4. Roles: Grant minimal required permissions via roles
5. Hub Isolation: Use separate hubs for different application features
6. Connection Management: Clean up inactive connections

Trigger Phrases

• "Web PubSub Java"
• "WebSocket messaging Azure"
• "real-time push notifications"
• "server-sent events"
• "chat application backend"
• "live updates broadcasting"