Azure Web PubSub trigger and bindings for Azure Functions

This reference explains how to handle Web PubSub events in Azure Functions.

Web PubSub is an Azure-managed service that helps developers easily build web applications with real-time features and publish-subscribe pattern.

Action Type
Run a function when messages come from service Trigger binding
Bind request to target object under HTTP trigger for negotiation and upstream requests Input binding
Invoke service do actions Output binding

Source code | Package | API reference documentation | Product documentation | Samples

Add to your Functions app

Working with the trigger and bindings requires you reference the appropriate package. The NuGet package is used for .NET class libraries while the extension bundle is used for all other application types.

Language Add by... Remarks
C# Installing the NuGet package, version prerelease
C# Script, JavaScript, Python, PowerShell Explicitly install extensions, Use extension bundles The Azure Tools extension is recommended to use with Visual Studio Code.
C# Script (online-only in Azure portal) Adding a binding To update existing binding extensions without having to republish your function app, see Update your extensions.

Key concepts

Diagram showing the workflow of Azure Web PubSub service working with Function Apps.

(1)-(2) WebPubSubConnection input binding with HttpTrigger to generate client connection.

(3)-(4) WebPubSubTrigger trigger binding or WebPubSubContext input binding with HttpTrigger to handle service request.

(5)-(6) WebPubSub output binding to request service do something.

Trigger binding

Use the function trigger to handle requests from Azure Web PubSub service.

WebPubSubTrigger is used when you need to handle requests from service side. The trigger endpoint pattern would be like below which should be set in Web PubSub service side (Portal: settings -> event handler -> URL Template). In the endpoint pattern, the query part code=<API_KEY> is REQUIRED when you're using Azure Function App for security reasons. The key can be found in Azure portal. Find your function app resource and navigate to Functions -> App keys -> System keys -> webpubsub_extension after you deploy the function app to Azure. Though, this key isn't needed when you're working with local functions.

<Function_App_Url>/runtime/webhooks/webpubsub?code=<API_KEY>

Screenshot of get function system keys.

Example

[FunctionName("WebPubSubTrigger")]
public static void Run(
    [WebPubSubTrigger("<hub>", WebPubSubEventType.User, "message")] UserEventRequest request, ILogger log)
{
    log.LogInformation($"Request from: {request.ConnectionContext.UserId}");
    log.LogInformation($"Request message data: {request.Data}");
    log.LogInformation($"Request message dataType: {request.DataType}");
}

WebPubSubTrigger binding also supports return value in synchronize scenarios, for example, system Connect and user event, when server can check and deny the client request, or send messages to the caller directly. Connect event respects ConnectEventResponse and EventErrorResponse, and user event respects UserEventResponse and EventErrorResponse, rest types not matching current scenario is ignored. And if EventErrorResponse is returned, service drops the client connection.

[FunctionName("WebPubSubTriggerReturnValueFunction")]
public static UserEventResponse Run(
    [WebPubSubTrigger("hub", WebPubSubEventType.User, "message")] UserEventRequest request)
{
    return request.CreateResponse(BinaryData.FromString("ack"), WebPubSubDataType.Text);
}

Attributes and annotations

In C# class libraries, use the WebPubSubTrigger attribute.

Here's an WebPubSubTrigger attribute in a method signature:

[FunctionName("WebPubSubTrigger")]
public static void Run([WebPubSubTrigger("<hub>", <WebPubSubEventType>, "<event-name>")] 
    WebPubSubConnectionContext context, ILogger log)
{
    ...
}

For a complete example, see C# example.

Configuration

The following table explains the binding configuration properties that you set in the function.json file.

function.json property Attribute property Description
type n/a Required - must be set to webPubSubTrigger.
direction n/a Required - must be set to in.
name n/a Required - the variable name used in function code for the parameter that receives the event data.
hub Hub Required - the value must be set to the name of the Web PubSub hub for the function to be triggered. We support set the value in attribute as higher priority, or it can be set in app settings as a global value.
eventType WebPubSubEventType Required - the value must be set as the event type of messages for the function to be triggered. The value should be either user or system.
eventName EventName Required - the value must be set as the event of messages for the function to be triggered.
For system event type, the event name should be in connect, connected, disconnected.
For user-defined subprotocols, the event name is message.
For system supported subprotocol json.webpubsub.azure.v1., the event name is user-defined event name.
connection Connection Optional - the name of an app settings or setting collection that specifies the upstream Azure Web PubSub service. The value is used for signature validation. And the value is auto resolved with app settings "WebPubSubConnectionString" by default. And null means the validation is not needed and always succeed.

Usages

In C#, WebPubSubEventRequest is type recognized binding parameter, rest parameters are bound by parameter name. Check table below of available parameters and types.

In weakly typed language like JavaScript, name in function.json is used to bind the trigger object regarding below mapping table. And respect dataType in function.json to convert message accordingly when name is set to data as the binding object for trigger input. All the parameters can be read from context.bindingData.<BindingName> and is JObject converted.

Binding Name Binding Type Description Properties
request WebPubSubEventRequest Describes the upstream request Property differs by different event types, including derived classes ConnectEventRequest, ConnectedEventRequest, UserEventRequest and DisconnectedEventRequest
connectionContext WebPubSubConnectionContext Common request information EventType, EventName, Hub, ConnectionId, UserId, Headers, Origin, Signature, States
data BinaryData,string,Stream,byte[] Request message data from client in user message event -
dataType WebPubSubDataType Request message dataType, which supports binary, text, json -
claims IDictionary<string, string[]> User Claims in system connect request -
query IDictionary<string, string[]> User query in system connect request -
subprotocols IList<string> Available subprotocols in system connect request -
clientCertificates IList<ClientCertificate> A list of certificate thumbprint from clients in system connect request -
reason string Reason in system disconnected request -

Important

In C#, multiple types supported parameter MUST be put in the first, i.e. request or data that other than the default BinaryData type to make the function binding correctly.

Return response

WebPubSubTrigger respects customer returned response for synchronous events of connect and user event. Only matched response is sent back to service, otherwise, it's ignored. Besides, WebPubSubTrigger return object supports users to SetState() and ClearStates() to manage the metadata for the connection. And the extension merges the results from return value with the original ones from request WebPubSubConnectionContext.States. Value in existing key is overwrite and value in new key is added.

Return Type Description Properties
ConnectEventResponse Response for connect event Groups, Roles, UserId, Subprotocol
UserEventResponse Response for user event DataType, Data
EventErrorResponse Error response for the sync event Code, ErrorMessage
*WebPubSubEventResponse Base response type of the supported ones used for uncertain return cases -

Input binding

Our extension provides two input binding targeting different needs.

  • WebPubSubConnection

    To let a client connect to Azure Web PubSub Service, it must know the service endpoint URL and a valid access token. The WebPubSubConnection input binding produces required information, so client doesn't need to handle this token generation itself. Because the token is time-limited and can be used to authenticate a specific user to a connection, don't cache the token or share it between clients. An HTTP trigger working with this input binding can be used for clients to retrieve the connection information.

  • WebPubSubContext

    When using is Static Web Apps, HttpTrigger is the only supported trigger and under Web PubSub scenario, we provide the WebPubSubContext input binding helps users deserialize upstream http request from service side under Web PubSub protocols. So customers can get similar results comparing to WebPubSubTrigger to easily handle in functions. See examples in below. When used with HttpTrigger, customer requires to configure the HttpTrigger exposed url in event handler accordingly.

Example - WebPubSubConnection

The following example shows a C# function that acquires Web PubSub connection information using the input binding and returns it over HTTP. In below example, the UserId is passed in through client request query part like ?userid={User-A}.

[FunctionName("WebPubSubConnectionInputBinding")]
public static WebPubSubConnection Run(
    [HttpTrigger(AuthorizationLevel.Anonymous, "get", "post")] HttpRequest req,
    [WebPubSubConnection(Hub = "<hub>", UserId = "{query.userid}")] WebPubSubConnection connection)
{
    return connection;
}

Authenticated tokens

If the function is triggered by an authenticated client, you can add a user ID claim to the generated token. You can easily add authentication to a function app using App Service Authentication.

App Service Authentication sets HTTP headers named x-ms-client-principal-id and x-ms-client-principal-name that contain the authenticated user's client principal ID and name, respectively.

You can set the UserId property of the binding to the value from either header using a binding expression: {headers.x-ms-client-principal-id} or {headers.x-ms-client-principal-name}.

[FunctionName("WebPubSubConnectionInputBinding")]
public static WebPubSubConnection Run(
    [HttpTrigger(AuthorizationLevel.Anonymous, "get", "post")] HttpRequest req,
    [WebPubSubConnection(Hub = "<hub>", UserId = "{headers.x-ms-client-principal-name}")] WebPubSubConnection connection)
{
    return connection;
}

Note

Limited to the binding parameter types don't support a way to pass list nor array, the WebPubSubConnection is not fully supported with all the parameters server SDK has, especially roles, and also includes groups and expiresAfter. In the case customer needs to add roles or delay build the access token in the function, it's suggested to work with server SDK for C#.

[FunctionName("WebPubSubConnectionCustomRoles")]
public static async Task<Uri> Run(
    [HttpTrigger(AuthorizationLevel.Anonymous, "get", "post")] HttpRequest req)
{
    var serviceClient = new WebPubSubServiceClient(new Uri(endpoint), "<hub>", "<web-pubsub-connection-string>");
    var userId = req.Query["userid"].FirstOrDefault();
    // your method to get custom roles.
    var roles = GetRoles(userId);
    return await serviceClient.GetClientAccessUriAsync(TimeSpan.FromMinutes(5), userId, roles);
}

Example - WebPubSubContext

The following example shows a C# function that acquires Web PubSub upstream request information using the input binding under connect event type and returns it over HTTP.

[FunctionName("WebPubSubContextInputBinding")]
public static object Run(
    [HttpTrigger(AuthorizationLevel.Anonymous, "get", "post")] HttpRequest req,
    [WebPubSubContext] WebPubSubContext wpsContext)
{
    // in the case request is a preflight or invalid, directly return prebuild response by extension.
    if (wpsContext.IsPreflight || wpsContext.HasError)
    {
        return wpsContext.Response;
    }
    var request = wpsContext.Request as ConnectEventRequest;
    var response = new ConnectEventResponse
    {
        UserId = wpsContext.Request.ConnectionContext.UserId
    };
    return response;
}

Configuration

WebPubSubConnection

The following table explains the binding configuration properties that you set in the function.json file and the WebPubSubConnection attribute.

function.json property Attribute property Description
type n/a Must be set to webPubSubConnection
direction n/a Must be set to in
name n/a Variable name used in function code for input connection binding object.
hub Hub Required - The value must be set to the name of the Web PubSub hub for the function to be triggered. We support set the value in attribute as higher priority, or it can be set in app settings as a global value.
userId UserId Optional - the value of the user identifier claim to be set in the access key token.
connection Connection Required - The name of the app setting that contains the Web PubSub Service connection string (defaults to "WebPubSubConnectionString").

WebPubSubContext

The following table explains the binding configuration properties that you set in the functions.json file and the WebPubSubContext attribute.

function.json property Attribute property Description
type n/a Must be set to webPubSubContext.
direction n/a Must be set to in.
name n/a Variable name used in function code for input Web PubSub request.
connection Connection Optional - the name of an app settings or setting collection that specifies the upstream Azure Web PubSub service. The value is used for Abuse Protection and Signature validation. The value is auto resolved with "WebPubSubConnectionString" by default. And null means the validation is not needed and always succeed.

Usage

WebPubSubConnection

WebPubSubConnection provides below properties.

Binding Name Binding Type Description
BaseUri Uri Web PubSub client connection uri.
Uri Uri Absolute Uri of the Web PubSub connection, contains AccessToken generated base on the request.
AccessToken string Generated AccessToken based on request UserId and service information.

WebPubSubContext

WebPubSubContext provides below properties.

Binding Name Binding Type Description Properties
request WebPubSubEventRequest Request from client, see below table for details. WebPubSubConnectionContext from request header and other properties deserialized from request body describe the request, for example, Reason for DisconnectedEventRequest.
response HttpResponseMessage Extension builds response mainly for AbuseProtection and errors cases. -
errorMessage string Describe the error details when processing the upstream request. -
hasError bool Flag to indicate whether it's a valid Web PubSub upstream request. -
isPreflight bool Flag to indicate whether it's a preflight request of AbuseProtection. -

For WebPubSubEventRequest, it's deserialized to different classes that provide different information about the request scenario. For PreflightRequest or not valid cases, user can check the flags IsPreflight and HasError to know. It's suggested to return system build response WebPubSubContext.Response directly, or customer can log errors on demand. In different scenarios, customer can read the request properties as below.

Derived Class Description Properties
PreflightRequest Used in AbuseProtection when IsPreflight is true -
ConnectEventRequest Used in system Connect event type Claims, Query, Subprotocols, ClientCertificates
ConnectedEventRequest Used in system Connected event type -
UserEventRequest Used in user event type Data, DataType
DisconnectedEventRequest Used in system Disconnected event type Reason

Note

Though the WebPubSubContext is a input binding provides similar request deserialize way under HttpTrigger comparing to WebPubSubTrigger, there's limitations, i.e. connection state post merge is not supported. The return response is still respected by the service side, but users require to build the response themselves. If users have needs to set the event response, you should return a HttpResponseMessage contains ConnectEventResponse or messages for user event as response body and put connection state with key ce-connectionstate in response header.

Output binding

Use the Web PubSub output binding to invoke Azure Web PubSub service to do something. You can broadcast a message to:

  • All connected clients
  • Connected clients authenticated to a specific user
  • Connected clients joined in a specific group
  • A specific client connection

The output binding also allows you to manage clients and groups, as well as grant/revoke permissions targeting specific connectionId with group.

  • Add connection to group
  • Add user to group
  • Remove connection from a group
  • Remove user from a group
  • Remove user from all groups
  • Close all client connections
  • Close a specific client connection
  • Close connections in a group
  • Grant permission of a connection
  • Revoke permission of a connection

For information on setup and configuration details, see the overview.

Example

[FunctionName("WebPubSubOutputBinding")]
public static async Task RunAsync(
    [HttpTrigger(AuthorizationLevel.Anonymous, "get", "post")] HttpRequest req,
    [WebPubSub(Hub = "<hub>")] IAsyncCollector<WebPubSubAction> actions)
{
    await actions.AddAsync(WebPubSubAction.CreateSendToAllAction("Hello Web PubSub!", WebPubSubDataType.Text));
}

WebPubSubAction

WebPubSubAction is the base abstract type of output bindings. The derived types represent the action server want service to invoke.

In C# language, we provide a few static methods under WebPubSubAction to help discover available actions. For example, user can create the SendToAllAction by call WebPubSubAction.CreateSendToAllAction().

Derived Class Properties
SendToAllAction Data, DataType, Excluded
SendToGroupAction Group, Data, DataType, Excluded
SendToUserAction UserId, Data, DataType
SendToConnectionAction ConnectionId, Data, DataType
AddUserToGroupAction UserId, Group
RemoveUserFromGroupAction UserId, Group
RemoveUserFromAllGroupsAction UserId
AddConnectionToGroupAction ConnectionId, Group
RemoveConnectionFromGroupAction ConnectionId, Group
CloseAllConnectionsAction Excluded, Reason
CloseClientConnectionAction ConnectionId, Reason
CloseGroupConnectionsAction Group, Excluded, Reason
GrantPermissionAction ConnectionId, Permission, TargetName
RevokePermissionAction ConnectionId, Permission, TargetName

Configuration

WebPubSub

The following table explains the binding configuration properties that you set in the function.json file and the WebPubSub attribute.

function.json property Attribute property Description
type n/a Must be set to webPubSub
direction n/a Must be set to out
name n/a Variable name used in function code for output binding object.
hub Hub The value must be set to the name of the Web PubSub hub for the function to be triggered. We support set the value in attribute as higher priority, or it can be set in app settings as a global value.
connection Connection The name of the app setting that contains the Web PubSub Service connection string (defaults to "WebPubSubConnectionString").

Troubleshooting

Setting up console logging

You can also easily enable console logging if you want to dig deeper into the requests you're making against the service.

Next steps

Use these resources to start building your own application: