Configuration API for PubNub JavaScript SDK

JavaScript V4 complete API reference for building real-time applications on PubNub, including basic usage and sample code.

You must include the PubNub JavaScript V4 SDK in your code before initializing the client.

<script src="https://cdn.pubnub.com/sdk/javascript/pubnub.7.1.2.js"></script>

Initialization

Description

Use this method to initialize the PubNub Client API context and establish account-level credentials such as publish and subscribe keys. You can create an account and get your keys from the Admin Portal.

Method(s)

To Initialize PubNub, you can use the following method(s) in the JavaScript V4 SDK:

pubnub.PubNub({
  subscribeKey: string,
  publishKey: string,
  cipherKey: string,
  authKey: string,
  logVerbosity: boolean,
  userId: string
  ssl: boolean,
  origin: string,
  presenceTimeout: number,
  heartbeatInterval: number,
  restore: boolean,
  keepAlive: boolean,
  keepAliveSettings: any,
  useInstanceId: boolean,
  suppressLeaveEvents: boolean,
  requestMessageCountThreshold: number,
  autoNetworkDetection: boolean,
  listenToBrowserNetworkEvents: boolean
  // Deprecated, use userId instead
  uuid: string,
});

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
Operation Arguments	Hash	Yes		A hash of arguments.
subscribeKey	string	Yes		Specifies the subscribeKey to be used for subscribing to a channel. This key can be specified at initialization or along with a subscribe().
publishKey	string	Optional		Specifies the publishKey to be used for publishing messages to a channel. This key can be specified at initialization or along with a publish().
cipherKey	string	Optional		If passed, will encrypt the payloads.
authKey	string	Optional		If Access Manager enabled, this key will be used on all requests.
logVerbosity	boolean	Optional	false	log HTTP information.
userId	string	Yes		userId to use. You should set a unique userId to identify the user or the device that connects to PubNub. If you don't set the userId, you won't be able to connect to PubNub.
ssl	boolean	Optional	true for v4.20.0 onwards, false before v4.20.0	If set to true, requests will be made over HTTPS.
origin	string	Optional	ps.pndsn.com	If a custom domain is required, SDK accepts it here.
presenceTimeout	number	Optional	300	How long the server will consider the client alive for presence.The value is in seconds.
heartbeatInterval	number	Optional	Not Set	How often the client will announce itself to server.The value is in seconds.
restore	boolean	Optional	false	true to allow catch up on the front-end applications.
keepAlive	boolean	Optional	false	If set to true, SDK will use the same TCP connection for each HTTP request, instead of opening a new one for each new request.
keepAliveSettings	any	Optional	keepAliveMsecs: 1000 freeSocketKeepAliveTimeout: 15000 timeout: 30000 maxSockets: Infinity maxFreeSockets: 256	Set a custom parameters for setting your connection keepAlive if this is set to true. keepAliveMsecs: (Number) how often to send TCP KeepAlive packets over sockets. freeSocketKeepAliveTimeout: (Number) sets the free socket to timeout after freeSocketKeepAliveTimeout milliseconds of inactivity on the free socket. timeout: (Number) sets the working socket to timeout after timeout milliseconds of inactivity on the working socket. maxSockets: (Number) maximum number of sockets to allow per host. maxFreeSockets: (Number) maximum number of sockets to leave open in a free state.
suppressLeaveEvents	boolean	Optional	false	When true the SDK doesn't send out the leave requests.
requestMessageCountThreshold	number	Optional	100	PNRequestMessageCountExceededCategory is thrown when the number of messages into the payload is above of requestMessageCountThreshold.
autoNetworkDetection	boolean	Optional	false	This flag announces when the network is down or up using the states PNNetworkDownCategory and PNNetworkUpCategory.
listenToBrowserNetworkEvents	boolean	Optional	true	If the browser fails to detect the network changes from WiFi to LAN and vice versa or you get reconnection issues, set the flag to false. This allows the SDK reconnection logic to take over.
useRandomIVs	boolean	Optional	true	When true the initialization vector (IV) is random for all requests (not just for file upload). When false the IV is hard-coded for all requests except for file upload.
uuid	string	Yes		This parameter is deprecated, use userId instead. UUID to use. You should set a unique UUID to identify the user or the device that connects to PubNub. If you don't set the UUID, you won't be able to connect to PubNub.

Disabling random initialization vector

Disable random initialization vector (IV) only for backward compatibility (<4.31.0) with existing applications. Never disable random IV on new applications.

Basic Usage

Applications can initialize the PubNub object by passing the subscribeKey and publishKey keys from your account. Each client should also pass a userId that represents the user or the device that connects to PubNub.

Note

Always set the userId to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This userId should be persisted and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. If you don't set the userId, you won't be able to connect to PubNub.

var pubnub = new PubNub({
    subscribeKey: "mySubscribeKey",
    publishKey: "myPublishKey",
    cipherKey: "myCipherKey",
    authKey: "myAuthKey",
    logVerbosity: true,
    userId: "myUniqueUserId",
    ssl: true,
    presenceTimeout: 130
});

Server Operations

For servers connecting to PubNub, setting a userId is different than for a client device as there can be multiple instances of the server on the same machine and there is no "authentication" process for a server (at least not like an end-user).

The API can be initialized with the secretKey if the server needs to administer Access Manager permissions for client applications. When you initialize PubNub with secretKey, you get root permissions for the Access Manager. With this feature, you don't have to grant access to your servers to access channels or channel groups. The servers get all access to all channels and channel groups.

Note

Anyone with the secretKey can grant and revoke permissions to your app. Never let your secretKey be discovered, and only exchange and deliver it securely. Only use the secretKey on secure environments such as Node.js applications or other server-side platforms.

Note

Always set the userId to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This userId should be persisted and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. If you don't set the userId, you won't be able to connect to PubNub.

var pubnub = new PubNub({
    subscribeKey: "mySubscribeKey",
    publishKey: "myPublishKey",
    userId: "myUniqueUserId",
    secretKey: "secretKey",
    heartbeatInterval: 0
});

Now that the pubnub object is instantiated, the client will be able to access the Access Manager functions. The pubnub object will use the secretKey to sign all Access Manager messages to the PubNub Network.

Other Examples

1. Initialization for a Read-Only client:

   In the case where a client will only read messages and never publish to a channel, you can simply omit the publishKey when initializing the client:

   Note

   Always set the userId to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This userId should be persisted and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. If you don't set the userId, you won't be able to connect to PubNub.

   // Initialize for Read Only Client
   
   var pubnub = new PubNub({
       subscribeKey: "mySubscribeKey",
       userId: "myUniqueUserId"
   });
   

2. Initializing with SSL Enabled:

   This examples demonstrates how to enable PubNub Transport Layer Encryption with TLS(formerly known as SSL). Just initialize the client with ssl set to true. The hard work is done, now the PubNub API takes care of the rest. Just subscribe and publish as usual and you are good to go.

   Note

   Always set the userId to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This userId should be persisted and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. If you don't set the userId, you won't be able to connect to PubNub.

   var pubnub = new PubNub({
       subscribeKey: "mySubscribeKey",
       publishKey: "myPublishKey",
       cipherKey: "myCipherKey",
       authKey: "myAuthKey",
       logVerbosity: true, // set false for production
       userId: "myUniqueUserId",
       ssl: true
   });
   

Event Listeners

Description

You can be notified of connectivity status, message, and presence notifications via the listeners.

Listeners should be added before calling the method.

Adding Listeners

pubnub.addListener({
  // Messages
  message: function (m) {
    const channelName = m.channel; // Channel on which the message was published
    const channelGroup = m.subscription; // Channel group or wildcard subscription match (if exists)
    const pubTT = m.timetoken; // Publish timetoken
    const msg = m.message; // Message payload
    const publisher = m.publisher; // Message publisher
  },
  // Presence
  presence: function (p) {
    const action = p.action; // Can be join, leave, state-change, or timeout
    const channelName = p.channel; // Channel to which the message belongs
    const occupancy = p.occupancy; // Number of users subscribed to the channel
    const state = p.state; // User state
    const channelGroup = p.subscription; //  Channel group or wildcard subscription match, if any
    const publishTime = p.timestamp; // Publish timetoken
    const timetoken = p.timetoken; // Current timetoken
    const uuid = p.uuid; // UUIDs of users who are subscribed to the channel
  },
  // Signals
  signal: function (s) {
    const channelName = s.channel; // Channel to which the signal belongs
    const channelGroup = s.subscription; // Channel group or wildcard subscription match, if any
    const pubTT = s.timetoken; // Publish timetoken
    const msg = s.message; // Payload
    const publisher = s.publisher; // Message publisher
  },
  // Objects
  objects: (objectEvent) => {
    const channel = objectEvent.channel; // Channel to which the event belongs
    const channelGroup = objectEvent.subscription; // Channel group
    const timetoken = objectEvent.timetoken; // Event timetoken
    const publisher = objectEvent.publisher; // UUID that made the call
    const event = objectEvent.event; // Name of the event that occurred
    const type = objectEvent.type; // Type of the event that occurred
    const data = objectEvent.data; // Data from the event that occurred
  },
  // Message Actions
  messageAction: function (ma) {
    const channelName = ma.channel; // Channel to which the message belongs
    const publisher = ma.publisher; // Message publisher
    const event = ma.event; // Message action added or removed
    const type = ma.data.type; // Message action type
    const value = ma.data.value; // Message action value
    const messageTimetoken = ma.data.messageTimetoken; // Timetoken of the original message
    const actionTimetoken = ma.data.actionTimetoken; // Timetoken of the message action
  },
  // Files
  file: function (event) {
    const channelName = event.channel; // Channel to which the file belongs
    const channelGroup = event.subscription; // Channel group or wildcard subscription match (if exists)
    const publisher = event.publisher; // File publisher
    const timetoken = event.timetoken; // Event timetoken

    const message = event.message; // Optional message attached to the file
    const fileId = event.file.id; // File unique id
    const fileName = event.file.name;// File name
    const fileUrl = event.file.url; // File direct URL
  },
  status: function (s) {
    const affectedChannelGroups = s.affectedChannelGroups; // Array of channel groups affected in the operation
    const affectedChannels = s.affectedChannels; // Array of channels affected in the operation
    const category = s.category; // Returns PNConnectedCategory
    const operation = s.operation; // Returns PNSubscribeOperation
    const lastTimetoken = s.lastTimetoken; // Last timetoken used in the subscribe request (type long)
    const currentTimetoken = s.currentTimetoken; /* Current timetoken fetched in subscribe response,
                                                * to be used in the next request (type long) */
    const subscribedChannels = s.subscribedChannels; // Array of all currently subscribed channels
  },
});

Removing Listeners

var existingListener = {
  message: function () {
  },
};

pubnub.removeListener(existingListener);

Listener status events

Category	Description
PNNetworkUpCategory	The SDK detected that the network is online.
PNNetworkDownCategory	The SDK announces this when a connection isn't available, or when the SDK isn't able to reach the PubNub Data Stream Network.
PNNetworkIssuesCategory	A subscribe event experienced an exception when running. The SDK isn't able to reach the PubNub Data Stream Network. This may be due to many reasons, such as the machine or device isn't connected to the internet; the internet connection has been lost; your internet service provider is having trouble; or, perhaps the SDK is behind a proxy.
PNReconnectedCategory	The SDK was able to reconnect to PubNub.
PNConnectedCategory	SDK subscribed with a new mix of channels. This is fired every time the channel or channel group mix changes.
PNAccessDeniedCategory	Access Manager permission failure.
PNMalformedResponseCategory	JSON parsing crashed.
PNBadRequestCategory	The server responded with a bad response error because the request is malformed.
PNDecryptionErrorCategory	If using decryption strategies and the decryption fails.
PNTimeoutCategory	Failure to establish a connection to PubNub due to a timeout.
PNRequestMessageCountExceedCategory	The SDK announces this error if requestMessageCountThreshold is set, and the number of messages received from PubNub (in-memory cache messages) exceeds the threshold.
PNUnknownCategory	Returned when the subscriber gets a non-200 HTTP response code from the server.

User ID

Description

A userId (Universal Unique Identifier) is a required unique alphanumeric identifier used to identify the client to the PubNub platform. Each client must pass a userId that represents the user or the device that connects to PubNub.

Set User ID

Set the userId parameter when you instantiate a PubNub instance (i.e., new PubNub()). It's important that your application reuse the userId on each device instead of generating a new userId on each connection.

Note

Always set the userId to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This userId should be persisted and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. If you don't set the userId, you won't be able to connect to PubNub.

var pubnub = new PubNub({
    subscribeKey: "mySubscribeKey",
    publishKey: "myPublishKey",
    userId: "myUniqueUserId"
});

You can also call the following method to explicitly set the userId:

pubnub.setUserId(string)

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
userId	String	Yes	userId to set.

pubnub.setUserId("myUniqueUserId")

Save User ID

Providing a value for the userId parameter in the PubNub object initialization will result in that value getting saved in the browser's localStorage key (described above) automatically by the PubNub SDK. You may implement a different local caching strategy, as required.

Consider the following when implementing a userId reuse strategy:

1. On your server, generate a userId when a user creates a user profile (user registration process). You can generate this with the SDK, or by another method of your choosing.
2. Pass the userId back to the user upon successful login (authentication process).
3. Persist the userId on the device where it can be retrieved the next time the PubNub instance is instantiated. The PubNub instance might be instantiated multiple times as the app is left and re-entered, and you may not require a login with each new session.

Get User ID

Use this method to get the current userId set on your application. This method doesn't take any arguments.

pubnub.getUserId();

Note

Remember that whatever user ID you use is visible to other users (if a user peeks behind the scenes using the browser console or other tools), so you should not use a username or email as the userId. The userId should be something that can be easily replaced as required without user interaction or even knowledge that it has happened.

Authentication Key

Description

This function provides the capability to reset a user's auth Key.

Typically auth Key is specified during initialization for PubNub Access Manager enabled applications. In the event that auth Key has expired or a new auth Key is issued to the client from a Security Authority, the new auth Key can be sent using setAuthKey().

Property

To Set Authentication Key you can use the following method(s) in the JavaScript V4 SDK

pubnub.setAuthKey(string)

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
key	String	Yes	Auth key to set.

Basic Usage

pubnub.setAuthKey("my_authkey");

Returns

None.

Filter Expression

Requires Stream Controller add-onRequires that the Stream Controller add-on is enabled for your key. See this page on enabling add-on features on your keys:
https://support.pubnub.com/hc/en-us/articles/360051974791-How-do-I-enable-add-on-features-for-my-keys-

Description

Stream filtering allows a subscriber to apply a filter to only receive messages that satisfy the conditions of the filter. The message filter is set by the subscribing client(s) but it is applied on the server side thus preventing unwanted messages (those that do not meet the conditions of the filter) from reaching the subscriber.

To set/get filters you can use the following method. To learn more about filtering, refer to the Publish Messages documentation.

Method(s)

pubnub.setFilterExpression(
  filterExpression: string
)

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
filterExpression	string	Yes	PSV2 feature to subscribe with a custom filter expression.

pubnub.getFilterExpression()

This method doesn't take any arguments.

Basic Usage

Set Filter Expression

pubnub.setFilterExpression("such=wow");

Get Filter Expression

pubnub.getFilterExpression();

Generate UUID (deprecated)

Note

This method is deprecated. Use Set User ID instead.

Use this method to generate a UUID.

PubNub.generateUUID();