@durable-streams/y-durable-streams

Yjs provider for Durable Streams - sync Yjs documents over append-only streams with optional awareness (presence) support.

Overview

This package provides a Yjs provider that syncs documents using the Durable Streams protocol. Unlike WebSocket-based providers, it uses HTTP long-polling over append-only streams, making it simpler to deploy and scale.

Key benefits:

No WebSocket infrastructure - Works with standard HTTP load balancers and CDNs
Built-in persistence - Document history is stored in the stream itself
Scalable - Clients connect directly to streams, no central sync server needed
Presence support - Optional awareness stream for cursors, selections, and user status

Installation

npm install @durable-streams/y-durable-streams yjs y-protocols lib0

Quick Start

import { DurableStreamsProvider } from "@durable-streams/y-durable-streams"
import * as Y from "yjs"
import { Awareness } from "y-protocols/awareness"

const doc = new Y.Doc()
const awareness = new Awareness(doc)

const provider = new DurableStreamsProvider({
  doc,
  documentStream: {
    url: "https://your-server.com/v1/stream/rooms/my-room",
    transport: "sse",
  },
  awarenessStream: {
    url: "https://your-server.com/v1/stream/presence/my-room",
    protocol: awareness,
    transport: "sse",
  },
})

provider.on("synced", (synced) => {
  console.log("Synced:", synced)
})

Usage

Document Only (No Presence)

const provider = new DurableStreamsProvider({
  doc,
  documentStream: {
    url: "https://your-server.com/v1/stream/rooms/my-room",
    transport: "sse",
  },
})

With Authentication

const provider = new DurableStreamsProvider({
  doc,
  documentStream: {
    url: "https://your-server.com/v1/stream/rooms/my-room",
    transport: "sse",
    headers: {
      Authorization: "Bearer your-token",
    },
  },
  awarenessStream: {
    url: "https://your-server.com/v1/stream/presence/my-room",
    protocol: awareness,
    transport: "sse",
    headers: {
      Authorization: "Bearer your-token",
    },
  },
})

Transport Mode

By default, the provider uses Server-Sent Events (SSE) for real-time updates. You can switch to long-polling if needed:

const provider = new DurableStreamsProvider({
  doc,
  documentStream: {
    url: "https://your-server.com/v1/stream/rooms/my-room",
    transport: "long-poll", // Use long-poll instead of SSE
  },
  awarenessStream: {
    url: "https://your-server.com/v1/stream/presence/my-room",
    protocol: awareness,
    transport: "long-poll", // Can configure each stream independently
  },
})

Note: When using SSE with binary streams, base64 encoding is automatically applied.

Manual Connection

const provider = new DurableStreamsProvider({
  doc,
  documentStream: { url, transport: "sse" },
  connect: false, // Don't connect automatically
})

// Set up listeners first
provider.on("synced", handleSync)
provider.on("error", handleError)

// Then connect
provider.connect()

Event Handling

// Sync state changes
provider.on("synced", (synced: boolean) => {
  if (synced) {
    console.log("Document is synced with server")
  }
})

// Connection status changes
provider.on("status", (status: ProviderStatus) => {
  console.log("Status:", status) // "disconnected" | "connecting" | "connected"
})

// Error handling
provider.on("error", (error: Error) => {
  console.error("Provider error:", error)
})

Cleanup

// Disconnect temporarily
provider.disconnect()

// Reconnect
provider.connect()

// Destroy permanently
provider.destroy()

API

DurableStreamsProvider

class DurableStreamsProvider {
  constructor(options: DurableStreamsProviderOptions)

  // Properties
  readonly doc: Y.Doc
  readonly synced: boolean
  readonly connected: boolean
  readonly connecting: boolean
  readonly status: ProviderStatus

  // Methods
  connect(): void
  disconnect(): void
  destroy(): void

  // Events
  on(event: "synced", handler: (synced: boolean) => void): void
  on(event: "status", handler: (status: ProviderStatus) => void): void
  on(event: "error", handler: (error: Error) => void): void
}

Options

interface DurableStreamsProviderOptions {
  doc: Y.Doc
  documentStream: StreamConfig
  awarenessStream?: AwarenessConfig
  connect?: boolean // default: true
  debug?: boolean // default: false
}

type TransportMode = "long-poll" | "sse"

interface StreamConfig {
  url: string | URL
  headers?: Record<string, string | (() => string)>
  transport: TransportMode // required
}

interface AwarenessConfig extends StreamConfig {
  protocol: Awareness
}

How It Works

The provider uses two separate durable streams:

Document Stream - Stores Yjs document updates. Reads from the beginning to replay full document history on connect.
Awareness Stream - Syncs presence data (cursors, selections, user info). Reads from current position since historical presence is not needed.

Both streams support two transport modes for real-time updates:

SSE (default) - Lower latency, uses Server-Sent Events with automatic base64 encoding for binary data
Long-polling - Compatible with all HTTP infrastructure, useful as fallback

Updates are encoded using lib0's VarUint8Array framing.

License

Apache-2.0