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WebSocket Overview

The Rhombus platform exposes a WebSocket endpoint for real-time, bidirectional communication between your application and the Rhombus console. This allows you to receive instant notifications about security events, policy alerts, device changes, and other organizational activity without polling the REST API.

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How It Works

Rhombus WebSocket connections use the STOMP 1.2 (Streaming Text Oriented Messaging Protocol) messaging protocol layered on top of a standard WebSocket connection. STOMP provides a simple, frame-based protocol for subscribing to topics and receiving structured messages. 
Your Application
      │
      â–¼
  WebSocket (WSS)
      │
      â–¼
  STOMP 1.2 Protocol
      │
      â–¼
  Rhombus Event Bus ──► /topic/change/{orgUuid}

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Connection Endpoint

EnvironmentEndpoint
Productionwss://ws.rhombussystems.com:8443/websocket
Stagingwss://ws.itg.rhombussystems.com:8443/websocket

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Key Concepts

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Topics

Once connected, you subscribe to a topic to receive messages. The primary topic for organizational events is: 
/topic/change/{orgUuid}
This topic emits events for all changes within your organization, including policy alerts, device updates, and configuration changes.

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Event Types

Each message on the change topic contains a JSON payload with:
FieldDescription
entityThe type of entity that changed (e.g., POLICY_ALERT, DEVICE_CONFIG)
entityUuidUnique identifier for the entity
typeThe change type: CREATE, UPDATE, or DELETE
deviceUuidAssociated device UUID (when applicable)
timestampMsUnix timestamp in milliseconds

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Authentication

WebSocket connections authenticate using API tokens only. Certificate-based (mTLS) authentication is not supported for WebSocket. The token is passed as an HTTP header during the WebSocket handshake.
If you currently authenticate to the Rhombus REST API using certificates, you will need a separate API token for WebSocket connections.

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When to Use WebSocket vs. REST API

Use CaseRecommended Approach
React to alerts in real timeWebSocket
Build a live dashboardWebSocket
Trigger automations on eventsWebSocket
Query historical dataREST API
Manage devices or usersREST API
Retrieve video clipsREST API (DASH streaming)

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What’s Next

Authentication

Configure API token authentication for WebSocket connections.

Connection Lifecycle

Establish, maintain, and gracefully close connections.

Event Monitoring

Subscribe to topics and process real-time events.

Code Examples

Full working examples in Python, JavaScript, and Go.