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Eclipse Tyrus

Eclipse Tyrus is the reference implementation of the Java Application Programming Interface (API) for WebSocket (Jakarta WebSocket) providing WebSocket support for Java-based applications (application integration / network transport).

  • Implements the Jakarta WebSocket specification for server and client WebSocket communication (network transport).
  • Provides a WebSocket runtime for Java Secure Element (SE) and Jakarta EE environments (application integration).
  • Supplies client- and server-side APIs for creating, configuring, and managing WebSocket endpoints (application integration).
  • Integrates with application servers and servlet containers that support Jakarta WebSocket (application platform integration).
  • Distributed under the Eclipse Foundation governance and licensing model for enterprise and community use (open-source governance).

More About Eclipse Tyrus

Eclipse Tyrus is the reference implementation of the Jakarta WebSocket specification (network transport) under the Eclipse Foundation’s EE4J umbrella. It implements the Java API for WebSocket defined by Jakarta EE, enabling full-duplex communication channels over a single Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection between Java applications and WebSocket-capable clients. As the reference implementation, Tyrus serves both as a functional WebSocket stack and as a conformance reference for the specification.

The project focuses on providing WebSocket capabilities for both Java SE and Jakarta EE environments (application integration). It exposes client and server APIs that follow the Jakarta WebSocket specification, allowing developers to define annotated or programmatic endpoints, handle lifecycle events such as open, close, error, and message reception, and manage sessions with connected peers. Through these APIs, applications can send and receive text and binary messages and use WebSocket subprotocols as defined by the standard.

Tyrus is designed to integrate with Jakarta EE application servers and servlet containers that implement the Jakarta WebSocket specification (application platform integration). In such environments, WebSocket endpoints can be deployed alongside traditional HTTP-based components, sharing configuration, security, and resource management facilities provided by the hosting platform. For Java SE deployments, Tyrus offers a client and an embeddable server stack, enabling standalone services or desktop applications to participate in WebSocket-based communication.

From an enterprise usage perspective, Eclipse Tyrus is used to build real-time, event-driven communication layers (event streaming / messaging) between back-end services and front-end clients, device gateways, or other systems that support the WebSocket Protocol (WS). Typical patterns include dashboards, notification systems, collaborative applications, and Machine-to-Machine Communication (M2M) channels where persistent, low-latency connections are required. Because it adheres to the Jakarta WebSocket specification, it supports interoperability with any standards-compliant WebSocket client or server.

Within an enterprise technology catalog, Eclipse Tyrus can be classified as a WebSocket runtime and reference implementation for Jakarta WebSocket (network transport / application integration). It is part of the broader Eclipse EE4J ecosystem, which provides open-source implementations of Jakarta EE specifications under the Eclipse Foundation governance model. Its role is to supply a standards-aligned WebSocket stack that can be embedded in products, application platforms, and custom solutions that rely on Jakarta WebSocket APIs for real-time communication.