SSE (Server-Sent Events)
A lightweight protocol that establishes a one-way connection, allowing a server to push continuous real-time updates to a client browser.
What it is
Unlike WebSockets, which are two-way, SSE is strictly one-way (server to client) and operates over standard HTTP. It is simpler to implement and naturally bypasses corporate firewall issues. It has surged in popularity recently because it is the standard protocol used to stream text tokens from AI models (like ChatGPT) to the screen in real-time.
When you would use it
You use SSE when your application needs real-time data pushed from the server, but the client does not need to rapidly send data back over the same persistent connection.
Common operations
- Streaming generated text tokens from an LLM API to a user's chat window.
- Pushing live sports score updates to a frontend dashboard.
Related terms
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