Add real-time updates

Tools that power the Add real-time updates stack

• Supabase Realtime — Database change subscriptions

  Subscribe to Postgres table changes and broadcast them to connected clients instantly

  See all stacks using Supabase Realtime

• Pusher — Hosted WebSocket service

  Managed WebSocket infrastructure that handles connections, scaling, and presence

  See all stacks using Pusher

• Ably — Pub/sub messaging platform

  Reliable pub/sub with guaranteed message ordering and offline catch-up

  See all stacks using Ably

• Socket.io — Real-time JavaScript library

  Full-featured WebSocket library with automatic fallback and room-based messaging

  See all stacks using Socket.io

Setup guide

1. Supabase Realtime: Enable Realtime on your Supabase table in the Table Editor by toggling the Realtime switch. In your frontend, call supabase.channel('table-changes').on('postgres_changes', { event: '*', schema: 'public', table: 'your_table' }, callback).subscribe(). The callback fires instantly whenever a row is inserted, updated, or deleted, letting you update your UI without polling. (open)
2. Pusher: Sign up for Pusher Channels and create an app. Install the pusher-js and pusher npm packages. On your server, call pusher.trigger('channel-name', 'event-name', { data }) whenever something happens. On the client, subscribe to the same channel and bind to the event to receive the payload. Pusher handles all WebSocket connection management automatically. (open)
3. Ably: Create an Ably account and copy your API key. Install the ably npm package. Publish messages from your server with rest.channels.get('my-channel').publish('event', data). On the client, subscribe with realtime.channels.get('my-channel').subscribe('event', callback). Use Ably's rewind feature to replay missed messages for clients that reconnect after a brief disconnect. (open)
4. Socket.io: Install socket.io on your Node.js server and socket.io-client in your frontend. Attach Socket.io to your HTTP server with io(httpServer). Emit events from the server with io.to(roomId).emit('event', data) to target specific users or rooms. On the client, socket.on('event', callback) receives the data. Socket.io automatically falls back to long-polling if WebSockets are blocked. (open)