peersignal-server

Simple WebRTC signaling server with code-based P2P pairing. Works with the peersignal client.

Install

npm install peersignal-server

Usage

npx peersignal-server
# Server running on http://localhost:3000

Or programmatically:

import { createServer } from 'http';
import { createPeerSignalServer } from 'peersignal-server';

const httpServer = createServer();
const io = createPeerSignalServer(httpServer);

httpServer.listen(3000);

How It Works

1. Peer A creates room → gets code like k7m-p2x-9nf
2. Peer A shares code out-of-band (text, DM, etc.)
3. Peer B joins with code
4. WebRTC P2P connection established (auto-approved by default)

+----------+                        +----------+
|  Peer A  |<-- P2P DataChannel --> |  Peer B  |
+----+-----+                        +-----+----+
     |                                    |
     +------ Signaling via Server --------+

The server only helps establish the connection - all data flows directly between peers.

CORS

CORS is enabled by default (origin: '*'). Override via options:

createPeerSignalServer(httpServer, {
  cors: { origin: 'https://yourdomain.com' }
});

Code Format

• 9 characters: xxx-xxx-xxx
• Safe charset: a-z (no i,l,o) + 2-9 (no 0,1)
• Case-insensitive

DDoS Protection

Built-in rate limiting and abuse prevention:

| Protection | Default | Env Var | |------------|---------|---------| | Connections per IP | 20/min | - | | Room creation per IP | 5/min | - | | Join attempts per IP | 30/min | - | | Signals per socket | 50/sec | - | | Max pending peers/room | 10 | MAX_PENDING_PER_ROOM | | Max rooms per IP | 5 | MAX_ROOMS_PER_IP | | Idle timeout | 5 min | IDLE_TIMEOUT_MS | | Max payload size | 16KB | MAX_PAYLOAD_SIZE |

Admin Dashboard

Optional admin dashboard for monitoring server activity.

Enabling

Set the ADMIN_PASSWORD environment variable:

ADMIN_PASSWORD=mysecretpassword npx peersignal-server

Accessing

Navigate to /admin and authenticate with:

• Username: admin
• Password: Your ADMIN_PASSWORD value

Features

• Real-time stats: Active rooms, connected peers, pending requests
• Room list: View all active rooms with their connection status
• Activity log: Recent connections, room creations, and peer approvals
• JSON API: GET /admin/api/stats for programmatic access
• Auto-refresh: Dashboard refreshes every 10 seconds

Security Notes

• Dashboard is completely disabled if ADMIN_PASSWORD is not set
• Uses HTTP Basic Authentication
• Recommended: Use HTTPS in production
• Keep your admin password secure

Configuration

| Env Var | Default | Description | |---------|---------|-------------| | PORT | 3000 | Server port | | ADMIN_PASSWORD | - | Enable admin dashboard (disabled if not set) | | MAX_PENDING_PER_ROOM | 10 | Max pending join requests per room | | MAX_ROOMS_PER_IP | 5 | Max rooms one IP can create | | IDLE_TIMEOUT_MS | 300000 | Disconnect idle sockets (5 min) | | MAX_PAYLOAD_SIZE | 16384 | Max signaling payload size (16KB) |

Client

Use the peersignal client:

npm install peersignal

Or via CDN:

<script src="https://unpkg.com/peersignal"></script>

License

MIT