GraphQL Subscriptions (WebSockets)

Basta’s Client API supports GraphQL subscriptions over WebSockets to deliver near real-time updates to connected clients.

These updates enhance the responsiveness and interactivity of auction experiences — especially near the end of a sale when timing and feedback are critical.

✅ Subscriptions support both unauthenticated and authenticated access via bidder tokens.

Near real-time updates for connected clients are achieved with GraphQL subscriptions. These updates enhance the auction experience and play a crucial part near the end of an auction.

⚙️ Connection Details

Endpoint: wss://client.api.basta.app/query

Protocol: GraphQL over WebSocket (graphql-ws)

Ping/Pong: Automatic keep-alive every 10 seconds

🔐 Authentication

To authenticate, send a bidder token in the initPayload when establishing the WebSocket connection:

json
{
  "type": "connection_init",
  "payload": {
    "token": "<BIDDER_JWT_TOKEN>"
  }
}

If no token is provided, the connection is treated as unauthenticated.

If you’re using the graphql-ws package you can use the connectionParams to provide the bidder token like so:

javascript
connectionParams: () => {
  return {
    token: bidderToken,
  };
},

🛡️ Why the init payload ?

For integrators building advanced clients, here’s how auth is handled on the server:

The token field in the WebSocket connection_init payload is validated via JWT

Valid claims are injected into the request context

Bids and subscriptions are scoped to the authenticated userId

📡 Available Subscriptions

saleActivity(saleId, itemIdFilter)