AnyCable

A self-hosted realtime server that adds reliable two-way messaging over WebSockets and SSE to an existing backend.

2.4k stars, 129 forks Go On GitHub since September 2016

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

AnyCable at a glance

Open sourceYes, MITNo paid parts in the repository
Health70 of 100Actively developed
Self-hostingDocker, Desktop appsCompose file, 3 services
AppsLinux, Windows, macOS, including ARMBuilds in GitHub releases
InterfaceEnglish onlyNo translation files found
Issue repliesWithin ~44 hoursMedian first reply; 81% of recent issues answered

What is AnyCable?

AnyCable is a standalone server that handles realtime connections on behalf of your application. Clients connect to it over WebSockets or Server-Sent Events, and it carries messages in both directions with an emphasis on reliable delivery, so the main backend does not have to keep thousands of long-lived sockets open itself. This repository holds the open-source edition; the company behind it, the consultancy Evil Martians, also sells a Pro version and a managed service, which live outside this code. Full documentation is published on a separate docs site.

Good fit if

  • Your web app needs live updates or chat-style features and you would rather run the socket layer yourself than rent it.
  • You want a dedicated process for persistent connections that sits next to the backend you already have.

Look elsewhere if

  • You want a language-agnostic publish-subscribe server with more transports, including gRPC and WebTransport: Centrifugo.
  • All you need is a small server that sends simple messages to a phone or desktop: Gotify.

Before you adopt it

The code is MIT-licensed and the repository contains no paid parts; the Pro features and hosted offering are separate products. No contributor agreement is required. One developer writes most of the commits, although several others contribute. Prebuilt binaries cover Linux, macOS and Windows, a Docker image is available, and the sample compose setup runs it with Redis.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 7 November 2026. Report a correction

How to run AnyCable yourself

Docker
Dockerfile or compose file in the repository
Compose file
.dockerdev/compose.yml: 3 services (redis)
Setup effort
2 of 5, judged from the compose file
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
Builds for Linux, Windows, macOS, including ARM in GitHub releases
Interface languages
English only

Install instructions: anycable.io or the README on GitHub.

AnyCable health: is it still maintained?

70 of 100, actively developed

Release rhythmEvery ~26 daysLatest: v1.6.20, 21 October 2026
Issue repliesWithin ~44 hoursMedian first reply; 81% of recent issues answered
Bus factorMedium riskThe most active of 5 authors wrote 79% of recent commits
  • Activity
    55 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 5 November 2026.
    21 / 30
  • Contributors
    5 people wrote the 55 commits of the last 90 days; the most active wrote 79% of them.
    10 / 20
  • Releases
    14+ releases in the last 12 months; the latest, v1.6.20, on 21 October 2026.
    19 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 81% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 44 hours.
    16 / 20
  • Security practices
    OpenSSF Scorecard 4.2 of 10.
    4 / 10

Read from GitHub on 7 November 2026. How the score works

AnyCable security practices

OpenSSF Scorecard checks how a project is developed and released: reviews, protected branches, pinned dependencies, signed releases. It does not audit the code itself.

OpenSSF Scorecard4.2 of 10How the project is built and released
Security policyNoNo SECURITY.md or similar
Signed releasesNoDownloads cannot be checked against a signature

What each check found

  • Binary files10 / 10No compiled binaries checked into the repository
  • Dangerous workflows10 / 10No risky patterns in GitHub Actions
  • License file10 / 10A license file is present
  • Maintained10 / 10Steady commits and issue activity in the last 90 days
  • Packaging10 / 10Releases are published as packages from CI
  • Static analysis6 / 10Code is scanned for bugs on some changes
  • Pinned dependencies1 / 10Some dependencies use fixed versions
  • Best-practices badge0 / 10No OpenSSF Best Practices badge
  • Branch protection0 / 10The main branch has no protection rules
  • Code review0 / 10Changes are merged without review
  • Fuzzing0 / 10No fuzz testing found
  • Security policy0 / 10No security policy
  • Signed releases0 / 10Releases are not signed
  • Token permissions0 / 10CI tokens have broad write rights

From the OpenSSF Scorecard of 2 November 2026. Checks that do not apply to AnyCable are left out.

AnyCable license: is it open source?

AnyCable uses MIT, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. September 2016First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayMIT.

AnyCable for developers

Written in

  • Go 95%
  • Ruby 2%
  • JavaScript 1%
  • Makefile <1%
  • C <1%
  • Other <1%

Getting involved

Contributing guideYesCONTRIBUTING.mdOpen issues4On GitHub
Authors, 90 days5Of 55 commits
DonationsGitHub SponsorsListed on GitHub

Language shares are GitHub’s count of the code in the repository.

Alternatives to AnyCable

  • CentrifugoScalable real-time messaging server in a language-agnostic way. Self-hosted alternative to Pubnub, Pusher,… 74 health · Apache-2.0 · 11k stars
  • LivebookAutomate code & data workflows with interactive Elixir notebooks 61 health · Apache-2.0 · 5.9k stars
  • NovuThe open-source communication infrastructure for agents and products 80 health · MIT · 40.3k stars
  • HasuraBlazing fast, instant realtime GraphQL APIs on all your data with fine grained access control, also trigger… 79 health · Apache-2.0 · 32.1k stars
  • GotifyA simple server for sending and receiving messages in real-time per WebSocket. (Includes a sleek web-ui) 77 health · MIT · 16.2k stars

All 28 projects in Developer tools

Questions about AnyCable

Is AnyCable open source?

Yes. AnyCable is published under MIT, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is AnyCable still maintained?

Its health score is 70 of 100 (actively developed). It had 55 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 5 November 2026, and its latest release came out on 21 October 2026.

How do I run AnyCable?

You can run it with Docker, as an app for Linux, Windows, macOS, including ARM. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What is AnyCable written in?

AnyCable is written mainly in Go (95% of the code), by GitHub’s count of the repository.

What are the alternatives to AnyCable?

Close alternatives in the Developer tools category include Centrifugo, Livebook, Novu.