WPS Events Guide

Overview

WPS (Wave PubSub) is Wave Terminal's publish-subscribe event system that enables different parts of the application to communicate asynchronously. The system uses a broker pattern to route events from publishers to subscribers based on event types and scopes.

Key Files

• pkg/wps/wpstypes.go - Event type constants and data structures
• pkg/wps/wps.go - Broker implementation and core logic
• pkg/wcore/wcore.go - Example usage patterns

Event Structure

Events in WPS have the following structure:

type WaveEvent struct {
    Event   string   `json:"event"`      // Event type constant
    Scopes  []string `json:"scopes,omitempty"` // Optional scopes for targeted delivery
    Sender  string   `json:"sender,omitempty"` // Optional sender identifier
    Persist int      `json:"persist,omitempty"` // Number of events to persist in history
    Data    any      `json:"data,omitempty"`    // Event payload
}

Adding a New Event Type

Step 1: Define the Event Constant

Add your event type constant to pkg/wps/wpstypes.go:

const (
    Event_BlockClose       = "blockclose"
    Event_ConnChange       = "connchange"
    // ... other events ...
    Event_YourNewEvent     = "your:newevent"  // type: YourEventData (or "none" if no data)
)

Naming Convention:

• Use descriptive PascalCase for the constant name with Event_ prefix
• Use lowercase with colons for the string value (e.g., "namespace:eventname")
• Group related events with the same namespace prefix
• Always add a // type: <TypeName> comment; use // type: none if no data is sent

Step 2: Add to AllEvents

Add your new constant to the AllEvents slice in pkg/wps/wpstypes.go:

var AllEvents []string = []string{
    // ... existing events ...
    Event_YourNewEvent,
}

Step 3: Register in WaveEventDataTypes (REQUIRED)

You must add an entry to WaveEventDataTypes in pkg/tsgen/tsgenevent.go. This drives TypeScript type generation for the event's data field:

var WaveEventDataTypes = map[string]reflect.Type{
    // ... existing entries ...
    wps.Event_YourNewEvent: reflect.TypeOf(YourEventData{}),        // value type
    // wps.Event_YourNewEvent: reflect.TypeOf((*YourEventData)(nil)), // pointer type
    // wps.Event_YourNewEvent: nil,                                   // no data (type: none)
}

• Use reflect.TypeOf(YourType{}) for value types
• Use reflect.TypeOf((*YourType)(nil)) for pointer types
• Use nil if no data is sent for the event

Step 4: Define Event Data Structure (Optional)

If your event carries structured data, define a type for it:

type YourEventData struct {
    Field1 string `json:"field1"`
    Field2 int    `json:"field2"`
}

Step 5: Expose Type to Frontend (If Needed)

If your event data type isn't already exposed via an RPC call, you need to add it to pkg/tsgen/tsgen.go so TypeScript types are generated:

// add extra types to generate here
var ExtraTypes = []any{
    waveobj.ORef{},
    // ... other types ...
    uctypes.RateLimitInfo{},  // Example: already added
    YourEventData{},          // Add your new type here
}

Then run code generation:

task generate

This will update frontend/types/gotypes.d.ts with TypeScript definitions for your type, ensuring type safety in the frontend when handling these events.

Publishing Events

Basic Publishing

To publish an event, use the global broker:

import "github.com/wavetermdev/waveterm/pkg/wps"

wps.Broker.Publish(wps.WaveEvent{
    Event: wps.Event_YourNewEvent,
    Data:  yourData,
})

Publishing with Scopes

Scopes allow targeted event delivery. Subscribers can filter events by scope:

wps.Broker.Publish(wps.WaveEvent{
    Event:  wps.Event_WaveObjUpdate,
    Scopes: []string{oref.String()},  // Target specific object
    Data:   updateData,
})

Publishing in a Goroutine

To avoid blocking the caller, publish events asynchronously:

go func() {
    wps.Broker.Publish(wps.WaveEvent{
        Event: wps.Event_YourNewEvent,
        Data:  data,
    })
}()

When to use goroutines:

• When publishing from performance-critical code paths
• When the event is informational and doesn't need immediate delivery
• When publishing from code that holds locks (to prevent deadlocks)

Event Persistence

Events can be persisted in memory for late subscribers:

wps.Broker.Publish(wps.WaveEvent{
    Event:   wps.Event_YourNewEvent,
    Persist: 100,  // Keep last 100 events
    Data:    data,
})

Complete Example: Rate Limit Updates

This example shows how rate limit information is published when AI chat responses include rate limit headers.

1. Define the Event Type

In pkg/wps/wpstypes.go:

const (
    // ... other events ...
    Event_WaveAIRateLimit  = "waveai:ratelimit"
)

2. Publish the Event

In pkg/aiusechat/usechat.go:

import "github.com/wavetermdev/waveterm/pkg/wps"

func updateRateLimit(info *uctypes.RateLimitInfo) {
    if info == nil {
        return
    }
    rateLimitLock.Lock()
    defer rateLimitLock.Unlock()
    globalRateLimitInfo = info

    // Publish event in goroutine to avoid blocking
    go func() {
        wps.Broker.Publish(wps.WaveEvent{
            Event: wps.Event_WaveAIRateLimit,
            Data:  info,  // RateLimitInfo struct
        })
    }()
}

3. Subscribe to the Event (Frontend)

In the frontend, subscribe to events via WebSocket:

// Subscribe to rate limit updates
const subscription = {
  event: "waveai:ratelimit",
  allscopes: true, // Receive all rate limit events
};

Subscribing to Events

From Go Code

// Subscribe to all events of a type
wps.Broker.Subscribe(routeId, wps.SubscriptionRequest{
    Event:     wps.Event_YourNewEvent,
    AllScopes: true,
})

// Subscribe to specific scopes
wps.Broker.Subscribe(routeId, wps.SubscriptionRequest{
    Event:  wps.Event_WaveObjUpdate,
    Scopes: []string{"workspace:123"},
})

// Unsubscribe
wps.Broker.Unsubscribe(routeId, wps.Event_YourNewEvent)

Scope Matching

Scopes support wildcard matching:

• * matches a single scope segment
• ** matches multiple scope segments

// Subscribe to all workspace events
wps.Broker.Subscribe(routeId, wps.SubscriptionRequest{
    Event:  wps.Event_WaveObjUpdate,
    Scopes: []string{"workspace:*"},
})

Best Practices

1. Use Namespaces: Prefix event names with a namespace (e.g., waveai:, workspace:, block:)

2. Don't Block: Use goroutines when publishing from performance-critical code or while holding locks

3. Type-Safe Data: Define struct types for event data rather than using maps

4. Scope Wisely: Use scopes to limit event delivery and reduce unnecessary processing

5. Document Events: Add comments explaining when events are fired and what data they carry

6. Consider Persistence: Use Persist for events that late subscribers might need (like status updates). This is normally not used. We normally do a live RPC call to get the current value and then subscribe for updates.

Common Event Patterns

Status Updates

wps.Broker.Publish(wps.WaveEvent{
    Event:   wps.Event_ControllerStatus,
    Scopes:  []string{blockId},
    Persist: 1,  // Keep only latest status
    Data:    statusData,
})

Object Updates

wps.Broker.Publish(wps.WaveEvent{
    Event:  wps.Event_WaveObjUpdate,
    Scopes: []string{oref.String()},
    Data: waveobj.WaveObjUpdate{
        UpdateType: waveobj.UpdateType_Update,
        OType:      obj.GetOType(),
        OID:        waveobj.GetOID(obj),
        Obj:        obj,
    },
})

Batch Updates

// Helper function for multiple updates
func (b *BrokerType) SendUpdateEvents(updates waveobj.UpdatesRtnType) {
    for _, update := range updates {
        b.Publish(WaveEvent{
            Event:  Event_WaveObjUpdate,
            Scopes: []string{waveobj.MakeORef(update.OType, update.OID).String()},
            Data:   update,
        })
    }
}

Debugging

To debug event flow:

1. Check broker subscription map: wps.Broker.SubMap
2. View persisted events: wps.Broker.ReadEventHistory(eventType, scope, maxItems)
3. Add logging in publish/subscribe methods
4. Monitor WebSocket traffic in browser dev tools

Quick Reference

When adding a new event:

• Add event constant to pkg/wps/wpstypes.go with a // type: <TypeName> comment (use none if no data)
• Add the constant to AllEvents in pkg/wps/wpstypes.go
• REQUIRED: Add an entry to WaveEventDataTypes in pkg/tsgen/tsgenevent.go — use nil for events with no data
• Define event data structure (if needed)
• Add data type to pkg/tsgen/tsgen.go for frontend use (if not already exposed via RPC)
• Run task generate to update TypeScript types
• Publish events using wps.Broker.Publish()
• Use goroutines for non-blocking publish when appropriate
• Subscribe to events in relevant components