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

Use Namespaces: Prefix event names with a namespace (e.g., waveai:, workspace:, block:)
Don't Block: Use goroutines when publishing from performance-critical code or while holding locks
Type-Safe Data: Define struct types for event data rather than using maps
Scope Wisely: Use scopes to limit event delivery and reduce unnecessary processing
Document Events: Add comments explaining when events are fired and what data they carry
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:

Check broker subscription map: wps.Broker.SubMap
View persisted events: wps.Broker.ReadEventHistory(eventType, scope, maxItems)
Add logging in publish/subscribe methods
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

wps-events