--- title: "What it does · WebRTC Relay Server" description: "The bootstrapping problem it solves, one-time keys instead of accounts, and logging that records event names and nothing else." url: "https://royalsoftworks.com/products/webrtc-relay-server/what-it-does/" source: "https://royalsoftworks.com" format: "markdown" note: "Markdown rendering of the HTML page at `url`. Same content, same canonical URL." --- WebRTC Relay Server · 1 of 2 # What it does. The bootstrapping problem it solves, one-time keys instead of accounts, and logging that records event names and nothing else. Core capabilities ## What it does. The bootstrapping problem ### WebRTC peers can't introduce themselves. Two machines that want to talk directly first have to exchange SDP offers and ICE candidates — but they have no channel to trade them over until they're already connected. WebRTC Relay Server is the one thing standing between them: a WebSocket relay that carries just enough information to get a direct connection started, then has nothing left to do. - Relays SDP/ICE payloads only — never files, never credentials - Drops the room the moment either peer disconnects, or after 5 minutes - No database, no persistence — the entire state is one in-memory Map Matchmaking ### One-time keys instead of accounts. The initiating peer sends create; the server mints an unguessable 32-character key and hands it back. That peer shares the key with exactly one other person, out of band. The second peer presents it via join — the server checks it against the live room table, and a key it never issued is refused outright. No client ever picks its own key, and no room outlives its 5-minute handshake ceiling. - Keys are ~190 bits of CSPRNG entropy — unguessable, never client-chosen - join never creates a room; an unknown or expired key is refused - A third peer presenting a valid key is turned away without disturbing the pair assistant $ wscat -c wss://signal.example.com › { "type": "create" } ▸ { "type": "created", "key": "aX7fQ2mZ..." } › { "type": "join", "key": "aX7fQ2mZ..." } ▸ { "type": "ready", "initiator": false } Zero-logging, by design ### It logs fixed event names and nothing else. Every call to the logging function passes a fixed event name — never an IP address, a connection key or a payload — and an error is logged by its class name, never its message. That is something you can check in the code rather than a promise in a privacy policy, and the file is short enough to read in one sitting. On our hosted instance, the hosting platform's own edge logs are outside this code; run your own copy if that matters to you. - One dependency (ws), which itself has zero transitive dependencies - npm ls --all proves the entire audit surface in one command - Open source — read it, or run your own instance instead of ours example.ts TypeScript ``` 1function log(event) {2 if (config.silent) return;3 // every call site passes a fixed event4 // name — never an IP, key or payload.5 process.stdout.write(`[signaling] ${event}`);6} ``` [Previous WebRTC Relay Server overview](https://royalsoftworks.com/products/webrtc-relay-server/) [Next Questions we hear often](https://royalsoftworks.com/products/webrtc-relay-server/questions/)