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The router@0.313.0 subscription overhaul release ships three behavioral changes alongside configuration renames. Each behavioral change is documented in its reference page; this guide links to those and summarizes what an upgrader needs to check. The router’s WebSocket protocol behavior is a strict superset of the graphql-transport-ws and graphql-ws specifications. Spec-compliant clients are unaffected by the spec-fix change below. The other two changes may require adjustments.

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Subgraph connection_init payload no longer merges subscribe extensions

Previously the extensions field from each subscribe message was merged into connection_init.payload.extensions on the subgraph WebSocket, overriding any existing extensions set via initial_payload. The router now forwards subscribe-message extensions in the per-operation subscribe.payload.extensions field, where the spec places them. Action for subgraph implementations: if your subgraph reads subscribe-message extensions from connection_init.payload.extensions, update it to read them from subscribe.payload.extensions. See Subscriptions - Using the extensions field for the new behavior.

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Upstream connection errors no longer tear down the client WebSocket

Previously, when a subgraph WebSocket died during active subscriptions (TCP drop, EOF, or a close frame from the subgraph), the router sent a WebSocket close frame with code 1001 to the downstream client and tore down the entire client connection. No GraphQL error payload was delivered for the affected subscription. The router now emits a per-subscription GraphQL error and terminates that subscription. The downstream client’s WebSocket stays open and other subscriptions on the same connection continue. The error uses the message "upstream service error" and sets the code extension to subgraph_error_propagation.default_extension_code (default DOWNSTREAM_SERVICE_ERROR). When the failure includes a WebSocket close frame, the router additionally populates closeCode and closeReason extensions. Action for clients: if your client detected upstream subgraph failures by observing a WebSocket close with code 1001, inspect the GraphQL error code extension instead. Reconnect logic that previously operated at the whole-connection level may need to move to individual subscriptions. See Subgraph Error Propagation - Upstream WebSocket errors during subscriptions for the new behavior and example payloads.

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complete is no longer sent after error on graphql-transport-ws

Previously, when a subscription’s backing async iterable raised an error, the router sent both error and complete for the same operation ID:
This mirrored a bug in the graphql-ws reference implementation, accepted upstream as a fix in enisdenjo/graphql-ws#667. The router now sends only the error message, matching the graphql-transport-ws spec:
Error: This message terminates the operation and no further messages will be sent. Complete (Server → Client): If the server dispatched the Error message relative to the original Subscribe message, no Complete message will be emitted.
Action: none required. Spec-compliant clients ignore messages for operations they consider already completed.

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Engine WebSocket configuration

Several websocket_client_* options were named as if they tuned the router’s upstream connections to subgraphs, but were actually used for the server-side WebSocket handler (the router’s downstream endpoint accepting client connections). This release splits those roles cleanly. All changes are listed below.
The old websocket_client_poll_timeout, websocket_client_conn_buffer_size, websocket_client_read_timeout, and websocket_client_frame_timeout router configuration options are no longer available, and their ENGINE_WEBSOCKET_CLIENT_* environment variables are no longer recognized. One option - websocket_client_write_timeout - keeps its name but now applies to a different side of the router. Review each section below before upgrading.

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Renamed: server-side options

These were always server-side despite the websocket_client_* name. They are renamed, and the old names are removed entirely.

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Split: websocket_client_read_timeout

The old websocket_client_read_timeout served two purposes. Both are affected.
  • The server-side read timeout is now engine.websocket_server_read_timeout / ENGINE_WEBSOCKET_SERVER_READ_TIMEOUT. Default 5s.
  • The upstream subscription client no longer has a generic read timeout. Use the finer-grained websocket_client_ping_timeout and websocket_client_ack_timeout below.

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Scope change: websocket_client_write_timeout

This option keeps its name but changes scope. Previously it governed the server-side write timeout (router writing to clients). It now governs the upstream write timeout (router writing to subgraphs), matching what its name implies. If you were setting this option in a previous release to tune server-side writes, set engine.websocket_server_write_timeout / ENGINE_WEBSOCKET_SERVER_WRITE_TIMEOUT to the same value on upgrade. Otherwise the server-side falls back to its default of 10s.

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New: websocket_server_write_timeout

engine.websocket_server_write_timeout / ENGINE_WEBSOCKET_SERVER_WRITE_TIMEOUT. Server-side write timeout (router writing to clients). Default 10s. Previously this behavior was governed by websocket_client_write_timeout (see above).

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New: upstream client options

These tune the router’s outbound WebSocket connections to subgraphs.
  • engine.websocket_client_ack_timeout / ENGINE_WEBSOCKET_CLIENT_ACK_TIMEOUT. Maximum wait for a subgraph connection_ack after the router sends connection_init. Default 30s, minimum 1s.
  • engine.websocket_client_read_limit / ENGINE_WEBSOCKET_CLIENT_READ_LIMIT. Maximum size of a single incoming WebSocket message from a subgraph. Default 1MB, minimum 1KB.

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Removed: websocket_client_frame_timeout

engine.websocket_client_frame_timeout / ENGINE_WEBSOCKET_CLIENT_FRAME_TIMEOUT is removed with no replacement. Remove it from your config.

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Unchanged

These keep both their name and their scope:
  • engine.websocket_client_ping_interval
  • engine.websocket_client_ping_timeout
  • engine.enable_net_poll (applies to the server-side WebSocket handler only; has no effect on upstream subgraph connections)
Subject to change. enable_net_poll, websocket_server_poll_timeout, and websocket_server_conn_buffer_size may be removed or changed in a future release without a standard deprecation cycle. Avoid depending on them.

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Before / after

See Router Engine Configuration for the full reference.