5 Ways Node.js 22's Built-in WebSocket Client Changes API Development

5 Ways Node.js 22's Built-in WebSocket Client Changes API Development As of March 2026, Node.js 22 has been the LTS version for over a year, and its built-in WebSocket client is finally getting the attention it deserves. No more ws or socket.io dependencies just for client-side WebSocket connections. 1. No More External Dependencies Previously, you needed packages like ws or node-fetch for WebSocket connections. Node.js 22 ships with a stable, browser-compatible WebSocket client enabled by default. // Before: npm install ws // const WebSocket = require('ws'); // After: Just use it const ws = new WebSocket ( ' wss://api.example.com/realtime ' ); ws . onopen = () => { console . log ( ' Connected! ' ); ws . send ( JSON . stringify ({ type : ' subscribe ' , channel : ' updates ' })); }; ws . onmessage = ( event ) => { const data = JSON . parse ( event . data ); console . log ( ' Received: ' , data ); }; 2. Unified Full-Stack Code The WebSocket API in Node.js 22 matches the browser API exac