Server-Sent Events: The Underrated Alternative to WebSockets for Real-Time Notifications

Server-Sent Events: The Underrated Alternative to WebSockets for Real-Time Notifications WebSockets are the default answer for real-time features. But for most notification systems — activity feeds, live dashboards, deployment status updates — they're overkill. Server-Sent Events (SSE) give you real-time push over plain HTTP with zero client-side libraries, automatic reconnection, and drastically simpler server code. Here's how to build a production notification system using SSE with Node.js and TypeScript. Why SSE Over WebSockets Feature SSE WebSocket Direction Server → Client Bidirectional Protocol HTTP WS (separate protocol) Reconnection Built-in Manual implementation Auth Standard HTTP headers/cookies Custom handshake Load balancers Works everywhere Needs sticky sessions or upgrade support Client code new EventSource(url) new WebSocket(url) + message framing Browser support All modern browsers All modern browsers If your client only needs to receive updates (notifications, live fee