From c46d25b2a55faee97085b4c21d645bd4d708d936 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: =?UTF-8?q?Rub=C3=A9n=20De=20la=20Torre=20Vico?= Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2026 16:19:59 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] docs(developer-guide): add Server-Sent Events guide Document the SSE infrastructure for backend developers: when to use SSE, the architecture and ASGI transport, a step-by-step worked example for adding an endpoint to a feature, the resource.verb event-naming convention, authentication, the tenant-isolation model, and reconnect/ state-recovery. Register the page in the Developer Guide navigation. --- docs/developer-guide/server-sent-events.mdx | 237 ++++++++++++++++++++ docs/docs.json | 3 +- 2 files changed, 239 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) create mode 100644 docs/developer-guide/server-sent-events.mdx diff --git a/docs/developer-guide/server-sent-events.mdx b/docs/developer-guide/server-sent-events.mdx new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..8ddd2ff3d1 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/developer-guide/server-sent-events.mdx @@ -0,0 +1,237 @@ +--- +title: 'Server-Sent Events (SSE)' +--- + +This guide explains how to add a **Server-Sent Events (SSE)** endpoint to the Prowler API. SSE lets the backend push a one-way stream of events to a client over a single long-lived HTTP connection — ideal for live progress, token-by-token LLM output, or any "the server has news for you" use case where the client should not poll. + + +The platform ships the SSE **infrastructure** (`api.sse`) and wiring. No feature endpoint streams over SSE out of the box — this guide shows how to build one on top of the shared base. + + +## When to use SSE + +| Need | Use | +|------|-----| +| Server pushes incremental updates, client only reads | **SSE** | +| Bidirectional, low-latency messaging (chat both ways, games) | WebSocket | +| Client asks, server answers once | Plain REST | + +SSE is the right tool when the **client only consumes**: scan progress, long-running job checkpoints, streamed LLM tokens, cross-client resource-sync notifications. It rides on plain HTTP, reconnects automatically in the browser via the native [`EventSource`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/EventSource) API, and needs no extra protocol. + +## How it works + +SSE is wired through [`django-eventstream`](https://github.com/fanout/django_eventstream) and a small platform layer in `api/src/backend/api/sse/`: + +| Piece | File | Responsibility | +|-------|------|----------------| +| `BaseSSEViewSet` | `api/sse/base_views.py` | Base DRF viewset a feature subclasses. The feature implements `get_channels`; the base handles auth, the tenant transaction, and delegates streaming to `django-eventstream`. | +| `SSEChannelManager` | `api/sse/channelmanager.py` | Registered in `settings.EVENTSTREAM_CHANNELMANAGER_CLASS`. Reads the channel set off the request and enforces the platform-wide tenant gate. | +| `SSEAuthentication` | `api/authentication.py` | Same JWT/API-key stack as the rest of the API, plus an `?access_token=` fallback for browser `EventSource` clients. Lives with the other authentication classes, not in the `sse` package. | +| `make_channel_name` / `tenant_id_from_channel` | `api/sse/utils.py` | Single source of truth for the channel-name format, so publishers and the channel manager agree byte-for-byte. | +| Settings | `config/settings/eventstream.py` | Valkey Pub/Sub backend (dedicated DB), channel manager, allowed headers. | + +### Transport: the server runs on ASGI + +SSE connections are long-lived. Holding one open per synchronous worker would exhaust the worker pool, so the API runs under Gunicorn's native **`asgi` worker** (`config.asgi:application`). Streams are parked on the event loop while ordinary CRUD endpoints keep their synchronous execution (Django runs sync views in a thread-sensitive executor under ASGI). This is configured in `config/guniconf.py` and used by both the dev and production entrypoints — no separate server process is needed. + +### The data flow + +``` +publisher (Celery task / view) subscriber (browser, CLI) + │ │ + │ send_event(channel, "scan.progress", …) │ GET …/event-stream + ▼ ▼ + Valkey Pub/Sub ◄────────────────────► BaseSSEViewSet.list + (EVENTSTREAM_VALKEY_DB) → get_channels() (RLS-scoped) + → SSEChannelManager (tenant gate) + → StreamingHttpResponse (text/event-stream) +``` + +A publisher anywhere in the system (most often a Celery task) calls `send_event(channel, event_type, payload)`. `django-eventstream` fans it out over Valkey Pub/Sub to every connection subscribed to that channel. + +## Adding an SSE endpoint to your feature + +The example below streams progress for a long-running **scan**. Adapt the resource, prefix, and event names to your feature. + + + + + +Channels follow the format `::`, built only through `make_channel_name`. The prefix is owned by your feature and may contain hyphens but **never colons** (the parser splits on `:`). + +```python +CHANNEL_PREFIX = "scan-progress" +``` + +The tenant id is baked into every channel name. That is what lets the platform enforce cross-tenant isolation without knowing anything about your feature. + + + + + +Create the viewset for the SSE sub-resource. The only required method is `get_channels`; it runs inside the tenant transaction set up by the base class, so any database lookup inside it is automatically RLS-scoped. + +```python +# scans/event_streams.py +from api.sse import BaseSSEViewSet, make_channel_name +from django.shortcuts import get_object_or_404 +from scans.models import Scan + +CHANNEL_PREFIX = "scan-progress" + + +class ScanEventStreamViewSet(BaseSSEViewSet): + def get_queryset(self): + # RLS already scopes to the tenant; narrow further as needed + # (e.g. only scans the requesting user may see). + return Scan.objects.filter(tenant_id=self.request.tenant_id) + + def get_channels(self) -> set[str]: + scan = get_object_or_404(self.get_queryset(), pk=self.kwargs["scan_pk"]) + return {make_channel_name(CHANNEL_PREFIX, scan.tenant_id, scan.id)} +``` + + +`get_channels` **must raise** the relevant DRF exception (`NotFound`, `PermissionDenied`, `NotAuthenticated`) when authorization fails — `get_object_or_404` does this for you. Returning an empty set surfaces as django-eventstream's confusing "No channels specified" error instead of the real cause. + + + + + + +Mount the endpoint as an `event-stream` sub-resource. Keep it **outside the DRF router**, which would force the URL into a list/detail convention. Route the `get` method to the viewset's `list` action. + +```python +# scans/urls.py +path( + "scans//event-stream", + ScanEventStreamViewSet.as_view({"get": "list"}), + name="scan-event-stream", +), +``` + + + + + +A feature owns its event types in `//events.py`: one `publish_` function per event type, each body a **single** `send_event` call so the wire-level string lives in exactly one place. + +```python +# scans/events.py +from django_eventstream import send_event + + +def publish_progress(channel: str, checked: int, total: int) -> None: + send_event(channel, "scan.progress", {"checked": checked, "total": total}) + + +def publish_end(channel: str, scan_id: str) -> None: + # Terminal event carries the canonical id so reconnecting clients + # can refetch the persisted resource over REST. + send_event(channel, "scan.end", {"scan_id": scan_id}) + + +def publish_error(channel: str, code: str, detail: str) -> None: + send_event(channel, "scan.error", {"code": code, "detail": detail}) +``` + +There is no platform-side enum, registry, or dispatch table — **the naming convention is the contract** (see below). + + + + + +Wherever the work happens — usually a Celery task — build the channel the same way and publish: + +```python +from api.sse import make_channel_name +from scans.events import publish_progress, publish_end + +channel = make_channel_name("scan-progress", scan.tenant_id, scan.id) +publish_progress(channel, checked=42, total=100) +... +publish_end(channel, scan_id=str(scan.id)) +``` + + + + + +## Event naming convention + +Every event uses an event type of the form **`.`** (lowercased, dot-separated). The verb comes from this platform-wide vocabulary — if you need a verb that is not listed, document the addition in this guide so the catalog stays discoverable. + +| Verb | When to use | +|------|-------------| +| `delta` | An incremental piece of a stream the client concatenates (LLM text tokens, audio chunks). Standard term across OpenAI / Anthropic / LiteLLM / Vercel AI SDK. | +| `start` | Begin marker for a compound operation (e.g. a tool call whose execution will be reported by a matching `end`). | +| `end` | Terminal marker. Carries the canonical resource id so reconnecting clients can refetch persisted state via REST. | +| `progress` | Periodic checkpoint with quantifiable completion, e.g. `{"checked": 42, "total": 100}`. | +| `created` / `updated` / `deleted` | Resource-lifecycle events for cross-client sync streams. | +| `error` | Terminal failure. Carries a stable `code` for client switching and a human-readable `detail`. | + + +Payloads are **flat JSON**. The wire-level `event:` field already names the event type, so do **not** wrap the payload in `{"type": ..., "data": ...}`. Include the canonical resource UUID on terminal events so reconnecting clients can reconcile via REST. + + +## Authentication + +SSE endpoints use the same authentication stack as the rest of the API. Non-browser clients (CLI, programmatic) send the standard `Authorization` header — JWT or API key. + +Browser `EventSource` is the only widely available SSE client API and it **cannot set custom headers**. For that case only, the endpoint accepts a JWT via the `?access_token=` query parameter. The header always wins when present — a header is intentional, while a query parameter can leak into referers and logs, so it is consulted only as a fallback. + +```javascript +// Browser +const es = new EventSource( + `/api/v1/scans/${scanId}/event-stream?access_token=${jwt}` +); +``` + +```bash +# CLI / programmatic — header, exactly like every other endpoint +curl -N -H "Authorization: Bearer $JWT" \ + https:///api/v1/scans/$SCAN_ID/event-stream +``` + +## Tenant isolation & security model + +Authorization is enforced at two layers: + +1. **At connect**, `get_channels` runs under the regular DRF stack inside the tenant transaction (`rls_transaction`). Resource lookups are RLS-scoped, so a user cannot even resolve a channel for a resource they cannot see. Narrow the queryset further (e.g. `created_by=request.user`) when a resource is per-user within a tenant. +2. **After connect**, `SSEChannelManager.can_read_channel` re-verifies tenant membership by parsing the tenant id embedded in the channel name. Cross-tenant subscription is rejected even if a URL-level check ever has a bug. A malformed channel name is treated as "not authorized". + +Because the tenant id lives inside the channel name, this gate works for any feature without the platform knowing anything about it. + +## Reconnect & state recovery + +The platform deliberately ships **without server-side replay** (`is_channel_reliable` returns `False`). When a client reconnects, it does **not** receive missed events. Instead: + +- Terminal events (`*.end`) carry the canonical resource **UUID**. +- On reconnect, the client refetches the authoritative state from the normal REST endpoint using that id. + +Design your event payloads accordingly: deltas are ephemeral and concatenated in-flight; the durable truth always lives behind a REST resource. + +## Local development + +- The dev and production entrypoints both launch Gunicorn with the `asgi` worker (`config.asgi:application`). In dev, `DJANGO_DEBUG=True` enables hot reload; `preload_app` is automatically disabled under debug so edited code is picked up. +- SSE uses a **dedicated Valkey database** (`EVENTSTREAM_VALKEY_DB`, default `2`) kept separate from the Celery broker so a noisy broker cannot crowd out streaming traffic. It reuses the same `VALKEY_*` connection settings as the rest of the platform. + +| Env var | Default | Purpose | +|---------|---------|---------| +| `EVENTSTREAM_VALKEY_DB` | `2` | Valkey DB index for the SSE Pub/Sub bus | +| `DJANGO_WORKER_CLASS` | `asgi` | Gunicorn worker class | + +Test the stream end to end with `curl -N` (disable buffering) and an auth header: + +```bash +curl -N -H "Authorization: Bearer $JWT" \ + http://localhost:8080/api/v1/scans/$SCAN_ID/event-stream +``` + +## Testing + +The platform basis is covered by `api/tests/test_sse.py` (channel parsing, the tenant gate, and auth precedence). For a feature endpoint, test: + +- `get_channels` returns the expected channel for an authorized resource and raises `NotFound`/`PermissionDenied` otherwise. +- Each `publish_` helper emits the correct event type and flat payload (mock `send_event`). +- The producer builds the channel with `make_channel_name` using the resource's own `tenant_id`. diff --git a/docs/docs.json b/docs/docs.json index e31575878e..51c7e739b0 100644 --- a/docs/docs.json +++ b/docs/docs.json @@ -395,7 +395,8 @@ "developer-guide/lighthouse-architecture", "developer-guide/mcp-server", "developer-guide/ai-skills", - "developer-guide/prowler-studio" + "developer-guide/prowler-studio", + "developer-guide/server-sent-events" ] }, {