Server-Sent Events
The go-to protocol for server-push without WebSocket complexity. Used for AI/LLM streaming responses, live notifications, and real-time dashboards over plain HTTP.
What It Defines
Defines the EventSource API and the text/event-stream wire format for one-way server-to-client push over HTTP. Simpler than WebSocket for unidirectional push: notifications, live feeds, streaming AI responses.
Canonical (Normative)
Convenient (Practical)
Maintains the living standards for the web platform: HTML, DOM, Fetch, URL, Streams, and more. These are continuously updated living documents, not versioned snapshots.
Related Specs
Real-time features — chat, live dashboards, collaborative editing, notifications, trading UIs — run on WebSockets. Every serious app eventually needs them.
This is the core contract of every web API, browser request, and server response. You can't design or debug HTTP without knowing this.