# WebSockets

You can use <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WebSockets_API" class="external-link" target="_blank">WebSockets</a> with **FastAPI**.

## Install `WebSockets`

First you need to install `WebSockets`:

<div class="termy">

```console
$ pip install websockets

---> 100%
```

</div>

## WebSockets client

### In production

## Bodies of arbitrary `dict`s

You can also declare a body as a `dict` with keys of some type and values of some other type.

This way, you don't have to know beforehand what the valid field/attribute names are (as would be the case with Pydantic models).

This would be useful if you want to receive keys that you don't already know.

---

Another useful case is when you want to have keys of another type (e.g., `int`).

    * This is especially useful if you run `await myfile.read()` once and then need to read the contents again.
* `close()`: Closes the file.

As all these methods are `async` methods, you need to "await" them.

For example, inside of an `async` *path operation function* you can get the contents with:

```Python
contents = await myfile.read()
```

    If you have an older version, you would get errors when trying to use `Annotated`.

    Make sure you [Upgrade the FastAPI version](../deployment/versions.md#upgrading-the-fastapi-versions){.internal-link target=_blank} to at least 0.95.1 before using `Annotated`.

## Use `Annotated` in the type for the `q` parameter

In most cases you would (and should) have a "termination proxy" handling HTTPS for you on top, this will depend on how you deploy your application, your provider might do this for you, or you might need to set it up yourself.

!!! tip

    Temporarily adopting this point of view (of the *external developer*) can help you feel like it's more obvious where to put the parameters, the Pydantic model for the body, for the response, etc. for that *external API*.

### Create a callback `APIRouter`

You might want to try their services and follow their guides:

* <a href="https://docs.platform.sh/languages/python.html?utm_source=fastapi-signup&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=FastAPI-signup-June-2023" class="external-link" target="_blank">Platform.sh</a>

* The **database model** would probably need to have a hashed password.

!!! danger
    Never store user's plaintext passwords. Always store a "secure hash" that you can then verify.

    If you don't know, you will learn what a "password hash" is in the [security chapters](security/simple-oauth2.md#password-hashing){.internal-link target=_blank}.

## Multiple models

Templates, while typically come with a specific setup, are designed to be flexible and customizable. This allows you to modify and adapt them to your project's requirements, making them an excellent starting point. 🏁

You can use this template to get started, as it includes a lot of the initial set up, security, database and some API endpoints already done for you.

# Static Files - `StaticFiles`

You can use the `StaticFiles` class to serve static files, like JavaScript, CSS, images, etc.

Read more about it in the [FastAPI docs for Static Files](https://fastapi.tiangolo.com/tutorial/static-files/).

You can import it directly from `fastapi.staticfiles`:

```python
from fastapi.staticfiles import StaticFiles
```