How do I deploy Flask WebSocket Chat on Railway?

You can deploy Flask WebSocket Chat on Railway by clicking the "Deploy Now" button on this page. Railway will automatically set up all the necessary services and configurations for you.

What are the system requirements?

Railway handles all the infrastructure requirements. You only need a web browser to deploy and manage your application.

Is this template free to use?

Yes, this template is free to use within your existing Railway account.

Can I customize this template?

Yes, you can fully customize this template. After deployment, you will have full control of what you've deployed in your Railway project.

How do I get support for this template?

You can get support through our community forum: flask-web-socket-chat-22ec574b, or click "Get template help" for this template for more assistance.

Deploy and Host Flask WebSocket Chat on Railway

A real-time chat application built with Flask and Flask-SocketIO. It uses WebSockets (with polling fallback) to broadcast messages instantly between all connected clients. Features automatic reconnection, online user counting, and a clean dark-themed UI—all in a single Python file.

About Hosting Flask WebSocket Chat

Hosting Flask WebSocket Chat requires a platform that supports persistent WebSocket connections alongside standard HTTP traffic. The app runs on Gunicorn with an Eventlet async worker, which handles concurrent WebSocket connections efficiently in a single process. Railway provisions the PORT environment variable automatically, and the app binds to it on startup. No database or external storage is needed—messages are relayed in real time and chat state lives in memory. The deployment consists of just two files: main.py and requirements.txt, making it straightforward to deploy and maintain.

Common Use Cases

Learning how WebSockets work in Python with a hands-on, deployable example
Adding real-time chat or notifications to an existing Flask application
Prototyping collaborative features like live cursors, shared editing, or multiplayer interactions

Dependencies for Flask WebSocket Chat Hosting

Python 3.10+
Gunicorn (WSGI server)

Deployment Dependencies

Flask — lightweight web framework
Flask-SocketIO — WebSocket support for Flask
Eventlet — async networking library for concurrent WebSocket handling
Socket.IO Client — browser-side WebSocket client (loaded via CDN)

Implementation Details

The app is served with Gunicorn using the Eventlet worker class to support async WebSocket connections:

gunicorn --worker-class eventlet -w 1 --bind 0.0.0.0:$PORT main:app

Why Deploy Flask WebSocket Chat on Railway?

Railway is a singular platform to deploy your infrastructure stack. Railway will host your infrastructure so you don't have to deal with configuration, while allowing you to vertically and horizontally scale it.

By deploying Flask WebSocket Chat on Railway, you are one step closer to supporting a complete full-stack application with minimal burden. Host your servers, databases, AI agents, and more on Railway.