Real-Time Discussions & Live Updates
Outpost is built for live conversation. Powered by WebSockets, the platform delivers instant updates without page refreshes.
What Happens in Real-Time
When you're viewing a topic, you'll see updates appear instantly:
- New replies appear at the bottom of the thread as they're posted
- Post edits update in-place — no refresh needed
- Post deletions are reflected immediately
- New topics pop up in the community feed
- Reactions and likes update live as other members interact
How It Works
Outpost uses a WebSocket hub with channel-based subscriptions:
| Channel | What It Delivers |
|---|---|
community:{id}:feed |
New topics and community-wide activity |
topic:{id}:posts |
New posts, edits, and deletions in a specific topic |
user:{id}:notifications |
Personal notification delivery |
user:{id}:dm |
Direct message delivery |
When you open a topic, your browser automatically subscribes to the relevant channels. When you navigate away, it unsubscribes — keeping things efficient.
Notifications
Real-time notifications keep you in the loop:
- Reply notifications — When someone replies to your topic or post
- Mention notifications — When someone @mentions you
- Like notifications — When someone likes your post
- DM notifications — When you receive a direct message
Notifications appear instantly in the bell icon. You can mark them as read individually or all at once.
Direct Messages
Outpost includes 1:1 direct messaging between community members:
- Start a conversation from any member's profile
- Messages are delivered in real-time via WebSocket
- Read status tracking shows when messages are seen
- Message history is preserved for future reference
Built for Scale
The WebSocket system uses Redis Pub/Sub under the hood, which means it scales horizontally across multiple server instances. Whether you have 10 or 10,000 concurrent users, real-time updates keep flowing.