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Command-Line Interface

kn-sock provides a comprehensive command-line interface for quick socket operations and testing.

Overview

The kn-sock CLI allows you to: - Start servers for various protocols - Send messages and files - Connect to live streams and video chat - Use interactive mode for real-time communication - Test network connectivity

Basic Commands

TCP Commands

Start TCP Server

kn-sock run-tcp-server <port>

Options: - --host <host>: Host to bind (default: 0.0.0.0)

Example: 

kn-sock run-tcp-server 8080
kn-sock run-tcp-server 8080 --host 127.0.0.1

Send TCP Message

kn-sock send-tcp <host> <port> <message>

Example: 

kn-sock send-tcp localhost 8080 "Hello, World!"
kn-sock send-tcp 192.168.1.10 8080 "Test message"

UDP Commands

Start UDP Server

kn-sock run-udp-server <port>

Options: - --host <host>: Host to bind (default: 0.0.0.0)

Example: 

kn-sock run-udp-server 8080

Send UDP Message

kn-sock send-udp <host> <port> <message>

Example: 

kn-sock send-udp localhost 8080 "Hello, UDP!"

Send UDP Multicast

kn-sock send-udp-multicast <group> <port> <message>

Options: - --ttl <ttl>: Time-to-live for multicast packets (default: 1)

Example: 

kn-sock send-udp-multicast 224.0.0.1 8080 "Multicast message"

Secure TCP (SSL/TLS) Commands

Start Secure TCP Server

kn-sock run-ssl-tcp-server <port> <certfile> <keyfile>

Options: - --host <host>: Host to bind (default: 0.0.0.0) - --cafile <cafile>: CA certificate for client verification - --require-client-cert: Require client certificates (mutual TLS)

Example: 

kn-sock run-ssl-tcp-server 8443 server.crt server.key
kn-sock run-ssl-tcp-server 8443 server.crt server.key --cafile ca.crt --require-client-cert

Send Secure TCP Message

kn-sock send-ssl-tcp <host> <port> <message>

Options: - --cafile <cafile>: CA certificate for server verification - --certfile <certfile>: Client certificate - --keyfile <keyfile>: Client private key - --no-verify: Disable server certificate verification

Example: 

kn-sock send-ssl-tcp localhost 8443 "Hello Secure"
kn-sock send-ssl-tcp localhost 8443 "Hello Secure" --cafile ca.crt --certfile client.crt --keyfile client.key

File Transfer Commands

Start File Server

kn-sock run-file-server <port> <save_directory>

Options: - --host <host>: Host to bind (default: 0.0.0.0)

Example: 

kn-sock run-file-server 8080 /path/to/save/directory

Send File

kn-sock send-file <host> <port> <filepath>

Options: - --show-progress: Show progress bar (default: true) - --no-progress: Hide progress bar

Example: 

kn-sock send-file localhost 8080 /path/to/file.txt
kn-sock send-file localhost 8080 large_file.zip --show-progress

JSON Commands

Send JSON Data

kn-sock send-json <host> <port> <json_data>

Example: 

kn-sock send-json localhost 8080 '{"message": "Hello", "type": "greeting"}'
kn-sock send-json localhost 8080 '{"user_id": 123, "action": "login"}'

WebSocket Commands

Start WebSocket Server

kn-sock run-websocket-server <host> <port>

Example: 

kn-sock run-websocket-server 127.0.0.1 8765

Connect to WebSocket

kn-sock connect-websocket <host> <port>

Options: - --resource <path>: WebSocket resource path (default: /) - --headers <json>: Additional headers as JSON

Example: 

kn-sock connect-websocket localhost 8765
kn-sock connect-websocket localhost 8765 --resource /chat --headers '{"Authorization": "Bearer token"}'

HTTP Commands

Start HTTP Server

kn-sock run-http-server <host> <port>

Options: - --static-dir <directory>: Directory to serve static files - --routes <json>: Custom routes as JSON

Example: 

kn-sock run-http-server 127.0.0.1 8080
kn-sock run-http-server 127.0.0.1 8080 --static-dir /path/to/static

HTTP GET Request

kn-sock http-get <host> <port> <path>

Options: - --headers <json>: HTTP headers as JSON

Example: 

kn-sock http-get example.com 80 /
kn-sock http-get api.example.com 443 /users --headers '{"Authorization": "Bearer token"}'

HTTP POST Request

kn-sock http-post <host> <port> <path> <data>

Options: - --headers <json>: HTTP headers as JSON

Example: 

kn-sock http-post api.example.com 80 /users '{"name": "John", "email": "[email protected]"}'

Pub/Sub Commands

Start Pub/Sub Server

kn-sock run-pubsub-server <port>

Options: - --host <host>: Host to bind (default: 0.0.0.0)

Example: 

kn-sock run-pubsub-server 9000

Pub/Sub Client Commands

# Subscribe to a topic
kn-sock pubsub-subscribe <host> <port> <topic>

# Publish a message
kn-sock pubsub-publish <host> <port> <topic> <message>

# Receive messages
kn-sock pubsub-receive <host> <port>

Example: 

kn-sock pubsub-subscribe localhost 9000 news
kn-sock pubsub-publish localhost 9000 news "Breaking news!"
kn-sock pubsub-receive localhost 9000

RPC Commands

Start RPC Server

kn-sock run-rpc-server <port>

Options: - --host <host>: Host to bind (default: 0.0.0.0) - --functions <json>: Functions to register as JSON

Example: 

kn-sock run-rpc-server 9001
kn-sock run-rpc-server 9001 --functions '{"add": "lambda x, y: x + y", "echo": "lambda msg: msg"}'

RPC Client Commands

# Call a remote function
kn-sock rpc-call <host> <port> <function> <args...>

Example: 

kn-sock rpc-call localhost 9001 add 2 3
kn-sock rpc-call localhost 9001 echo "Hello RPC"

Live Streaming Commands

Start Live Stream Server

kn-sock run-live-server <port> <video_files...>

Options: - --host <host>: Host to bind (default: 0.0.0.0) - --audio-port <port>: Audio port (default: port + 1)

Example: 

kn-sock run-live-server 9000 video1.mp4 video2.mp4 video3.mp4
kn-sock run-live-server 9000 movie.mp4 --host 0.0.0.0 --audio-port 9001

Connect to Live Stream

kn-sock connect-live-server <host> <port>

Options: - --audio-port <port>: Audio port (default: port + 1)

Example: 

kn-sock connect-live-server 192.168.1.10 9000
kn-sock connect-live-server 192.168.1.10 9000 --audio-port 9001

Video Chat Commands

Start Video Chat Server

kn-sock run-video-chat-server

Options: - --host <host>: Host to bind (default: 0.0.0.0) - --video-port <port>: Video port (default: 9000) - --audio-port <port>: Audio port (default: 9001) - --text-port <port>: Text port (default: 9002)

Example: 

kn-sock run-video-chat-server
kn-sock run-video-chat-server --host 0.0.0.0 --video-port 9000 --audio-port 9001 --text-port 9002

Connect to Video Chat

kn-sock connect-video-chat <server_ip> <room> <nickname>

Options: - --video-port <port>: Video port (default: 9000) - --audio-port <port>: Audio port (default: 9001) - --text-port <port>: Text port (default: 9002) - --no-audio: Disable audio functionality

Example: 

kn-sock connect-video-chat 127.0.0.1 myroom alice
kn-sock connect-video-chat 192.168.1.10 conference john --video-port 9000 --audio-port 9001 --text-port 9002

Interactive Mode

Start Interactive CLI

kn-sock interactive

Interactive Commands

Once in interactive mode, you can use these commands:

Connection Management

# Connect to a server
connect <name> <host> <port>

# List all connections
list

# Select default connection
select <name>

# Disconnect a connection
disconnect <name>

Communication

# Send a message
send <message>

# Receive a message
receive

# Toggle background receive mode
bg_receive

# Show message history
history

Utility

# Show help
help

# Exit the CLI
quit
exit

Interactive Session Example

$ kn-sock interactive
kn-sock> connect server1 localhost 8080
Connected to localhost:8080 as 'server1'
kn-sock> send Hello, server!
Message sent
kn-sock> receive
Received: Message received!
kn-sock> bg_receive
Background receive mode enabled
kn-sock> send Another message
Message sent
Received: Message received!
kn-sock> history
Last 10 messages:
1. [SENT] Hello, server!
2. [RECV] Message received!
3. [SENT] Another message
4. [RECV] Message received!
kn-sock> disconnect server1
Disconnected from server1
kn-sock> quit

Global Options

All commands support these global options:

  • --help, -h: Show help message
  • --version, -v: Show version information
  • --verbose: Enable verbose output
  • --quiet: Suppress output (except errors)

Examples

Complete Workflow Examples

TCP Echo Server and Client

# Terminal 1: Start server
kn-sock run-tcp-server 8080

# Terminal 2: Send message
kn-sock send-tcp localhost 8080 "Hello, World!"

File Transfer

# Terminal 1: Start file server
kn-sock run-file-server 8080 /tmp/received

# Terminal 2: Send file
kn-sock send-file localhost 8080 /path/to/document.pdf

Secure Communication

# Terminal 1: Start secure server
kn-sock run-ssl-tcp-server 8443 server.crt server.key

# Terminal 2: Send secure message
kn-sock send-ssl-tcp localhost 8443 "Secret message"

Live Streaming

# Terminal 1: Start live stream server
kn-sock run-live-server 9000 movie.mp4

# Terminal 2: Connect as client
kn-sock connect-live-server 192.168.1.10 9000

Video Chat

# Terminal 1: Start video chat server
kn-sock run-video-chat-server

# Terminal 2: Connect as client
kn-sock connect-video-chat 127.0.0.1 meeting alice

# Terminal 3: Connect another client
kn-sock connect-video-chat 127.0.0.1 meeting bob

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

  1. Port already in use 

    # Use a different port
kn-sock run-tcp-server 8081

  2. Permission denied 

    # Use a higher port number
kn-sock run-tcp-server 8080

  3. Connection refused 

    # Make sure server is running first
kn-sock run-tcp-server 8080 &
kn-sock send-tcp localhost 8080 "test"

  4. SSL certificate issues 

    # For testing, disable verification
kn-sock send-ssl-tcp localhost 8443 "test" --no-verify

Debug Mode

Enable verbose output for debugging:

kn-sock --verbose run-tcp-server 8080
kn-sock --verbose send-tcp localhost 8080 "test"