TL;DR


You don't need Postman or a paid tool to test WebSockets. In 2026, the four tools that cover 99% of real debugging are: the browser DevTools Network tab, an in-browser tester, wscat for CI, and a 20-line Node.js client. Pick by what you're verifying — handshake, message flow, close code, or auth header — not by habit.

If you want to skip...