Platform

Platform Overview

Introduction to the Erebus platform, its features, and architecture for real-time infrastructure at the edge.

Platform Overview

The Erebus platform is your complete real-time infrastructure solution built for the edge. It provides WebSocket-based pub/sub messaging, presence tracking, and analytics with global distribution through Cloudflare's network.

What is the Erebus Platform?

The Erebus platform consists of several integrated components that work together to provide a seamless real-time infrastructure experience:

Core Infrastructure

  • Edge-First Architecture: Built on Cloudflare Durable Objects for global distribution
  • WebSocket Infrastructure: High-performance real-time messaging with guaranteed ordering
  • Serverless by Design: Pay only for what you use with automatic scaling to zero

Platform Features

Project Management

  • Multi-Project Organization: Organize your applications into separate projects (up to 50 projects per account)
  • Regional Deployment: Choose between Global (auto-region) and EU-specific deployment
  • Project Settings: Configure webhooks, naming, and other project-specific options

API Key Management

  • Environment Separation: Separate development and production API keys for security
  • Key States: Active, disabled, and revoked states for granular access control
  • Security Features: Built-in key rotation and usage monitoring

Real-Time Analytics

  • Connection Metrics: Track WebSocket connections, subscriptions, and message volume
  • Time-Range Analysis: View metrics by hour or day with flexible date ranges
  • Performance Monitoring: Identify peak usage and optimize accordingly

Audit Logging

  • Complete Activity Tracking: Every API key creation, project change, and setting modification is logged
  • Recent History: Access to the 100 most recent audit events per project

Architecture Overview

[Screenshot placeholder: Architecture diagram showing Cloudflare Durable Objects distribution]

Built on Cloudflare Durable Objects

Erebus leverages Cloudflare's Durable Objects technology to provide:

  • Global Distribution: 300+ edge locations worldwide
  • Consistent State: Stateful objects that maintain consistency without global coordination
  • Automatic Scaling: Scale to zero when idle, instantly scale up under load
  • Low Latency: Users connect to the nearest point of presence

How It Works

  1. Client Connection: Your application connects to the nearest Cloudflare edge location
  2. Durable Object Routing: Connections are routed to the appropriate Durable Object based on channel names
  3. State Management: Each Durable Object maintains consistent state for its channels
  4. Message Ordering: ULID-based sequencing ensures message ordering within channels
  5. Presence Tracking: Automatic presence updates when clients join/leave channels

Platform Capabilities

Real-Time Messaging

  • Pub/Sub Channels: Publish and subscribe to named channels with guaranteed message ordering
  • Quality of Service: QoS 1 support with acknowledgments for reliable delivery
  • Message History: Access to recent message history for catching up on missed events

Presence System

  • Automatic Tracking: Know who's online in each channel without additional setup
  • Real-Time Updates: Instant presence notifications when users join or leave
  • Metadata Support: Attach custom data to presence events

Developer Experience

  • TypeScript-First: Full type safety with comprehensive TypeScript support
  • Framework Agnostic: Works with React, Vue, Node.js, and any JavaScript runtime
  • Rich SDKs: Purpose-built SDKs for different use cases and frameworks

Platform Limits and Quotas

Project Limits

  • Maximum Projects: 50 projects per account
  • API Keys: Unlimited API keys per project
  • Regions: Global (auto-region) and EU available

Audit Logs

  • Retention: 100 most recent audit events per project
  • Real-Time: Audit events appear immediately after actions

Performance

  • Concurrent Connections: No hard limits (scales with your usage plan)
  • Message Rate: Optimized for high-throughput applications
  • Channel Limits: No restrictions on channel names or count

Use Cases

Chat and Messaging Applications

[Screenshot placeholder: Sample chat application dashboard]

Perfect for building chat rooms, direct messaging, and comment systems with:

  • Message ordering guarantees
  • Online user presence
  • Message history and catch-up
  • Typing indicators and read receipts

Live Collaboration

[Screenshot placeholder: Collaborative editing interface]

Enable real-time collaboration features like:

  • Document co-editing
  • Cursor tracking
  • Operational transforms
  • Conflict resolution

Real-Time Notifications

[Screenshot placeholder: Notification management panel]

Build notification systems with:

  • Targeted user delivery
  • Delivery confirmations
  • Push notification integration
  • Priority-based routing

Live Analytics and Monitoring

[Screenshot placeholder: Analytics dashboard]

Stream real-time data for:

  • Live dashboards
  • Metric aggregation
  • Event tracking
  • Performance monitoring

Getting Started

Ready to build with Erebus? Here's your next steps:

  1. Get Started Guide - Complete onboarding walkthrough
  2. Project Management - Learn project configuration
  3. API Keys - Set up authentication
  4. SDK Documentation - Start building with our SDKs

Security and Compliance

The Erebus platform is built with security as a foundational principle:

  • Audit Logging: Complete activity tracking
  • API Key Security: Environment-based key separation and state management
  • Data Privacy: Messages are not persisted beyond configured retention periods

Next: Start with our Getting Started Guide to create your first project and begin building real-time features.

Getting Started

Complete step-by-step guide to get started with the Erebus platform, from sign-up to your first real-time connection.

Project Management

Complete guide to managing projects in Erebus platform, including settings, webhooks, and administrative features.