AsyncWebSocket::getClients() Returns List of Objects Instead of Pointers - Intentional or Bug?

[PBJ-results]

Hi,

I’ve been using your ESPAsyncWebServer fork (v3.7.4) for an ESP32 project and noticed that AsyncWebSocket.h defines _clients as std::list<AsyncWebSocketClient> and getClients() as returning std::list<AsyncWebSocketClient>& (lines 292 and 396-398). This differs from the original me-no-dev/ESPAsyncWebServer (v3.2.2 and earlier), which uses std::list<AsyncWebSocketClient*>.

This caused compilation errors in my project (e.g., cannot convert 'AsyncWebSocketClient' to 'AsyncWebSocketClient*'), as I expected pointers like in the original library. I worked around it by iterating with references and taking addresses (e.g., AsyncWebSocketClient* c = &(*it)), but it’s less intuitive and breaks compatibility with pointer-based code.

Is this change intentional? If so, could it be documented in the README to clarify the shift from pointers to objects? If it’s a bug, reverting to std::list<AsyncWebSocketClient*> might align better with typical WebSocket patterns and avoid issues with AsyncWebSocketClient’s deleted copy constructor.

Here’s my working code snippet for reference:

std::list<AsyncWebSocketClient>& clients = server->getClients();
for (std::list<AsyncWebSocketClient>::iterator it = clients.begin(); it != clients.end(); ++it) {
    AsyncWebSocketClient* c = &(*it);
    if (c != client) {
        c->text(msg);
    }
}

Thanks for maintaining this fork—it’s great to have active ESP32 support! Just wanted to flag this for discussion.
Best Regards,
PBJ

[mathieucarbou]

Hello,

Yes there has been an API change around how clients are maintained and the list now holds the objects that are constructed and moved (move semantic) in the list, which becomes the owner.

@PBJ-results : maybe try (to be modified to add your checks)

  std::list<AsyncWebSocketClient> &clients = ws.getClients();
  for (auto &client : clients) {
    if (!client.shouldBeDeleted() && client.canSend()) {
      client.text("Hello from server");
    }
  }

Also di not forget to call ws.cleanupClients(); frequently.

That being said, the code is not consistant between SSE and WebSocket:

In WS

• std::list<AsyncWebSocketClient> _clients;
• we have: std::list<AsyncWebSocketClient> &getClients()

In SSE

• std::list<std::unique_ptr<AsyncEventSourceClient>> _clients;
• We do not have anything to expose the client list

@me-no-dev @vortigont : so we have an opportunity to change SSE like it is done in websocket and expose the client list the same way to make that consistant.

What do you think ?

[mathieucarbou]

@PBJ-results : please do not hesitate to contribute to the Wiki: you can. If you did not find something where you wrecked expecting to find it, please add. It is community-maintained. Thanks!

[PBJ-results]

"@mathieucarbou
Thank you for the quick response! I’m implementing your suggestion with for (auto &client : clients) and making sure to call ws.cleanupClients() frequently. I’ve been on a fun programming journey with ESP32s, and I really appreciate active repositories like this one—thanks for keeping it going!"