# WZP Web Client Variants
Three browser-based client implementations with different trade-offs between simplicity, features, and performance.
## Variant Comparison
```mermaid
graph LR
subgraph "Variant 1: Pure JS"
P_MIC[Mic] --> P_WRK[AudioWorklet
48kHz PCM]
P_WRK --> P_WS[WebSocket
TCP]
P_WS --> P_BRIDGE[wzp-web Bridge
Opus + FEC + Crypto]
P_BRIDGE --> P_QUIC[QUIC Datagram
to Relay]
end
style P_BRIDGE fill:#ff9f43
style P_WS fill:#74b9ff
```
```mermaid
graph LR
subgraph "Variant 2: Hybrid"
H_MIC[Mic] --> H_WRK[AudioWorklet
48kHz PCM]
H_WRK --> H_FEC[WASM RaptorQ
FEC Encode]
H_FEC --> H_WS[WebSocket
TCP]
H_WS --> H_BRIDGE[wzp-web Bridge
Opus + Crypto]
H_BRIDGE --> H_QUIC[QUIC Datagram
to Relay]
end
style H_FEC fill:#a29bfe
style H_BRIDGE fill:#ff9f43
style H_WS fill:#74b9ff
```
```mermaid
graph LR
subgraph "Variant 3: Full WASM"
F_MIC[Mic] --> F_WRK[AudioWorklet
48kHz PCM]
F_WRK --> F_FEC[WASM RaptorQ
FEC Encode]
F_FEC --> F_ENC[WASM ChaCha20
Encrypt]
F_ENC --> F_WT[WebTransport
UDP Datagrams]
F_WT --> F_RELAY[Direct to Relay
No Bridge]
end
style F_FEC fill:#a29bfe
style F_ENC fill:#ee5a24
style F_WT fill:#00b894
```
## Summary Table
| | Pure JS | Hybrid | Full WASM |
|--|---------|--------|-----------|
| **Bundle** | ~20KB JS | ~120KB (JS + 337KB WASM) | ~20KB JS + 337KB WASM |
| **Transport** | WebSocket (TCP) | WebSocket (TCP) | WebTransport (UDP) |
| **Encryption** | Bridge-side (ChaCha20 on QUIC) | Bridge-side | Browser-side ChaCha20-Poly1305 WASM |
| **FEC** | None | RaptorQ WASM (ready, not active over TCP) | RaptorQ WASM (active over UDP) |
| **Codec** | Bridge Opus (server-side) | Bridge Opus | Browser Opus (future) / Bridge Opus |
| **E2E Encrypted** | No (bridge sees plaintext PCM) | No (bridge sees plaintext PCM) | Yes (bridge eliminated) |
| **Latency** | ~50-80ms (TCP overhead) | ~50-80ms (TCP) | ~20-40ms (UDP datagrams) |
| **Loss Recovery** | TCP retransmit (adds latency) | TCP retransmit | RaptorQ FEC (no retransmit) |
| **Browser Support** | All browsers | All browsers | Chrome 97+, Edge 97+, Firefox 114+, Safari 17.4+ |
| **Relay Changes** | None | None | Needs HTTP/3 (h3-quinn) |
| **Status** | Ready | Ready (FEC testable in console) | Architecture complete, needs relay HTTP/3 |
## Variant 1: Pure JS
The lightest implementation. No WASM, no FEC, no browser-side encryption. The `wzp-web` Rust bridge handles everything on the server side.
### Architecture
```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
participant B as Browser
participant W as wzp-web Bridge
participant R as wzp-relay
B->>B: getUserMedia() mic access
B->>B: AudioWorklet captures 960 samples / 20ms
B->>W: WebSocket connect /ws/room-name
W->>R: QUIC connect (SNI = hashed room)
W->>R: Crypto handshake (X25519 + ChaCha20)
loop Every 20ms
B->>W: WS Binary: Int16[960] raw PCM
W->>W: Opus encode + FEC + Encrypt
W->>R: QUIC Datagram
end
loop Incoming
R->>W: QUIC Datagram
W->>W: Decrypt + FEC decode + Opus decode
W->>B: WS Binary: Int16[960] raw PCM
end
B->>B: AudioWorklet plays received PCM
```
### Data Flow
```
Browser (Pure JS)
├── Capture: getUserMedia → AudioWorklet (WZPCaptureProcessor)
│ └── 128-sample blocks accumulated → 960-sample frame
│ └── Float32 → Int16 conversion
│ └── postMessage(ArrayBuffer) to main thread
├── Send: onmessage → ws.send(pcmBuffer)
│ └── Binary WebSocket frame (1920 bytes = 960 × 2)
├── Receive: ws.onmessage → ArrayBuffer
│ └── Int16Array(960) → playback port
└── Playback: AudioWorklet (WZPPlaybackProcessor)
└── Ring buffer (max 120ms)
└── Int16 → Float32 → output blocks
```
### Files
- `js/wzp-pure.js` — `WZPPureClient` class (~100 lines)
- `js/wzp-core.js` — Shared UI + audio (used by all variants)
- `audio-processor.js` — AudioWorklet (unchanged)
### Limitations
- No packet loss recovery (TCP retransmit adds latency spikes)
- Bridge sees plaintext audio (not E2E encrypted)
- Full audio processing pipeline runs on server (Opus, FEC, crypto)
- Each browser connection = one QUIC session on the bridge
---
## Variant 2: Hybrid (JS + WASM FEC)
Adds RaptorQ forward error correction via a small WASM module. Same WebSocket transport as Pure — the FEC module is loaded and functional but doesn't add value over TCP (no packet loss). It's ready to activate when WebTransport replaces WebSocket.
### Architecture
```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
participant B as Browser
participant WASM as WASM Module
participant W as wzp-web Bridge
participant R as wzp-relay
B->>WASM: Load wzp_wasm.js (337KB)
WASM-->>B: WzpFecEncoder + WzpFecDecoder ready
B->>W: WebSocket connect /ws/room-name
W->>R: QUIC connect + handshake
loop Every 20ms
B->>B: AudioWorklet captures PCM
B->>WASM: fecEncoder.add_symbol(pcm_bytes)
WASM-->>B: FEC packets (source + repair) when block complete
B->>W: WS Binary: raw PCM (FEC not on wire over TCP)
end
Note over B,WASM: FEC encode/decode proven via testFec()
```
### WASM Module (wzp-wasm)
```mermaid
graph TD
subgraph "wzp-wasm (337KB)"
FE[WzpFecEncoder
RaptorQ source block accumulator]
FD[WzpFecDecoder
RaptorQ reconstruction]
KX[WzpKeyExchange
X25519 ephemeral DH]
CS[WzpCryptoSession
ChaCha20-Poly1305]
end
subgraph "Hybrid uses"
FE
FD
end
subgraph "Full uses"
FE
FD
KX
CS
end
style FE fill:#a29bfe
style FD fill:#a29bfe
style KX fill:#ee5a24
style CS fill:#ee5a24
```
### FEC Wire Format
```
Per symbol (encoded by WASM, 259 bytes):
┌──────────┬───────────┬──────────┬──────────────────┐
│ block_id │ symbol_idx│ is_repair│ symbol_data │
│ (1 byte) │ (1 byte) │ (1 byte) │ (256 bytes) │
└──────────┴───────────┴──────────┴──────────────────┘
Symbol data internals (256 bytes):
┌────────────┬──────────────────┬─────────┐
│ length │ audio frame data │ padding │
│ (2B LE) │ (variable) │ (zeros) │
└────────────┴──────────────────┴─────────┘
Block = 5 source symbols + ceil(5 × 0.5) = 3 repair symbols = 8 total
Any 5 of 8 received → full block recoverable (RaptorQ fountain code)
```
### Testing FEC in Browser Console
```javascript
// On any hybrid variant page, open console:
client.testFec({ lossRate: 0.3, blockSize: 5, symbolSize: 256 })
// Output: "FEC test passed — recovered from 30% loss"
client.testFec({ lossRate: 0.5 })
// Output: "FEC test passed — recovered from 50% loss"
```
### Files
- `js/wzp-hybrid.js` — `WZPHybridClient` class (~150 lines)
- `js/wzp-core.js` — Shared UI + audio
- `wasm/wzp_wasm.js` + `wasm/wzp_wasm_bg.wasm` — WASM module (337KB)
### Limitations
- FEC doesn't help over TCP WebSocket (no packet loss to recover from)
- Bridge still sees plaintext audio
- WebTransport activation is the unlock for FEC value
---
## Variant 3: Full WASM + WebTransport
The complete WZP client in the browser. No bridge server needed — the browser connects directly to the relay via WebTransport unreliable datagrams. All encryption and FEC happens in WASM.
### Architecture
```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
participant B as Browser
participant WASM as WASM Module
participant R as wzp-relay
B->>WASM: Load wzp_wasm.js
WASM-->>B: FEC + Crypto + KeyExchange ready
B->>R: WebTransport connect (HTTPS/HTTP3)
B->>R: Bidirectional stream open
Note over B,R: Key Exchange
B->>WASM: kx = new WzpKeyExchange()
B->>R: Stream: our X25519 public key (32 bytes)
R->>B: Stream: relay X25519 public key (32 bytes)
B->>WASM: secret = kx.derive_shared_secret(peer_pub)
B->>WASM: session = new WzpCryptoSession(secret)
Note over B,R: Media Flow (Unreliable Datagrams)
loop Every 20ms
B->>B: AudioWorklet captures PCM
B->>WASM: fecEncoder.add_symbol(pcm_bytes)
WASM-->>B: FEC symbols when block complete
B->>WASM: encrypted = session.encrypt(header, symbol)
B->>R: WebTransport datagram (encrypted)
end
loop Incoming
R->>B: WebTransport datagram (encrypted)
B->>WASM: plaintext = session.decrypt(header, ciphertext)
B->>WASM: frames = fecDecoder.add_symbol(...)
WASM-->>B: Decoded audio frames
B->>B: AudioWorklet plays PCM
end
```
### Encryption Flow
```mermaid
graph TD
subgraph "Key Exchange (once per session)"
KX_A[Browser: WzpKeyExchange.new
Generate X25519 keypair] --> PUB_A[Send public key
32 bytes over stream]
PUB_B[Receive relay public key
32 bytes] --> DH[derive_shared_secret
X25519 DH + HKDF-SHA256]
DH --> SESSION[WzpCryptoSession
ChaCha20-Poly1305 256-bit key]
end
subgraph "Per-Packet Encryption"
HDR[Build MediaHeader
12 bytes AAD] --> ENC[session.encrypt
header=AAD plaintext=audio]
ENC --> NONCE[Nonce 12 bytes
session_id 4 + seq 4 + dir 1 + pad 3]
ENC --> CT[Ciphertext + 16-byte Poly1305 tag]
CT --> DG[WebTransport datagram send]
end
style SESSION fill:#ee5a24
style NONCE fill:#fdcb6e
```
### Nonce Construction (matches native wzp-crypto)
```
Bytes 0-3: session_id (SHA-256(session_key)[:4])
Bytes 4-7: sequence_number (u32 BE, incrementing)
Byte 8: direction (0x00 = send, 0x01 = recv)
Bytes 9-11: 0x000000 (padding)
Total: 12 bytes — deterministic, never reused (seq increments)
```
### Send Pipeline Detail
```mermaid
graph TD
MIC[Mic PCM Int16 x 960] --> PAD[Pad to 256 bytes
2-byte LE length + data + zeros]
PAD --> FEC[WzpFecEncoder.add_symbol
Accumulate 5 frames per block]
FEC -->|Block complete| SYMBOLS[5 source + 3 repair symbols]
SYMBOLS --> HDR[Build 12-byte MediaHeader
seq, timestamp, codec, fec_block, symbol_idx]
HDR --> ENCRYPT[WzpCryptoSession.encrypt
AAD=header, payload=symbol]
ENCRYPT --> DG[WebTransport datagram
header 12B + ciphertext + tag 16B]
style FEC fill:#a29bfe
style ENCRYPT fill:#ee5a24
style DG fill:#00b894
```
### Receive Pipeline Detail
```mermaid
graph TD
DG[WebTransport datagram] --> PARSE[Parse 12-byte MediaHeader]
PARSE --> DECRYPT[WzpCryptoSession.decrypt
AAD=header, ciphertext=rest]
DECRYPT --> FEC_HDR[Parse 3-byte FEC header
block_id + symbol_idx + is_repair]
FEC_HDR --> FEC_D[WzpFecDecoder.add_symbol]
FEC_D -->|Block decoded| FRAMES[Original audio frames]
FRAMES --> UNPAD[Strip 2-byte length prefix + padding]
UNPAD --> PLAY[AudioWorklet playback
Int16 PCM x 960]
style DECRYPT fill:#ee5a24
style FEC_D fill:#a29bfe
style PLAY fill:#4a9eff
```
### Testing Crypto + FEC in Browser Console
```javascript
// On any full variant page, open console:
client.testCryptoFec()
// Tests: key exchange → encrypt → FEC encode → simulate 30% loss → FEC decode → decrypt
// Output: "Crypto+FEC test passed — key exchange, encrypt, FEC(30% loss), decrypt all OK"
```
### Files
- `js/wzp-full.js` — `WZPFullClient` class (~250 lines)
- `js/wzp-core.js` — Shared UI + audio
- `wasm/wzp_wasm.js` + `wasm/wzp_wasm_bg.wasm` — WASM module (337KB, shared with hybrid)
### Requirements (not yet met)
- Relay must support HTTP/3 WebTransport (h3-quinn integration)
- Real TLS certificate (WebTransport requires valid HTTPS)
- Browser with WebTransport support (Chrome 97+, Edge 97+, Firefox 114+, Safari 17.4+)
### Limitations
- No Opus encoding in browser yet (sends raw PCM, relay/peer decodes)
- Key exchange is simplified (no Ed25519 signature verification in WASM yet)
- No adaptive quality switching in browser (server-side only)
---
## Shared Infrastructure
### wzp-core.js
Common code used by all three variants:
```mermaid
graph TD
CORE[wzp-core.js] --> DETECT[detectVariant
URL ?variant= param]
CORE --> ROOM[getRoom
URL path / input field]
CORE --> AUDIO[startAudioContext
48kHz AudioContext]
CORE --> CAP[connectCapture
Mic to AudioWorklet]
CORE --> PLAY[connectPlayback
AudioWorklet to speaker]
CORE --> UI[initUI
Buttons, PTT, level meter]
CORE --> STATUS[updateStatus / updateStats
DOM updates]
CAP --> WORKLET[AudioWorklet
or ScriptProcessor fallback]
PLAY --> WORKLET
style CORE fill:#6c5ce7
style WORKLET fill:#00b894
```
### AudioWorklet Processors (audio-processor.js)
```
WZPCaptureProcessor:
AudioWorklet process() → 128 samples per call
Buffer internally until 960 samples (20ms frame)
Convert Float32 → Int16
postMessage(ArrayBuffer) to main thread
WZPPlaybackProcessor:
Receive Int16 PCM via port.onmessage
Convert Int16 → Float32
Write to ring buffer (max ~120ms / 6 frames)
process() reads from ring buffer → output
```
### index.html Boot Sequence
```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
participant PAGE as index.html
participant CORE as wzp-core.js
participant VAR as Variant JS
PAGE->>CORE: Load (static script tag)
CORE->>CORE: detectVariant() from URL
PAGE->>VAR: Dynamic script load (wzp-pure/hybrid/full.js)
VAR-->>PAGE: wzpBoot() called on load
PAGE->>CORE: initUI(callbacks)
Note over PAGE: User clicks Connect
PAGE->>CORE: startAudioContext()
PAGE->>VAR: new WZP*Client(options)
PAGE->>VAR: client.connect()
PAGE->>CORE: connectCapture(audioCtx, onFrame)
PAGE->>CORE: connectPlayback(audioCtx)
loop Audio flowing
CORE->>VAR: client.sendAudio(pcmBuffer)
VAR->>CORE: onAudio(Int16Array) callback
end
```
## Deployment
### Behind Caddy (recommended)
```
# Caddyfile
wzp.example.com {
reverse_proxy 127.0.0.1:8080
}
```
```bash
# Relay
./wzp-relay --listen 0.0.0.0:4433
# Web bridge (no --tls, Caddy handles SSL)
./wzp-web --port 8080 --relay 127.0.0.1:4433
```
### Direct TLS
```bash
./wzp-web --port 443 --relay 127.0.0.1:4433 --tls \
--cert /etc/letsencrypt/live/domain/fullchain.pem \
--key /etc/letsencrypt/live/domain/privkey.pem
```
### URL Patterns
```
https://domain/room-name → Pure (default)
https://domain/room-name?variant=pure → Pure JS
https://domain/room-name?variant=hybrid → Hybrid (JS + WASM FEC)
https://domain/room-name?variant=full → Full WASM (needs HTTP/3 relay)
```
## Future Work
1. **Relay HTTP/3 support** (h3-quinn) — unlocks Full variant for production
2. **Browser Opus encoding** — AudioEncoder API or Opus WASM, removes bridge dependency for Hybrid
3. **Ed25519 signatures in WASM** — full identity verification in Full variant
4. **Adaptive quality in browser** — monitor RTT/loss, switch profiles
5. **WebTransport fallback to WebSocket** — Full variant auto-degrades if WebTransport unavailable