TouchSocket

A simple, modern, and high-performance .NET networking framework

Documentation · Getting Started · API Reference · Examples

30-Second Overview

TouchSocket is an integrated .NET networking framework covering TCP / UDP / WebSocket / HTTP / MQTT / Modbus / RPC / MCP and more. It ships with a memory pool, data-adapter pipeline, plugin system, DI / Hosting integration, and source generators.

Whether you are building a TCP server, an industrial device gateway, or an AI tool based on MCP, TouchSocket provides a unified API to get you there quickly.

Feature Map

Core Capabilities

Capability	Description
High-Performance IOCP	Each receive uses a writable block from the memory pool with zero extra copies; up to ~10× throughput vs. traditional implementations in 100k × 64KB stress tests
Data Adapters	Fixed-header, fixed-length, terminator, HTTP, WebSocket templates; hot-swappable; automatic sticky/fragmented packet handling
Plugin System	Reconnection, heartbeat, SSL, authentication, logging via `.ConfigurePlugins()` across the full communication lifecycle
Unified API	TCP / UDP / WebSocket / NamedPipe / SerialPort all use `ConnectAsync / SendAsync / Received`
Memory Pool	ByteBlock, MemoryPool, Span / Memory optimized for low GC pressure under heavy traffic
Source Generators	AOT-friendly generation for RPC proxies, serialization, dependency properties, plugin raises
Multi-Target	.NET Framework 4.6.2 / .NET Standard 2.0 / .NET 6 / 8 / 10

Package Quick Reference

Category	NuGet Package	One-Liner
Core	`TouchSocket.Core`	Memory pool, ByteBlock, adapter base, IOC, logging, plugins, serialization
Transport	`TouchSocket`	TCP / UDP / SSL, KCP, NAT, WaitingClient, sticky/fragment handling
	`TouchSocket.NamedPipe`	Named-pipe IPC, ~3× faster than TCP
	`TouchSocket.SerialPorts`	Serial-port communication with adapter templates
	`TouchSocket.AspNetCore`	ASP.NET Core integration
	`TouchSocket.Hosting`	Generic Host support (Worker Service, etc.)
HTTP / Web	`TouchSocket.Http`	HTTP/1.1 server/client, WebSocket, large-file transfer
	`TouchSocket.WebApi`	WebApi server + client with Swagger
	`TouchSocket.SocketIo`	Socket.IO client (v3/v4)
RPC	`TouchSocket.Rpc`	RPC platform: registration, dispatch, execution, invocation
	`TouchSocket.Dmtp`	DMTP protocol: RPC, file transfer, channels, routing, Redis
	`TouchSocket.JsonRpc` / `TouchSocket.XmlRpc`	JSON / XML RPC
IoT / Industrial	`TouchSocket.Modbus`	Modbus RTU/ASCII/TCP master
	`TouchSocket.Mqtt`	MQTT server / client
	`TouchSocket.Semi`	HSMS/SECS-II semiconductor protocols
	`TouchSocket.CoAP`	CoAP over UDP
	`TouchSocket.Redis`	Redis client + in-memory compatible server
AI	`TouchSocket.Mcp`	MCP server / client (stdio / Streamable HTTP)
Extensions	`TouchSocket.Core.DependencyInjection` / `.Autofac`	Microsoft DI / Autofac adapters
	`TouchSocket.Rpc.RateLimiting`	RPC rate limiting
	`..SourceGenerator`	Source generators for each package

All NuGet packages starting with TouchSocket. are fully open-source and free for personal/commercial use. The TouchSocketPro. line requires a commercial license.

Quick Start

Install

dotnet add package TouchSocket

Minimal TCP Server

var service = new TcpService();
service.Received = (client, e) =>
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Received: {e.Memory.Span.ToString(Encoding.UTF8)}");
    return EasyTask.CompletedTask;
};
await service.StartAsync(7789);

Minimal TCP Client

var client = new TcpClient();
client.Received = (c, e) =>
{
    Console.WriteLine(e.Memory.Span.ToString());
    return EasyTask.CompletedTask;
};
await client.ConnectAsync("127.0.0.1:7789");
await client.SendAsync("Hello");

Auto-Reconnect

client.ConfigurePlugins(a => a.UseReconnection<TcpClient>());

More examples are in examples.

Performance

Implementation	Memory Handling	Performance Impact
Traditional IOCP (fixed buffer)	Received data must be copied again	Extra overhead under load
TouchSocket IOCP	Receives directly into a memory-pool block	Zero extra copies, significant gain at scale

Stress test: 100k messages × 64KB — TouchSocket achieves up to ~10× the throughput of traditional implementations.

Named-pipe simple send/receive reaches 6.5 Gb/s, about 3× faster than TCP, with negligible GC.

Documentation

License & Support

TouchSocket is licensed under Apache License 2.0. All TouchSocket.* NuGet packages are free for personal and commercial use.

The TouchSocketPro.* line is commercially licensed. See Pro Edition for details.

Contact

CSDN Blog
Bilibili Videos
QQ Group: 234762506

TouchSocket is a member of the dotNET China organization.