Cloudflare Workers add TCP sockets and gRPC support

Cloudflare has extended its Workers platform to support inbound TCP connections and gRPC, targeting developers building real-time voice AI and other latency-sensitive applications. The updates allow Workers to accept raw TCP sockets via Spectrum, Cloudflare’s ingress proxy for non-HTTP traffic, and route them to Durable Objects or containers running gRPC servers in any language. These capabilities are now available in private beta for select users.

What the updates include

The new connect() handler in the Workers runtime lets developers accept and manage inbound TCP sockets directly. This enables full-duplex communication between clients and servers, with sockets passed between Workers, Durable Objects, or containers. For example, a Worker can route an incoming TCP connection to a Durable Object, which then forwards it to a container running a gRPC server. This flexibility supports protocols beyond HTTP, including custom TCP-based applications.

Cloudflare has also added native gRPC support for both inbound and outbound traffic. Workers can now serve unary and server-streaming gRPC APIs, with automatic conversion between gRPC and gRPC-web. This allows developers to write Workers using gRPC-web while maintaining compatibility with external gRPC clients and servers. The platform handles the protocol translation transparently, so existing mobile apps or backend services using gRPC require no changes.

For containerized workloads, Cloudflare Containers can now run gRPC servers in any language, with full bidirectional streaming support. This leverages Cloudflare’s global network of over 330 locations to reduce latency for real-time applications like voice AI or colocated inference.

Why this matters for developers

Real-time voice AI and other latency-sensitive applications rely on persistent, low-latency connections between clients and servers. gRPC, built on HTTP/2 and TCP, is widely used for such workloads due to its efficiency and support for bidirectional streaming. However, deploying gRPC servers traditionally requires managing infrastructure close to users to minimize latency. Cloudflare’s updates address this by allowing gRPC workloads to run on its edge network, reducing the distance between clients and servers.

The ability to handle raw TCP sockets also opens new possibilities for custom protocols. Developers can now build applications that require direct socket control, such as gaming servers, IoT gateways, or legacy system integrations, all while benefiting from Cloudflare’s security and performance features.

Availability and next steps

The new TCP socket and gRPC features are currently in private beta. Cloudflare is initially working with a limited set of developers to refine the functionality before a broader rollout. The company has also hinted at future support for UDP-based protocols, expanding the range of applications that can run on Workers.

Developers interested in testing the features can sign up for the private beta on Cloudflare’s blog. The updates reflect Cloudflare’s ongoing efforts to push the boundaries of its Workers platform beyond HTTP, enabling more diverse workloads at the edge.