/hwc-realtime-streaming

name: hwc-realtime-streaming
description: >-
  Implement real-time Hotwire behavior: Turbo Streams over WebSocket/SSE, custom stream actions, inline stream tags, live list updates, and cross-tab state synchronization. Prefer this skill when the core problem is push-based updates or stream action orchestration. Use hwc-navigation-content for pull-based pagination/tab/lazy-navigation flows, hwc-forms-validation for form lifecycle and validation, hwc-media-content for media upload/playback behavior, hwc-ux-feedback for generic loading/progress/transitions, and hwc-stimulus-fundamentals for non-stream Stimulus fundamentals.

Real-Time & Streaming

Implement push-driven Hotwire behavior with Turbo Streams and Stimulus.

Core Workflow

1. Identify transport and delivery shape: WebSocket, SSE, inline stream tags, or server response streams. 2. Choose default Turbo Stream actions first; add custom actions only when defaults are insufficient. 3. Keep stream actions small and deterministic; avoid embedding arbitrary scripts in stream payloads. 4. Separate stream orchestration from domain UI concerns (forms, media, navigation). 5. Verify ordering, idempotency, and multi-tab behavior for all real-time updates.

Guardrails

• Prefer `append/prepend/replace/update/remove/before/after/refresh` before custom actions.
• Keep cross-tab sync explicit (BroadcastChannel/localStorage) and scope it to same-device semantics.
• Use view transitions only where animation meaningfully improves state-change clarity.
• Validate failure modes for delayed/out-of-order messages.

Load References Selectively

Open only the file needed for the current request.

• Inline client-side stream tags: `references/2023-08-01-turbo-streams-inline-stream-tags.md`
• Custom Turbo Stream actions: `references/2023-08-15-turbo-streams-custom-stream-actions.md`
• Advanced playlist orchestration via custom actions: `references/2023-10-10-turbo-streams-custom-stream-actions-video-playlist-management.md`
• LocalStorage-backed stream state: `references/2024-01-30-turbo-streams-custom-stream-actions-localstorage.md`
• List animations with View Transitions: `references/2025-06-10-turbo-streams-list-animation-view-transitions.md`
• Real-time combobox updates: `references/2024-03-12-hotwire-combobox-with-real-time-data.md`
• Inter-tab communication patterns: `references/2023-11-21-stimulus-inter-tab-communication.md`
• Custom stream action for history pushState: `references/2026-04-14-turbo-streams-custom-stream-actions-push-state.md`

Use `references/INDEX.md` for the full catalog.

Escalate to Neighbor Skills

• Pull-based navigation/history concerns: use `hwc-navigation-content`
• Form validation and submit lifecycle concerns: use `hwc-forms-validation`
• Media playback/upload interactions: use `hwc-media-content`
• Generic loading/progress/transition UX: use `hwc-ux-feedback`
• Base Stimulus API questions outside streaming: use `hwc-stimulus-fundamentals`