# Use `wscat` to connect to a WebSocket API and send messages to it


The `[wscat](https://www.npmjs.com/package/wscat)` utility is a convenient tool for testing a WebSocket API that you have created and deployed in API Gateway. You can install and use `wscat` as follows:

1. Download `wscat` from [https://www.npmjs.com/package/wscat](https://www.npmjs.com/package/wscat).

1. Install `wscat` by running the following command:

   ```
   npm install -g wscat
   ```

1. To connect to your API, run the `wscat` command as shown in the following example. Note that this example assumes that the `Authorization` setting is `NONE`.

   ```
   wscat -c wss://aabbccddee.execute-api.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/test/
   ```

   You need to replace `aabbccddee` with the actual API ID, which is displayed in the API Gateway console or returned by the Amazon CLI [https://docs.amazonaws.cn/cli/latest/reference/apigatewayv2/create-api.html](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/cli/latest/reference/apigatewayv2/create-api.html) command.

   In addition, if your API is in a Region other than `us-east-1`, you need to substitute the correct Region.

1. To test your API, enter a message such as the following while connected:

   ```
   {"{jsonpath-expression}":"{route-key}"}
   ```

   where *\$1jsonpath-expression\$1* is a JSONPath expression and *\$1route-key\$1* is a route key for the API. For example:

   ```
   {"action":"action1"}
   {"message":"test response body"}
   ```

   For more information about JSONPath, see [JSONPath](https://goessner.net/articles/JsonPath/) or [JSONPath for Java](https://github.com/json-path/JsonPath).

1. To disconnect from your API, enter `ctrl-C`.