Supabase Realtime in long-running Node.js — is manual channel re-subscription required?

realtime🟡javascript

Hi everyone

I have a Node.js server running 24/7 using Supabase Realtime to listen to an

activities

activities

table and send push notifications.

It works initially, but after some time, the server stops receiving events — even though the process runs, network is stable, and no errors are logged.

Environment: Node.js,

@supabase/supabase-js

@supabase/supabase-js

(latest),

postgres_changes

postgres_changes

, service role key

Current implementation:

const supabase = createSupabaseClient<Database>(config.url, config.secretKey);

supabase.realtime
  .channel(`sync-activities-${uuidv4()}`)
  .on("postgres_changes", { event: "*", schema: "public", table: "activities" },
    async (payload) => { /* send push */ }
  )
  .subscribe();

const supabase = createSupabaseClient<Database>(config.url, config.secretKey);

supabase.realtime
  .channel(`sync-activities-${uuidv4()}`)
  .on("postgres_changes", { event: "*", schema: "public", table: "activities" },
    async (payload) => { /* send push */ }
  )
  .subscribe();

My understanding:

supabase-js

supabase-js

handles WebSocket reconnects but doesn't guarantee channel/subscription recovery — channels can silently become inactive.

Proposed fix:

const subscribe = () => {
  const channel = supabase.realtime
    .channel(`sync-activities-${uuidv4()}`)
    .on("postgres_changes", { event: "*", schema: "public", table: "activities" },
      async (payload) => { /* process */ }
    )
    .subscribe(async (status, err) => {
      if (status === "SUBSCRIBED") return;
      if (["CLOSED", "CHANNEL_ERROR", "TIMED_OUT"].includes(status)) {
        await supabase.removeChannel(channel);
        subscribe();
      }
    });
};
subscribe();

const subscribe = () => {
  const channel = supabase.realtime
    .channel(`sync-activities-${uuidv4()}`)
    .on("postgres_changes", { event: "*", schema: "public", table: "activities" },
      async (payload) => { /* process */ }
    )
    .subscribe(async (status, err) => {
      if (status === "SUBSCRIBED") return;
      if (["CLOSED", "CHANNEL_ERROR", "TIMED_OUT"].includes(status)) {
        await supabase.removeChannel(channel);
        subscribe();
      }
    });
};
subscribe();

Questions:
1. Is this the recommended pattern for long-running workers?
2. Is manual channel recreation expected in production?
3. Any best practices (heartbeat, watchdog, backoff) for this use case?

Thanks — happy to share findings once resolved

Supabase Realtime in long-running Node.js — is manual channel re-subscription required?

realtime🟡javascript

Hi everyone

I have a Node.js server running 24/7 using Supabase Realtime to listen to an

activities

activities

@supabase/supabase-js

@supabase/supabase-js

(latest),

postgres_changes

postgres_changes

, service role key

Current implementation:

const supabase = createSupabaseClient<Database>(config.url, config.secretKey);

supabase.realtime
  .channel(`sync-activities-${uuidv4()}`)
  .on("postgres_changes", { event: "*", schema: "public", table: "activities" },
    async (payload) => { /* send push */ }
  )
  .subscribe();

const supabase = createSupabaseClient<Database>(config.url, config.secretKey);

supabase.realtime
  .channel(`sync-activities-${uuidv4()}`)
  .on("postgres_changes", { event: "*", schema: "public", table: "activities" },
    async (payload) => { /* send push */ }
  )
  .subscribe();

My understanding:

supabase-js

supabase-js

handles WebSocket reconnects but doesn't guarantee channel/subscription recovery — channels can silently become inactive.

Proposed fix:

const subscribe = () => {
  const channel = supabase.realtime
    .channel(`sync-activities-${uuidv4()}`)
    .on("postgres_changes", { event: "*", schema: "public", table: "activities" },
      async (payload) => { /* process */ }
    )
    .subscribe(async (status, err) => {
      if (status === "SUBSCRIBED") return;
      if (["CLOSED", "CHANNEL_ERROR", "TIMED_OUT"].includes(status)) {
        await supabase.removeChannel(channel);
        subscribe();
      }
    });
};
subscribe();

const subscribe = () => {
  const channel = supabase.realtime
    .channel(`sync-activities-${uuidv4()}`)
    .on("postgres_changes", { event: "*", schema: "public", table: "activities" },
      async (payload) => { /* process */ }
    )
    .subscribe(async (status, err) => {
      if (status === "SUBSCRIBED") return;
      if (["CLOSED", "CHANNEL_ERROR", "TIMED_OUT"].includes(status)) {
        await supabase.removeChannel(channel);
        subscribe();
      }
    });
};
subscribe();

Supabase Realtime in long-running Node.js — is manual channel re-subscription required?

Supabase Realtime in long-running Node.js — is manual channel re-subscription required?

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