Go Gin/Gorilla WebSocket: Is conn.Close() enough to close client connection

Question

So I’m kinda paranoid about stuff like this. I’m using the Gin framework and Gorilla WebSocket for the connection. My question is — is websocket.Conn.Close() enough to fully close the client connection, or do I also need to call gin.Context.Abort() after closing the WebSocket? Here’s some sample code to show what I mean.

func HandleWebSocket(c *gin.Context) {
    conn, err := upgrader.Upgrade(c.Writer, c.Request, nil)
    if err != nil {
        fmt.Printf("Failed to upgrade connection: %v\n", err)
        return
    }
       
    defer conn.Close()
    fmt.Println("WebSocket connection established.")

    for {
        messageType, message, err := conn.ReadMessage()
        if err != nil {
                        // Are those conn.Close() enough to close client connection completely.
            conn.Close()
        }

        fmt.Printf("Received: %s\n", message)

        if err := conn.WriteMessage(messageType, message); err != nil {
            conn.Close()
        }
        
        if string(message) == "close" {
            conn.Close()
        }
    }

    fmt.Println("WebSocket connection closed.")
}

Is conn.Close() enough to fully close the client connection, or do I need to call c.Abort() separately?

Vinicius Ferreira · Accepted Answer · 2025-11-05 16:58:06Z

3

conn.Close() is enough. You do not need to call c.Abort() after a successful WebSocket upgrade.

After upgrader.Upgrade(...), the HTTP connection is hijacked and Gorilla now owns the socket. Gin’s middleware chain is effectively done; c.Abort() only stops other Gin handlers from running in the same request, which doesn’t apply post-upgrade.

conn.Close() closes the underlying TCP connection. The only extra thing you may want is to send a Close frame before closing, so the peer sees a clean shutdown.

Use one defer to close; avoid multiple conn.Close() calls inside the loop.

Optionally send a Close control frame before closing (clean shutdown).

Only use c.Abort() before upgrading (e.g., to return an HTTP error). After upgrade, it’s irrelevant.

answered Nov 5 at 16:58

Vinicius Ferreira

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