gRPC Elixir

gRPC Elixir is a full-featured Elixir implementation of the gRPC protocol, supporting unary and streaming RPCs, interceptors, HTTP transcoding, and TLS. This version adopts a unified stream-based model for all types of calls.

Table of contents

• Installation
• Protobuf Code Generation
• Server Implementation
  • Unary RPC using Stream API
  • Server-Side Streaming
  • Bidirectional Streaming
  • Effects and Error Handling
    • Side Effects
    • Recovery from errors
    • Unified Error Matching and Propagation
• Application Startup
• Client Usage
  • Basic Connection and RPC
  • Using Interceptors
  • Target Schemes and Resolvers
    • Supported formats
    • Example (DNS)
    • Example (Unix socket)
  • Compression and Metadata
  • Client Adapters
    • Using Mint Adapter
• HTTP Transcoding
• CORS
• Features
• Benchmark
• Contributing

Installation

The package can be installed as:

def deps do
  [
    {:grpc, "~> 0.11"},
    {:protobuf, "~> 0.14"}, # optional for import wellknown google types
    {:grpc_reflection, "~> 0.2"} # optional enable grpc reflection
  ]
end

Protobuf Code Generation

Use protoc with protobuf elixir plugin or using protobuf_generate hex package to generate the necessary files.

1. Write your protobuf file:

syntax = "proto3";

package helloworld;

// The request message containing the user's name.
message HelloRequest {
  string name = 1;
}

// The response message containing the greeting
message HelloReply {
  string message = 1;
}

// The greeting service definition.
service GreetingServer {
  rpc SayUnaryHello (HelloRequest) returns (HelloReply) {}
  rpc SayServerHello (HelloRequest) returns (stream HelloReply) {}
  rpc SayBidStreamHello (stream HelloRequest) returns (stream HelloReply) {}
}

2. Compile protos (protoc + elixir plugin):

protoc --elixir_out=plugins=grpc:./lib -I./priv/protos helloworld.proto

Server Implementation

All RPC calls must be implemented using the stream-based API, even for unary requests.

NOTE: The old API was deprecated based on GRPC.Server.send_reply/2 and direct struct returns was deprecated as of version 0.10.x.

Unary RPC using Stream API

defmodule HelloworldStreams.Server do
  use GRPC.Server, service: Helloworld.GreetingServer.Service

  alias GRPC.Stream

  alias Helloworld.HelloRequest
  alias Helloworld.HelloReply

  @spec say_unary_hello(HelloRequest.t(), GRPC.Server.Stream.t()) :: any()
  def say_unary_hello(request, materializer) do
    request
    |> GRPC.Stream.unary(materializer: materializer)
    |> GRPC.Stream.map(fn %HelloReply{} = reply ->
      %HelloReply{message: "[Reply] #{reply.message}"}
    end)
    |> GRPC.Stream.run()
  end
end

Server-Side Streaming

def say_server_hello(request, materializer) do
  Stream.repeatedly(fn ->
    index = :rand.uniform(10)
    %HelloReply{message: "[#{index}] Hello #{request.name}"}
  end)
  |> Stream.take(10)
  |> GRPC.Stream.from()
  |> GRPC.Stream.run_with(materializer)
end

Bidirectional Streaming

@spec say_bid_stream_hello(Enumerable.t(), GRPC.Server.Stream.t()) :: any()
def say_bid_stream_hello(request, materializer) do
  output_stream =
    Stream.repeatedly(fn ->
      index = :rand.uniform(10)
      %HelloReply{message: "[#{index}] Server response"}
    end)

  GRPC.Stream.from(request, join_with: output_stream)
  |> GRPC.Stream.map(fn
    %HelloRequest{name: name} -> %HelloReply{message: "Welcome #{name}"}
    other -> other
  end)
  |> GRPC.Stream.run_with(materializer)
end

The Stream API supports composable stream transformations via ask, map, run and others functions, enabling clean and declarative stream pipelines. For a complete list of available operators see here.

---

Effects and Error Handling

Side Effects

The effect/2 operator executes user-defined functions for each element in the stream, allowing the integration of non-transformative actions such as logging, metrics, or external notifications.

Unlike transformation operators (e.g., map/2), effect/2 does not modify or filter values — it preserves the original stream while executing the provided callback safely for each emitted element.

iex> parent = self()
iex> stream =
...>   GRPC.Stream.from([1, 2, 3])
...>   |> GRPC.Stream.effect(fn x -> send(parent, {:seen, x * 2}) end)
...>   |> GRPC.Stream.to_flow()
...>   |> Enum.to_list()
iex> assert_receive {:seen, 2}
iex> assert_receive {:seen, 4}
iex> assert_receive {:seen, 6}
iex> stream
[1, 2, 3]

Key characteristics:

• The callback function (effect_fun) is invoked for each item emitted downstream.
• The result of the callback is ignored, ensuring that the stream’s structure and values remain unchanged.
• Execution is lazy and occurs only when the stream is materialized using run/1, run_with/3, or to_flow/1.
• Exceptions raised inside the callback are captured internally, preventing interruption of the dataflow.

This operator is designed for observability, telemetry, auditing, and integration with external systems that must react to events flowing through the gRPC stream.

---

Recovery from errors

The map_error/2 operator intercepts and transforms errors or exceptions emitted by previous stages in a stream pipeline.

It provides a unified mechanism for handling:

• Expected errors, such as validation or domain failures ({:error, reason})
• Unexpected runtime errors, including raised or thrown exceptions inside other operators.

iex> GRPC.Stream.from([1, 2])
...> |> GRPC.Stream.map(fn
...>   2 -> raise "boom"
...>   x -> x
...> end)
...> |> GRPC.Stream.map_error(fn
...>   {:error, {:exception, _reason}} ->
...>     {:error, GRPC.RPCError.exception(message: "Booomm")}
...> end)

In this example:

• The function inside map/2 raises an exception for the value 2.
• map_error/2 captures and transforms that error into a structured GRPC.RPCError response.
• The stream continues processing without being interrupted.

This makes map_error/2 suitable for input validation, runtime fault recovery, and user-facing error translation within gRPC pipelines.

---

Unified Error Matching and Propagation

All stream operators share a unified error propagation model that guarantees consistent handling of exceptions and failures across the pipeline.

This ensures that user-defined functions within the stream — whether pure transformations, side effects, or external calls — always produce a predictable and recoverable result, maintaining the integrity of the dataflow even in the presence of unexpected errors.

def say_unary_hello(request, _materializer) do
  GRPCStream.unary(request)
  |> GRPCStream.ask(Transformer)
  |> GRPCStream.map(fn
    %HelloReply{} = reply ->
      %HelloReply{message: "[Reply] #{reply.message}"}

    {:error, reason} ->
      {:error, GRPC.RPCError.exception(message: "error calling external process: #{inspect(reason)}")}
    
    error ->
      Logger.error("Unknown error")
      error
  end)
  |> GRPCStream.run()
end

By normalizing all possible outcomes, GRPC.Stream ensures fault-tolerant, exception-safe pipelines where operators can freely raise, throw, or return tuples without breaking the flow execution.

This unified model allows developers to build composable and reliable streaming pipelines that gracefully recover from both domain and runtime errors.

NOTE: In the example above, we could use map_error/2 instead of map/2 to handle error cases explicitly. However, since the function also performs a transformation on successful values, map/2 remains appropriate and useful in this context.

---

Application Startup

Add the server supervisor to your application's supervision tree:

defmodule Helloworld.Application do
  @moduledoc false
  use Application

  @impl true
  def start(_type, _args) do
    children = [
      GrpcReflection,
      {
        GRPC.Server.Supervisor, [
          endpoint: Helloworld.Endpoint,
          port: 50051,
          start_server: true,
          # adapter_opts: [# any adapter-specific options like tls configuration....]
        ]
      }
    ]

    opts = [strategy: :one_for_one, name: Helloworld.Supervisor]
    Supervisor.start_link(children, opts)
  end
end

Client Usage

This section demonstrates how to establish client connections and perform RPC calls using the Elixir gRPC client.

---

Basic Connection and RPC

Typically, you start this client supervisor as part of your application's supervision tree:

children = [
  {GRPC.Client.Supervisor, []}
]

opts = [strategy: :one_for_one, name: MyApp.Supervisor]
Supervisor.start_link(children, opts)

You can also start it manually in scripts or test environments:

{:ok, _pid} = DynamicSupervisor.start_link(strategy: :one_for_one, name: GRPC.Client.Supervisor)

Then connect with gRPC server:

iex> {:ok, channel} = GRPC.Stub.connect("localhost:50051")
iex> request = Helloworld.HelloRequest.new(name: "grpc-elixir")
iex> {:ok, reply} = channel |> Helloworld.GreetingServer.Stub.say_unary_hello(request)

---

Using Interceptors

Client interceptors allow you to add logic to the request/response lifecycle, such as logging, tracing, or authentication.

iex> {:ok, channel} =
...>   GRPC.Stub.connect("localhost:50051",
...>     interceptors: [GRPC.Client.Interceptors.Logger]
...>   )
iex> request = Helloworld.HelloRequest.new(name: "Alice")
iex> {:ok, reply} = channel |> Helloworld.GreetingServer.Stub.say_unary_hello(request)

---

Target Schemes and Resolvers

The connect/2 function supports URI-like targets that are resolved via the internal gRPC Resolver.
You can connect using DNS, Unix Domain sockets, IPv4/IPv6, or even xDS-based endpoints.

Supported formats:

Scheme	Example	Description
dns://	"dns://example.com:50051"	Resolves via DNS A/AAAA records
ipv4:	"ipv4:10.0.0.5:50051"	Connects directly to an IPv4 address
unix:	"unix:/tmp/service.sock"	Connects via a Unix domain socket
xds:///	"xds:///my-service"	Resolves via xDS control plane (Envoy/Istio)
none	"127.0.0.1:50051"	Implicit DNS (default port 50051)

Example (DNS):

iex> {:ok, channel} = GRPC.Stub.connect("dns://orders.prod.svc.cluster.local:50051")
iex> request = Orders.GetOrderRequest.new(id: "123")
iex> {:ok, reply} = channel |> Orders.OrderService.Stub.get_order(request)

Example (Unix socket):

iex> {:ok, channel} = GRPC.Stub.connect("unix:/tmp/my.sock")

NOTE: When using DNS or xDS targets, the connection layer periodically refreshes endpoints.

---

Compression and Metadata

You can specify message compression and attach default headers to all requests.

iex> {:ok, channel} =
...>   GRPC.Stub.connect("localhost:50051",
...>     compressor: GRPC.Compressor.Gzip,
...>     headers: [{"authorization", "Bearer my-token"}]
...>   )

---

Client Adapters

By default, GRPC.Stub.connect/2 uses the Gun adapter.
You can switch to Mint (pure Elixir HTTP/2) or other adapters as needed.

Using Mint Adapter

iex> GRPC.Stub.connect("localhost:50051",
...>   adapter: GRPC.Client.Adapters.Mint
...> )

You can configure adapter options globally via your application’s config:

# File: config/config.exs
config :grpc, GRPC.Client.Adapters.Mint,
  timeout: 10_000,
  transport_opts: [cacertfile: "/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt"]

The accepted options are the same as Mint.HTTP.connect/4.

---

HTTP Transcoding

1. Adding grpc-gateway annotations to your protobuf file definition:

import "google/api/annotations.proto";
import "google/protobuf/timestamp.proto";

package helloworld;

// The greeting service definition.
service Greeter {
  // Sends a greeting
  rpc SayHello (HelloRequest) returns (HelloReply) {
    option (google.api.http) = {
      get: "/v1/greeter/{name}"
    };
  }

  rpc SayHelloFrom (HelloRequestFrom) returns (HelloReply) {
    option (google.api.http) = {
      post: "/v1/greeter"
      body: "*"
    };
  }
}

2. Add protoc plugin dependency and compile your protos using protobuf_generate hex package:

In mix.exs:

def deps do
  [
    {:grpc, "~> 0.11"},
    {:protobuf_generate, "~> 0.1.3"}
  ]
end

And in your terminal:

mix protobuf.generate \
  --include-path=priv/proto \
  --include-path=deps/googleapis \
  --generate-descriptors=true \
  --output-path=./lib \
  --plugins=ProtobufGenerate.Plugins.GRPCWithOptions \
  google/api/annotations.proto google/api/http.proto helloworld.proto

3. Enable http_transcode option in your Server module

defmodule Helloworld.Greeter.Server do
  use GRPC.Server,
    service: Helloworld.Greeter.Service,
    http_transcode: true

  # callback implementations...
end

See full application code in helloworld_transcoding example.

CORS

When accessing gRPC from a browser via HTTP transcoding or gRPC-Web, CORS headers may be required for the browser to allow access to the gRPC endpoint. Adding CORS headers can be done by using GRPC.Server.Interceptors.CORS as an interceptor in your GRPC.Endpoint module, configuring it as described in the module documentation:

Example:

# Define your endpoint
defmodule Helloworld.Endpoint do
  use GRPC.Endpoint

  intercept GRPC.Server.Interceptors.Logger
  intercept GRPC.Server.Interceptors.CORS, allow_origin: "mydomain.io"
  run Helloworld.Greeter.Server
end

Features

• Various kinds of RPC:
  • Unary
  • Server-streaming
  • Client-streaming
  • Bidirectional-streaming
• HTTP Transcoding
• TLS Authentication
• Error Handling
• Interceptors
• Connection Backoff
• Data Compression
• gRPC Reflection

Benchmark

1. Simple benchmark by using ghz

2. Benchmark followed by official spec

Contributing

Your contributions are welcome!

Please open issues if you have questions, problems and ideas. You can create pull requests directly if you want to fix little bugs, add small features and so on. But you'd better use issues first if you want to add a big feature or change a lot of code.