---
title: Protocols
description: Supported protocols on the Workers platform.
image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/dev-products-preview.png
---

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> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers/llms.txt  
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# Protocols

Cloudflare Workers support the following protocols and interfaces:

| Protocol               | Inbound                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                | Outbound                                                                                                                       |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **HTTP / HTTPS**       | Handle incoming HTTP requests using the [fetch() handler](https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers/runtime-apis/handlers/fetch/)                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | Make HTTP subrequests using the [fetch() API](https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers/runtime-apis/fetch/)                   |
| **Direct TCP sockets** | Support for handling inbound TCP connections is [coming soon ↗](https://blog.cloudflare.com/workers-tcp-socket-api-connect-databases/)                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | Create outbound TCP connections using the [connect() API](https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers/runtime-apis/tcp-sockets/) |
| **WebSockets**         | Accept incoming WebSocket connections using the [WebSocket API](https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers/runtime-apis/websockets/)                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                |
| **HTTP/3 (QUIC)**      | Accept inbound requests over [HTTP/3 ↗](https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/performance/what-is-http3/) by enabling it on your [zone](https://developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/concepts/accounts-and-zones/#zones) in **Speed** \> **Settings** \> **Protocol Optimization** area of the [Cloudflare dashboard ↗](https://dash.cloudflare.com/). |                                                                                                                                |
| **SMTP**               | Use [Email Workers](https://developers.cloudflare.com/email-routing/email-workers/) to process and forward email, without having to manage TCP connections to SMTP email servers                                                                                                                                                                       | [Email Workers](https://developers.cloudflare.com/email-routing/email-workers/)                                                |

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```