String/Bytes Type Mismatch in WebSocket Communication

[dnhrdt]

There is a type mismatch between the server's expected data type and the client's sent data type when handling the end-of-audio signal.

Issue

The server's get_audio_from_websocket() method expects binary data and checks for b"END_OF_AUDIO":

def get_audio_from_websocket(self, websocket):
    frame_data = websocket.recv()
    if frame_data == b"END_OF_AUDIO":  # Expects bytes
        return False
    return np.frombuffer(frame_data, dtype=np.float32)

However, the ServeClientBase.disconnect() method sends a string message:

def disconnect(self):
    self.websocket.send(json.dumps({  # Sends string
        "uid": self.client_uid,
        "message": self.DISCONNECT
    }))

This causes a "bytes-like object is required, not 'str'" error when the server tries to process the disconnect message.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Start WhisperLive server
2. Connect client
3. Send audio data
4. Try to disconnect client
5. Observe error in server logs: "Unexpected error: a bytes-like object is required, not 'str'"

Expected Behavior

The server should either:

1. Accept string messages for control signals like disconnect
2. Or document that all WebSocket communication must be binary data

Suggested Fix

Either:

Modify disconnect() to send binary data:

def disconnect(self):
    self.websocket.send(b"END_OF_AUDIO")

Or modify get_audio_from_websocket() to handle both binary and string data:

def get_audio_from_websocket(self, websocket):
    frame_data = websocket.recv()
    if isinstance(frame_data, str):
        try:
            control_msg = json.loads(frame_data)
            if control_msg.get("message") == self.DISCONNECT:
                return False
        except json.JSONDecodeError:
            pass
    elif frame_data == b"END_OF_AUDIO":
        return False
    return np.frombuffer(frame_data, dtype=np.float32)

[makaveli10]

@dnhrdt Thanks for raising the issue. Feel free to open a PR with the fix.