diff --git a/components/esp_websocket_client/esp_websocket_client.c b/components/esp_websocket_client/esp_websocket_client.c
index 27adc5ce26a..8c2b84eb904 100644
--- a/components/esp_websocket_client/esp_websocket_client.c
+++ b/components/esp_websocket_client/esp_websocket_client.c
@@ -792,6 +792,51 @@ esp_err_t esp_websocket_client_set_headers(esp_websocket_client_handle_t client,
     return ret;
 }
 
+esp_err_t esp_websocket_client_append_header(esp_websocket_client_handle_t client, const char *key, const char *value)
+{
+    // Validate the input parameters
+    if (client == NULL || key == NULL || value == NULL) {
+        return ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG;
+    }
+
+    websocket_config_storage_t *cfg = client->config;
+
+    // Calculate the length for "key: value\r\n"
+    size_t len = strlen(key) + strlen(value) + 5; // 5 accounts for ": \r\n" and null-terminator
+
+    // If no previous headers exist
+    if (cfg->headers == NULL) {
+        cfg->headers = (char *)malloc(len);
+        if (cfg->headers == NULL) {
+            ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Failed to allocate...");
+            return ESP_ERR_NO_MEM;
+        }
+        snprintf(cfg->headers, len, "%s: %s\r\n", key, value);
+        return ESP_OK;
+    }
+
+    // Extend the current headers to accommodate the new key-value pair
+    size_t current_len = strlen(cfg->headers);
+    size_t new_len = current_len + len;
+
+    // Allocate memory for new headers
+    char *new_headers = (char *)malloc(new_len);
+    if (new_headers == NULL) {
+        ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Failed to allocate...");
+        return ESP_ERR_NO_MEM;
+    }
+
+    // Copy old headers and append the new header
+    strcpy(new_headers, cfg->headers);
+    snprintf(new_headers + current_len, len, "%s: %s\r\n", key, value);
+
+    // Free old headers and assign the new header pointer to cfg->headers
+    free(cfg->headers);
+    cfg->headers = new_headers;
+
+    return ESP_OK;
+}
+
 static esp_err_t esp_websocket_client_recv(esp_websocket_client_handle_t client)
 {
     int rlen;
diff --git a/components/esp_websocket_client/include/esp_websocket_client.h b/components/esp_websocket_client/include/esp_websocket_client.h
index 0f7af07f44d..c47b0df0d85 100644
--- a/components/esp_websocket_client/include/esp_websocket_client.h
+++ b/components/esp_websocket_client/include/esp_websocket_client.h
@@ -155,16 +155,36 @@ esp_websocket_client_handle_t esp_websocket_client_init(const esp_websocket_clie
 esp_err_t esp_websocket_client_set_uri(esp_websocket_client_handle_t client, const char *uri);
 
 /**
- * @brief      Set additional websocket headers for the client, when performing this behavior, the headers will replace the old ones
- * @pre        Must stop the WebSocket client before set headers if the client has been connected
+ * @brief      Sets additional WebSocket headers for the client
+ * @pre        The WebSocket client must be stopped before setting headers if it is already connected.
  *
- * @param[in]  client  The client
- * @param headers  additional header strings each terminated with \r\n
+ *  Notes:
+ *  - When setting headers using this method, any previous headers will be replaced.
+ *    To set multiple headers, you can concatenate them using the "\r\n" delimiter.
+ *    Alternatively, use the `esp_websocket_client_append_header` function for individual header additions.
+ *    Example: websocket_cfg.headers = "Sec-WebSocket-Key: my_key\r\nPassword: my_pass\r\n";
+ *
+ * @param[in]  client  The WebSocket client handle.
+ * @param      headers Additional header strings, each terminated with \r\n.
  *
  * @return     esp_err_t
  */
 esp_err_t esp_websocket_client_set_headers(esp_websocket_client_handle_t client, const char *headers);
 
+/**
+ * @brief      Appends a new key-value pair to the headers of a WebSocket client.
+ *
+ *  Notes:
+ *  - Ensure that this function is called before starting the WebSocket client.
+ *
+ * @param[in]  client  The WebSocket client handle
+ * @param[in]  key     The header key to append
+ * @param[in]  value   The associated value for the given key
+ *
+ * @return     esp_err_t
+ */
+esp_err_t esp_websocket_client_append_header(esp_websocket_client_handle_t client, const char *key, const char *value);
+
 /**
  * @brief      Open the WebSocket connection
  *
diff --git a/components/esp_websocket_client/linux/main/main.c b/components/esp_websocket_client/linux/main/main.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..34fe2b71b49
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/esp_websocket_client/linux/main/main.c
@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+/*
+ * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2023 Espressif Systems (Shanghai) CO LTD
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include "esp_log.h"
+#include "nvs_flash.h"
+#include "protocol_examples_common.h"
+
+#include "freertos/FreeRTOS.h"
+#include "freertos/task.h"
+#include "freertos/semphr.h"
+#include "freertos/event_groups.h"
+
+#include "esp_websocket_client.h"
+#include "esp_system.h"
+#include "esp_event.h"
+#include "esp_log.h"
+#include "esp_netif.h"
+
+static const char *TAG = "websocket";
+
+static void log_error_if_nonzero(const char *message, int error_code)
+{
+    if (error_code != 0) {
+        ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Last error %s: 0x%x", message, error_code);
+    }
+}
+
+static void websocket_event_handler(void *handler_args, esp_event_base_t base, int32_t event_id, void *event_data)
+{
+    esp_websocket_event_data_t *data = (esp_websocket_event_data_t *)event_data;
+    switch (event_id) {
+    case WEBSOCKET_EVENT_CONNECTED:
+        ESP_LOGI(TAG, "WEBSOCKET_EVENT_CONNECTED");
+        break;
+    case WEBSOCKET_EVENT_DISCONNECTED:
+        ESP_LOGI(TAG, "WEBSOCKET_EVENT_DISCONNECTED");
+        log_error_if_nonzero("HTTP status code",  data->error_handle.esp_ws_handshake_status_code);
+        if (data->error_handle.error_type == WEBSOCKET_ERROR_TYPE_TCP_TRANSPORT) {
+            log_error_if_nonzero("reported from esp-tls", data->error_handle.esp_tls_last_esp_err);
+            log_error_if_nonzero("reported from tls stack", data->error_handle.esp_tls_stack_err);
+            log_error_if_nonzero("captured as transport's socket errno",  data->error_handle.esp_transport_sock_errno);
+        }
+        break;
+    case WEBSOCKET_EVENT_DATA:
+        ESP_LOGI(TAG, "WEBSOCKET_EVENT_DATA");
+        ESP_LOGI(TAG, "Received opcode=%d", data->op_code);
+        if (data->op_code == 0x08 && data->data_len == 2) {
+            ESP_LOGW(TAG, "Received closed message with code=%d", 256 * data->data_ptr[0] + data->data_ptr[1]);
+        } else {
+            ESP_LOGW(TAG, "Received=%.*s", data->data_len, (char *)data->data_ptr);
+        }
+
+        // If received data contains json structure it succeed to parse
+        ESP_LOGW(TAG, "Total payload length=%d, data_len=%d, current payload offset=%d\r\n", data->payload_len, data->data_len, data->payload_offset);
+
+        break;
+    case WEBSOCKET_EVENT_ERROR:
+        ESP_LOGI(TAG, "WEBSOCKET_EVENT_ERROR");
+        log_error_if_nonzero("HTTP status code",  data->error_handle.esp_ws_handshake_status_code);
+        if (data->error_handle.error_type == WEBSOCKET_ERROR_TYPE_TCP_TRANSPORT) {
+            log_error_if_nonzero("reported from esp-tls", data->error_handle.esp_tls_last_esp_err);
+            log_error_if_nonzero("reported from tls stack", data->error_handle.esp_tls_stack_err);
+            log_error_if_nonzero("captured as transport's socket errno",  data->error_handle.esp_transport_sock_errno);
+        }
+        break;
+    }
+}
+
+
+static void websocket_app_start(void)
+{
+    esp_websocket_client_config_t websocket_cfg = {};
+
+    websocket_cfg.uri = CONFIG_WEBSOCKET_URI;
+
+    ESP_LOGI(TAG, "Connecting to %s...", websocket_cfg.uri);
+
+    esp_websocket_client_handle_t client = esp_websocket_client_init(&websocket_cfg);
+    // This call has no operational effect; it's used for testing and enhancing coverity analysis
+    esp_websocket_client_append_header(client, "HeaderNewKey", "value");
+
+    esp_websocket_register_events(client, WEBSOCKET_EVENT_ANY, websocket_event_handler, (void *)client);
+
+    esp_websocket_client_start(client);
+    char data[32];
+    int i = 0;
+    while (i < 1) {
+        if (esp_websocket_client_is_connected(client)) {
+            int len = sprintf(data, "hello %04d", i++);
+            ESP_LOGI(TAG, "Sending %s", data);
+            esp_websocket_client_send_text(client, data, len, portMAX_DELAY);
+        }
+        vTaskDelay(1000 / portTICK_PERIOD_MS);
+    }
+
+    esp_websocket_client_destroy(client);
+}
+
+int main(void)
+{
+
+    ESP_LOGI(TAG, "[APP] Startup..");
+    ESP_LOGI(TAG, "[APP] Free memory: %" PRIu32 " bytes", esp_get_free_heap_size());
+    ESP_LOGI(TAG, "[APP] IDF version: %s", esp_get_idf_version());
+    esp_log_level_set("*", ESP_LOG_INFO);
+    esp_log_level_set("websocket_client", ESP_LOG_DEBUG);
+    esp_log_level_set("transport_ws", ESP_LOG_DEBUG);
+    esp_log_level_set("trans_tcp", ESP_LOG_DEBUG);
+
+    ESP_ERROR_CHECK(nvs_flash_init());
+    ESP_ERROR_CHECK(esp_netif_init());
+    ESP_ERROR_CHECK(esp_event_loop_create_default());
+
+    /* This helper function configures Wi-Fi or Ethernet, as selected in menuconfig.
+     * Read "Establishing Wi-Fi or Ethernet Connection" section in
+     * examples/protocols/README.md for more information about this function.
+     */
+    ESP_ERROR_CHECK(example_connect());
+
+    websocket_app_start();
+    return 0;
+}