This is a simple starter app you can use as an example while building instant messaging into your app. The demo is hosted at https://larareactchat.herokuapp.com. You can register as a new user and pick any user to chat with, or better still, register 2 users in different browser windows and watch your chat live!
Feel free to star if this helps you with your next IM app. Please make a pull request if there are ways it could be improved.
Cheers!