API cmd minor

Description

In this project which involved using APIs, and discovering features of the web you didn't know before, I made a chat app like WhatsApp and other messaging apps. I build the application with node.js, Javascript, Liquid and css. I used server-sent events to let the receiver get the texts, idle detection to know if the user is active or not and I worked with service workers to be able to install the PWA and to use the push notifications api to send notifications to the user if he is not online. I tried some experimental things during this project and one of them is that I did not set up a database. I stored the messages on the server in the beginning. After a while I used fs to store them in a json file instead of the server. But render, the service where I have put my webapp online, resets the content of these files when the server restarts. And because I didn't wanted to set up a database, I thought of something different. I made a private github repository, generated an access token, and now I store and get the data from my own github api/database.

Process

Link to process (Dutch)

Table of contents

• Installation
• Use of features
• API's
• Wishlist
• License

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   $ git clone https://github.com/JopMolenaar/API-JopMolenaar.git
   

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   $ cd myApp
   

3. Install the dependencies:

   $ npm install
   

4. In order to send push notifications you need to make an .env file and fill in these variables:

   • PRIVATE_VAPID_KEY
   • MAIL

   For the vapid key's that you need for the push notifications, type this command in the terminal

   $ npm install -g web-push
   $ web-push generate-vapid-keys
   

   This will create a public and a private key. Put the private key in the env variable and place the public one here:

   const vapidKeys = {
      publicKey: // HERE,
      privateKey: process.env.PRIVATE_VAPID_KEY,
   };

5. For experimental purposes I did not setup a database and writing to local json files with fs was getting emptied when restarting the server on render, so I made my own github repo api/database. To set this up for your own you need to:

   • Make a private github repository.
   • Generate a Personal access token (classic) under /settings -> /Developer settings.
   • Once you have that token, place this in the ACCESSTOKEN variable, and place the your account name / your repo name in the REPONAME variable in the .env.
   • Adjust the usersDB, chatsDB, subsDB and messagesDB variables in the server.js if needed, to the correct routes you have setup in your repo.

6. Start the application:

   $ npm run dev
   

   The application will be accessible at http://localhost:4000.

Use of features

• Be able to chat to people
• making accounts
• adding contacts with chats
• Store data in a json file instead of the server
• Fetch data on the background and update when needed (contact list and contact status)
• The chat works without js, js is only for a better UX and fetching data on the background
• Error messages popups are displayed with a error message when there is an error.
• Automatic scrolling when you send or get a message.
• Remember the user (localstorage)
• Know when the user is online/offline or inactive and update the status of that user
• Send push notifications to people that have a subscription when they are offline
• Remove the subscription when someone logs out of their account.
• Add custom profile picture

API's

• Idle detection
• Notification api (great tutorial and information about it: web-push-book)
• Github api (See installation on how to setup)

Wishlist

• Use a database instead of a github repo to store data
• A bit better styling
• gsap animation when you send or receive a message
• add passwords to accounts
• offline available
• send the offline send message as soon as someone is back online
• Use a builder
• Make chat groups

License

My website is open-source and released under the MIT License.