🚀 Talksy – Real-Time Chat Application

Talksy is a full-stack real-time chat application that enables users to communicate instantly via one-on-one and group chats. Built with modern web technologies, it features a responsive frontend, a robust backend with REST APIs and WebSocket support, and secure authentication.

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🧠 Architecture Overview

graph TD
    A[React Client] -->|REST API| B[Node.js/Express Server]
    A -->|WebSocket| C[Socket.IO Server]
    B -->|Mongoose| D[(MongoDB)]
    B -->|JWT| E[Authentication]
    C -->|Events| A
    C -->|Database| D

    subgraph Backend
        B
        C
        D
        E
    end

    subgraph Frontend
        A
    end

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✨ Features

• Real-time messaging using Socket.IO with WebSocket fallback
• One-on-one and group chats with dynamic room allocation
• User authentication via JWT (JSON Web Tokens)
• Typing indicators and online status
• Chat management: create, rename, delete, add/remove members
• Message history and chat clearing
• Responsive UI built with React, Redux, and Tailwind CSS
• CORS security with strict origin whitelisting
• Ping-Pong heartbeat (25s interval) to manage zombie connections
• Rate limiting (optional, can be added)

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🛠️ Tech Stack

🔹 Frontend

• React.js
• Redux Toolkit
• Tailwind CSS
• Socket.IO Client
• Vite

🔹 Backend

• Node.js + Express.js
• MongoDB + Mongoose
• Socket.IO
• JWT Authentication
• Bcrypt.js

🔹 Deployment

• Vercel (Frontend & Backend)
• MongoDB Atlas

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🏗️ Architecture

The application follows a client-server architecture:

• Client communicates via REST APIs (CRUD operations)
• WebSockets handle real-time messaging
• Express handles HTTP requests & authentication
• Socket.IO manages connections & rooms
• MongoDB stores users, chats, and messages

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🚀 Getting Started

🔧 Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16+)
• npm or yarn
• MongoDB (local or Atlas)

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📥 Installation

git clone https://github.com/Nitishojha00/Talksy.git
cd talksy

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⚙️ Backend Setup

cd backend
npm install

Create .env file in backend:

PORT=5000
MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string

⚠️ Note:
We are using a placeholder JWT secret key for development. Please replace it with a strong, secure secret in production.

Example:
JWT_SECRET=your_super_secure_random_secret_key

FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:5173

Run backend:

npx nodemon index.js

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🎨 Frontend Setup

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev

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📡 API Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Description
/api/auth/register	POST	Register user
/api/auth/login	POST	Login user
/api/user/me	GET	Current user
/api/user/all	GET	All users
/api/chat	POST	Create chat
/api/chat	GET	Get chats
/api/chat/group	POST	Create group
/api/chat/group/rename	PUT	Rename group
/api/chat/group/add	PUT	Add user
/api/chat/group/remove	PUT	Remove user
/api/chat/:chatId	DELETE	Delete chat
/api/message	POST	Send message
/api/message/:chatId	GET	Get messages
/api/message/clear/:chatId	DELETE	Clear chat

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🔌 Socket Events

Event	Description
setup	Initialize user
new message	Send message
message received	Receive message
join chat	Join room
typing	Typing indicator
stop typing	Stop typing
clear chat	Clear messages
delete chat	Delete chat
chat created	New chat
disconnect	Cleanup

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📁 Folder Structure

backend/
├── config/
├── controllers/
├── middlewares/
├── models/
├── routes/
├── server.js

frontend/
├── src/
│   ├── components/
│   ├── pages/
│   ├── redux/
│   ├── socket/
│   ├── utils/
│   └── App.jsx

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🌐 Deployment

Backend (Vercel)

• Add environment variables in dashboard
• Deploy using vercel --prod

Frontend (Vercel)

• Set API base URL
• Deploy using vercel --prod

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🤝 Contributing

git checkout -b feature/new-feature
git commit -m "Added feature"
git push origin feature/new-feature

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📄 License

MIT License

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📬 Contact

Nitish Ojha 📧 nitishojha00@gmail.com

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⭐ Support

If you like this project, give it a ⭐ on GitHub!

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