BuddyScript - High-Performance Social Media Platform

BuddyScript is a modern, scalable social media web application built with Laravel 12 and React 18. It features a real-time feel, threaded comments, and a high-performance feed capable of handling millions of posts.

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🚀 Key Features

• Infinite Scrolling Feed: Seamlessly scroll through thousands of posts using cursor-based pagination and Intersection Observer.
• Optimized Performance:
  • Redis Counters: Likes and Membership checks are handled in Redis (O(1)) to prevent database strain.
  • Counter Caches: Post likes and comment counts are stored directly on the table, eliminating N+1 query bottlenecks.
  • Shallow Eager Loading: Efficient data retrieval that only fetches what is necessary for the current view.
• Threaded Comments: Support for parent comments and nested replies with independent pagination.
• Post Management: Create, edit, and delete posts with custom privacy settings (Public/Private).
• Authentication: Secure JWT-based API authentication.
• Robust Authorization: Fine-grained Policies (Post, Comment, User) ensuring users can only manage their own content.

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🛠 Tech Stack

• Backend: PHP 8.2+, Laravel 12
• Frontend: React 18, Vite, TypeScript, Vanilla CSS
• Database: MySQL (optimized with indices and counter caches)
• Cache/NoSQL: Redis (used for likes tracking and fast membership checks)
• Auth: JWT (JSON Web Token)

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📦 Installation & Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd buddy-project

2. Backend Setup:

   composer install
   cp .env.example .env
   php artisan key:generate
   php artisan jwt:secret

3. Database & Redis:

   • Configure your .env with your MySQL and Redis credentials.
   • Run migrations:

     php artisan migrate

4. Frontend Setup:

   npm install

5. Running the Application:

   • In terminal 1 (Vite):

     npm run dev

   • In terminal 2 (Laravel):

     php artisan serve

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🧪 Testing with Demo Data

We have included a specialized DemoSeeder designed to test the system at scale (10,000+ posts).

To seed the database with demo users, posts, and comments:

php artisan db:seed --class=DemoSeeder

Note: This will preserve the user nayakemily50@gmail.com if it exists.

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🛡 Security & Authorization

The project follows strict Laravel Authorization patterns:

• PostPolicy: Determines who can view (based on privacy), update, or delete a post.
• CommentPolicy: Ensures only authors or post owners can manage comments.
• UserPolicy: Restricts profile updates and account deletions to the account owner.

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📈 Scalability Highlights

• N+1 Fixes: Reduced typical feed page from ~35 queries down to 2-3 queries.
• Redis Membership: Used for checking if a user liked a post, preventing millions of SELECT EXISTS queries on the DB.
• Cursor Pagination: Uses last_id instead of OFFSET, preventing performance degradation as the database grows to millions of rows.

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📝 License

This project is open-sourced software licensed under the MIT license.