LiveTrack

LiveTrack is a real-time location sharing app where users can join a room, share live updates, view active participants, and work with a compact DigiPin location code. It is built with a React + Vite frontend, a Node.js + Express + Socket.IO backend, and MongoDB for room storage.

Live Demo

Live Link:

• https://live-track-nu.vercel.app/

Local development:

• Frontend: http://localhost:5173
• Backend: http://localhost:4000

Features

• Join or create a room with a short room code
• Share live location updates in real time
• View room participants and their sharing status
• Search a location using a DigiPin code
• Click the map to generate a DigiPin for an Indian location
• View the current DigiPin only while sharing
• About page with a simple project overview
• Mobile-first UI for frequent phone use

Tech Stack

Frontend

• React
• Vite
• MapLibre GL
• Plain CSS

Backend

• Node.js
• Express.js
• Socket.IO
• MongoDB + Mongoose

Utilities

• DigiPin encoder and decoder helpers
• dotenv for environment configuration

Project Structure

• client/
  • React app, pages, components, utilities, and styling
• server/
  • Express API, Socket.IO handlers, MongoDB models, and routes
• digipin-java/
  • Reference DigiPin implementation and supporting files

Environment Variables

Create a .env file inside server/ and add:

PORT=4000
MONGO_URI=mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017/livetrack

Optional production values can point to your hosted MongoDB database and custom server port.

Getting Started

1. Clone the repository

git clone <github-repo-url>

2. Move into the project folder

cd live-share-tracker

3. Install dependencies for the client and server

cd client
npm install

cd ../server
npm install

4. Add the server environment variables in server/.env

5. Start the backend

cd server
npm run dev

6. Start the frontend in a second terminal

cd client
npm run dev

Main Routes

Client routes

• GET / - Join or create a room
• GET /about - About LiveTrack

API routes

• GET /api/health - Health check
• POST /api/rooms - Create a room
• GET /api/rooms/:roomCode - Fetch a room by code

Socket.IO

• Live room connection and location updates are handled through Socket.IO on the backend.

Scripts

Client

• npm run dev - start the Vite development server
• npm run build - build the frontend for production
• npm run preview - preview the production build

Server

• npm run dev - start the server with file watching
• npm start - start the server normally

Notes

• LiveTrack is designed with mobile usage in mind.
• DigiPin is an app-specific location code and is not the same as the Indian Post addressing system.
• Location sharing is room-based and real-time.

License

ISC

Author

Aman Show