Support Ukraine: link 1, link 2
Open source SaaS web app.
Async's main features are: (1) Chat for real-time, synchronous communication, (2) Discussions for asynchronous communication, (3) All communication (chats + discussions) can be organized by team.
Async was built from our popular open source SaaS boilerplate. We built Async for communication within our internal team and with our clients from custom dev business. By separating synchronous (urgent) vs. asynchronous (non-urgent) conversations, we minimized distractions while working on big tasks while still reacting to urgent requests.
You can use Async as a self-hosted communication web app for your team. You can also use Async as a starting point for building a more complex SaaS web application.
Other projects that we built:
- Builder Book - learn how to build full-stack web apps from scratch
- SaaS Boilerplate - open source web app to build your own SaaS product
- Async - open source urgent vs non-urgent team communication tool for small teams
- Work in biotech - job board for biotech startup companies
- AI-cruiter - browser extension is built for recruiters managing a high volume of job applicants. AI-cruiter uses LLMs - like ChatGPT, PaLM 2, our private fine-tuned LLM - to generate succinct and relevant summaries of your job applicants' resumes
- Async Labs - many custom dev projects
- Chat for real-time, synchronous communication
- Discussions for long-form, asynchronous communication
- Team creation, Team Member invitation, and settings for Team and User.
- Server-side rendering for fast initial load and SEO.
- User authentication with Passwordless, cookie, and session.
- Production-ready Express server with compression, parser, and helmet.
- Transactional emails (
AWS SES
): welcome, login, and team invitation. - File upload, load, and deletion (
AWS S3
) with pre-signed request for: Comment, Message, Team Profile, and User Profile. - Websockets with socket.io v3.
- Opinionated architecture:
- keeping babel and webpack configurations under the hood,
- striving to minimize number of configurations,
- HOC extensions
MyApp
andMyDocument
- server-side rendering with
Material-UI
, - model-specific components in addition to common components.
- Universally-available environmental variables at runtime.
- Custom logger (configure what not to print in production).
- Useful components for any web app:
Confirmer
,Notifier
,Loading
,MenuWithLinks
, and more. - Production-ready, scalable architecture:
app
- user-facing web app with Next/Express server, responsible for rendering pages (either client-side or server-side rendered).app
sends requests via API methods toapi
Express server.api
- server-only code, Express server, responsible for processing requests for internal and external API infrastructures.
- Subscriptions with
Stripe
:- subscribe/unsubscribe Team to plan,
- update card information,
- verified Stripe webhook for failed payment for subscription.
- Before running, create a
.env
file inside theapi
folder with the environmental variables as shown below.
api/.env
:
# Used in api/server/server.ts
MONGO_URL_TEST=
MONGO_URL=
SESSION_NAME=
SESSION_SECRET=
# Used in api/server/aws-s3.ts and api/server/aws-ses.ts
AWS_REGION=
AWS_ACCESSKEYID=
AWS_SECRETACCESSKEY=
BUCKET_FOR_FILES=
# Used in api/server/passwordless.tx and api/server/models/User.ts
FROM_EMAIL_ADDRESS=
----------
# All env variables above this line are required for successful user signup
# Used in api/server/stripe.ts
STRIPE_TEST_SECRET_KEY=
STRIPE_LIVE_SECRET_KEY=
STRIPE_TEST_PRICE_ID=
STRIPE_LIVE_PRICE_ID=
STRIPE_LIVE_ENDPOINT_SECRET=
# Optionally determine the URL
URL_APP="https://localhost:3000"
PRODUCTION_URL_APP="https://1.async-await.com"
API_SERVER_ENDPOINT="http://localhost:8000"
PRODUCTION_API_SERVER_ENDPOINT="https://api-xphxggip.async-await.com"
# Used in api/server/api/index.ts
ENCRYPTION_KEY=
-
Your
.env
file file must have values for therequired
variables. To use all features and third-party integrations, also add theoptional
variables. -
IMPORTANT: use your values for
PRODUCTION_URL_APP
andPRODUCTION_API_SERVER_ENDPOINT
. These are values for domain name that you own. -
IMPORTANT: The above environmental variables are available on the server only. You should add your
.env
file to.gitignore
inside theapi
folder so that your secret keys are not stored on a remote Github repo. -
To get value for
MONGO_URL_TEST
, we recommend you use a free MongoDB at MongoDB Atlas or $15/month MongoDB at Digital Ocean -
Specify your own name and secret keys for Express session: SESSION_NAME and SESSION_SECRET
-
Once
.env
is created, you can run theapi
app. Navigate to theapi
folder, runyarn install
to add all packages, then run the command below:yarn dev
-
Navigate to the
app
folder, runyarn
to add all packages, then runyarn dev
and navigate tohttp://localhost:3000
:- A
.env
file in theapp
folder is not required to run, but you can create one to override the default variables. The environmental variables for.env
in theapp
folder are shown below.
NEXT_PUBLIC_URL_APP="http://localhost:3000" NEXT_PUBLIC_PRODUCTION_URL_APP="https://1.async-await.com" NEXT_PUBLIC_API_SERVER_ENDPOINT="http://localhost:8000" NEXT_PUBLIC_PRODUCTION_API_SERVER_ENDPOINT="https://api-xphxggip.async-await.com" NEXT_PUBLIC_STRIPE_TEST_PUBLISHABLEKEY="pk_test_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" NEXT_PUBLIC_STRIPE_LIVE_PUBLISHABLEKEY="pk_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" NEXT_PUBLIC_API_GATEWAY_ENDPOINT= NEXT_PUBLIC_ENCRYPTION_KEY_FOR_EXTERNAL_SERVICES= NEXT_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1
-
IMPORTANT: use your values for
NEXT_PUBLIC_PRODUCTION_URL_APP
andNEXT_PUBLIC_PRODUCTION_API_SERVER_ENDPOINT
. These are values for domain name that you own. -
To get
NEXT_PUBLIC_STRIPE_TEST_PUBLISHABLEKEY
, go to your Stripe dashboard, clickDevelopers
, then clickAPI keys
.
- A
-
For successful file uploading, make sure your AWS bucket has the proper CORS configuration. Go to your AWS account, find your bucket, go to
Permissions > CORS configuration
, add:
[
{
"AllowedHeaders":[
"*"
],
"AllowedMethods":[
"PUT",
"POST",
"GET",
"HEAD",
"DELETE"
],
"AllowedOrigins":[
"http://localhost:3000",
"https://1.async-await.com"
],
"ExposeHeaders":[
"ETag",
"x-amz-meta-custom-header"
]
}
]
-
Make sure to update allowed origin with your actual values for
NEXT_PUBLIC_URL_APP
andNEXT_PUBLIC_PRODUCTION_URL_APP
. -
Once
.env
is created, you can run theapp
app. Navigate to theapp
folder, runyarn install
to add all packages, then run the command below:yarn dev
In lambda directory we are symlinking api directory. You can run symlink command in lambda folder as mentioned below:
bash symlink ../api
We give detailed instructions inside Chapter 9 and 10 of our SaaS Boilerplate book: https://builderbook.org/book
For more detail, check package.json
files in both app
and api
folders.
To customize styles, check this guide.
Chat for synchronous, urgent communication:
Discussion for asynchronous, non-urgent communication:
Discussions consist of Comments, where you can write with Markdown, preview your content, and include attachments.
Multiple team management demonstrated by team switcher:
Want to support this project? Consider buying our books.
You can contact us at team@async-labs.com.
If you are interested in working with us, check out Async Labs.
All code in this repository is provided under the MIT License.
├── api
│ ├── .elasticbeanstalk
│ │ └── config.yml
│ ├── server
│ │ ├── api
│ │ │ ├── index.ts
│ │ │ ├── public.ts
│ │ │ ├── team-leader.ts
│ │ │ └── team-member.ts
│ │ ├── models
│ │ │ ├── Chat.ts
│ │ │ ├── Comment.ts
│ │ │ ├── Discussion.ts
│ │ │ ├── EmailTemplate.ts
│ │ │ ├── Message.ts
│ │ │ └── User.ts
│ │ ├── utils
│ │ │ ├── markdownToHtml.ts
│ │ │ └── slugify.ts
│ │ ├── aws-s3.ts
│ │ ├── aws-ses.ts
│ │ ├── logs.ts
│ │ ├── passwordless-token.ts
│ │ ├── passwordless-toenstore.ts
│ │ ├── passwordless.ts
│ │ ├── robots.txt
│ │ ├── server.ts
│ │ ├── sockets.ts
│ │ └── stripe.ts
│ ├── .eslintrc.js
│ ├── .gitignore
│ ├── nodemon.json
│ ├── package.json
│ ├── tsconfig.json
│ └── yarn.lock
├── app
│ ├── .elasticbeanstalk
│ │ └── config.yml
│ ├── components
│ │ ├── chats
│ │ │ ├── ChatDetail.tsx
│ │ │ ├── ChatList.tsx
│ │ │ └── SearchWithinChat.tsx
│ │ ├── comments
│ │ │ ├── CommentContext.tsx
│ │ │ ├── CommentDetail.tsx
│ │ │ ├── CommentEditor.tsx
│ │ │ └── CommentForm.tsx
│ │ ├── common
│ │ │ ├── AvatarwithMenu.tsx
│ │ │ ├── Confirmer.tsx
│ │ │ ├── Loading.tsx
│ │ │ ├── LoginForm.tsx
│ │ │ ├── MemberChooser.tsx
│ │ │ ├── MenuWithLinks.tsx
│ │ │ ├── MenuWithMenuItems.tsx
│ │ │ ├── Notifier.tsx
│ │ │ └── SidebarListItem.tsx
│ │ ├── discussions
│ │ │ ├── DiscussionDetail.tsx
│ │ │ ├── DiscussionList.tsx
│ │ │ └── SearchDiscussions.tsx
│ │ ├── layout
│ │ │ ├── index.tsx
│ │ │ └── menu.ts
│ │ ├── messages
│ │ │ ├── MessageContent.tsx
│ │ │ ├── MessageDetail.tsx
│ │ │ ├── MessageEditor.tsx
│ │ │ └── MessageForm.tsx
│ │ ├── settings
│ │ │ └── SettingsMenu.tsx
│ │ ├── teams
│ │ │ ├── CreateTeamModal.tsx
│ │ │ └── InviteMemberModal.tsx
│ ├── lib
│ │ ├── api
│ │ │ ├── makeQueryString.ts
│ │ │ ├── sendRequestAndGetResponse.ts
│ │ │ ├── to-api-server-public.ts
│ │ │ ├── to-api-server-team-leader.ts
│ │ │ ├── to-api-server-team-member.ts
│ │ │ └── to-external-services.ts
│ │ ├── store
│ │ │ ├── Chatts
│ │ │ ├── Comment.ts
│ │ │ ├── Discussion.ts
│ │ │ ├── Message.ts
│ │ │ ├── Team.ts
│ │ │ ├── User.ts
│ │ │ └── index.ts
│ │ ├── confirm.ts
│ │ ├── highlightSearchResult.ts
│ │ ├── isMobile.ts
│ │ ├── notify.ts
│ │ ├── resizeImage.ts
│ │ ├── sharedStyles.ts
│ │ └── theme.ts
│ ├── pages
│ │ ├── public
│ │ │ ├── login.tsx
│ │ │ └── register.tsx
│ │ ├── settings
│ │ │ ├── my-account.tsx
│ │ │ ├── my-billing.tsx
│ │ │ └── team-settings.tsx
│ │ ├── _app.tsx
│ │ ├── _document.tsx
│ │ ├── chat.tsx
│ │ └── discussion.tsx
│ ├── public/fonts
│ │ ├── IBM-Plex-Mono
│ │ │ ├── IBMPlexMono-Regular.woff
│ │ │ └── IBMPlexMono-Regular.woff2
│ │ ├── Roboto
│ │ │ ├── Roboto-Regular.woff
│ │ │ └── Roboto-Regular.woff2
│ │ ├── cdn.css
│ │ └── server.css
│ ├── server
│ │ └── server.ts
│ ├── .babelrc
│ ├── .eslintignore
│ ├── .eslintrc.js
│ ├── .gitignore
│ ├── next-env.d.ts
│ ├── next.config.js
│ ├── nodemon.json
│ ├── package.json
│ ├── tsconfig.json
│ ├── tsconfig.server.json
│ └── yarn.lock
├── lambda
│ ├── src
│ │ └── checkCardExpiration.ts
│ ├── .eslintrc.js
│ ├── .gitignore
│ ├── api
│ ├── handler.ts
│ ├── package.json
│ ├── serverless.yml
│ ├── tsconfig.json
│ ├── tslint.json
│ └── yarn.lock
├── .gitignore
├── LICENSE.md
├── README.md