Real-Time WebSocket Chat Backend

Spring Boot backend for a real-time chat application using STOMP over WebSocket, JWT auth, and MySQL.

Configure

• Set environment variables (required):
  • DB_URL (optional, defaults to local chat_app)
  • DB_USERNAME
  • DB_PASSWORD
  • JWT_SECRET (32+ characters)
  • JWT_EXP_MINUTES (optional, default 60)
• Optional local file: copy src/main/resources/application.example.yml to src/main/resources/application-local.yml and run with SPRING_PROFILES_ACTIVE=local.

PowerShell example:

$env:DB_URL="jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/chat_app?useSSL=false&serverTimezone=UTC"
$env:DB_USERNAME="chat_user"
$env:DB_PASSWORD="change-me"
$env:JWT_SECRET="change-me-change-me-change-me-change"
$env:JWT_EXP_MINUTES="60"

Run

• mvn spring-boot:run

REST API

• POST /api/auth/register
• POST /api/auth/login
• GET /api/messages/public?limit=50
• GET /api/messages/private/{username}?limit=50

WebSocket

• Endpoint: /ws
• Public send: /app/public.send
• Public subscribe: /topic/public
• Private send: /app/private.send
• Private subscribe: /user/queue/private

Clients should pass Authorization: Bearer <JWT> in the STOMP CONNECT headers.