Writty - Modern NoSQL Chat Application

Writty is a high-performance, real-time chat application built with a modern technology stack. It leverages the power of Laravel for the backend API, React for a dynamic and responsive frontend, and MongoDB as a flexible NoSQL database. Real-time communication is powered by Laravel Reverb, ensuring a smooth and interactive user experience.

Features

• User Authentication: Secure registration and login, including OAuth with GitHub.
• User Profiles: Customizable user profiles with bio and profile pictures.
• Real-time Messaging: Send and receive text messages instantly.
• Image Sharing: Share images directly within chat conversations.
• Online Status: See which users are currently online.
• User Directory: Browse and connect with other users on the platform.
• Admin Panel: A secure, hidden administration area for platform management (user statistics, message logs, user management).
• Beautiful UI/UX: A modern, intuitive user interface built with React and styled with Tailwind CSS v4, featuring custom colors (Cyan & Violet) and typography (Poppins & Manrope).

Technology Stack

• Backend: Laravel 12 (PHP 8.3+)
  • Database: MongoDB (via mongodb/laravel-mongodb)
  • Authentication: Laravel Breeze (API Stack)
  • OAuth: Laravel Socialite (for GitHub Login)
  • Real-time: Laravel Reverb (WebSockets)
  • File Storage: Laravel Storage (for profile pictures and chat images)
• Frontend: React 18+
  • Styling: Tailwind CSS v4
  • Routing: Inertia.js
  • HTTP Client: Axios
  • Real-time Client: Laravel Echo & Pusher.js
• Package Manager: npm

Installation

Follow these steps to get Writty up and running on your local machine.

Prerequisites

Make sure you have the following installed:

• PHP >= 8.3
• Composer >= 2.x
• Node.js >= 22.x
• pnpm >= 9.x
• MongoDB >= 7.x (running locally or accessible via Atlas)

Backend Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/fhermas22/writty.git
   cd writty

2. Install PHP dependencies:

   composer install
   composer require mongodb/laravel-mongodb
   composer require laravel/socialite
   composer require laravel/reverb

3. Configure Environment Variables: Copy the .env.example file to .env and update the following variables:

   APP_NAME="Writty"
   APP_URL=http://localhost:8000
   FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:5173 # Or your React dev server URL
   
   DB_CONNECTION=mongodb
   DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
   DB_PORT=27017
   DB_DATABASE=writty_db
   
   # Reverb Configuration
   REVERB_APP_ID=writty_app_id
   REVERB_APP_KEY=writty_app_key
   REVERB_APP_SECRET=writty_app_secret
   REVERB_HOST="localhost"
   REVERB_PORT=8080
   REVERB_SCHEME=http
   
   # GitHub OAuth (Register your app on GitHub Developer Settings)
   GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=your_github_client_id
   GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=your_github_client_secret
   GITHUB_REDIRECT_URI="${APP_URL}/auth/github/callback"

   Generate REVERB_APP_KEY and REVERB_APP_SECRET by running php artisan reverb:start for the first time.

4. Generate Application Key:

   php artisan key:generate

5. Install Breeze (React Stack):

   php artisan breeze:install react

6. Run Migrations (for session/cache tables, if needed):

   php artisan migrate

7. Create Storage Link:

   php artisan storage:link

8. Start Laravel Development Server:

   php artisan serve

9. Start Laravel Reverb Server (in a separate terminal):

   php artisan reverb:start

Frontend Setup

1. Install JavaScript dependencies:

   npm install

2. Compile Assets and Start Frontend Development Server (in a separate terminal):

   npm run dev

Your application should now be accessible at http://localhost:8000 (or your APP_URL). The React frontend will be served by Vite, typically on http://localhost:5173.

Contributing

Feel free to fork the repository, open issues, and submit pull requests. Any contributions are welcome!

License

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

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Developed with ❤️ by Hermas Francisco (@fhermas22).