Chat Application

This is a live chat application developed using Node.js, Express.js, EJS, MongoDB, Mongoose, Socket.io, and custom authentication with JSON Web Tokens (JWT).

Table of Contents

• Features
• Installation
• Usage
• Testing
• License

Features

• Simultaneous live chat between multiple users.
• Server-side development using Node.js and Express.js.
• EJS templates for dynamic rendering of HTML views.
• MongoDB as the database for storing user information and chat messages.
• Mongoose for modeling the database and handling data interactions.
• Concurrent duplex connections between users achieved using Socket.io.
• Custom authentication implemented with pure Node.js by generating JSON Web Tokens (JWT).

Installation

To install and run this application locally, please follow these steps:

1. Clone the repository to your local machine:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/live-chat-application.git

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd live-chat-application

3. Install the dependencies:

   npm install

4. Set up the environment variables:

   • Create a .env file in the project root directory.

   • Add the following variables to the .env file:

     APP_NAME=Live Chat Application
     APP_URL=http://localhost:3000
     PORT=3000
     MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING_OLD=your-previous-mongodb-connection-string
     MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING=your-mongodb-connection-string
     MONGODB_USERNAME=your-mongodb-username
     MONGODB_PASSWORD=your-mongodb-password
     JWT_SECRET=your-jwt-secret
     JWT_EXPIRE_TOKEN=3600
     COOKIE_NAME=your-cookie-name
     COOKIE_SECRET=your-cookie-secret

     Replace the placeholders with the appropriate values for your setup.

     • APP_NAME: The name of your live chat application.
     • APP_URL: The URL where your application will be hosted.
     • PORT: The port number on which the server will run.
     • MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING_OLD: The previous MongoDB connection string (if applicable).
     • MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING: The MongoDB connection string for your database.
     • MONGODB_USERNAME: The username for accessing your MongoDB database.
     • MONGODB_PASSWORD: The password for accessing your MongoDB database.
     • JWT_SECRET: A secure secret key for JSON Web Tokens (JWT).
     • JWT_EXPIRE_TOKEN: The expiration time for JWT tokens (in seconds).
     • COOKIE_NAME: The name of the cookie for session management.
     • COOKIE_SECRET: A secure secret key for cookie encryption.

5. Start the application:

   npm start

6. Open your web browser and navigate to http://localhost:3000 to access the live chat application.

Usage

• Upon accessing the application, users can sign up using their email and password or log in if they already have an account.
• Once logged in, users will be able to see the chat interface and interact with other users in real-time.
• Users can send messages in the chat window and view messages from other participants.
• The chat history is stored in the MongoDB database and can be accessed even after logging out and logging back in.

Testing

To test the application, use the following credentials:

• Email: admin@gmail.com
• Password: Admin1,1

Use the provided credentials to log in and test the various features and functionalities of the live chat application.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. Feel free to use and modify the code as per your needs.