💬 Fullstack Chat Application

A secure, real-time one-to-one chat app built with the MERN stack. Features include instant messaging, user authentication, profile customization, and image sharing — all with a modern, responsive UI.

🚀 Features

• User Authentication: Sign up and log in with hashed passwords using bcryptjs and secure JWT-based sessions.
• One-to-One Messaging: Real-time private chat powered by Socket.IO.
• Profile Pictures: Upload avatars with Cloudinary.
• Image Sharing: Share images directly in chat messages (Cloudinary-backed).
• Responsive UI: Sleek interface built with Tailwind CSS and DaisyUI.
• Online Presence: See who’s online in real time.

🛠️ Tech Stack

• Frontend: React, Tailwind CSS, DaisyUI
• Backend: Node.js, Express.js
• Database: MongoDB + Mongoose
• Authentication: JWT + bcryptjs
• Real-Time: Socket.IO
• Media Uploads: Cloudinary

Setup .env file

Create a .env file in the backend directory and add the following variables:

MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
PORT=5001
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your_cloud_name
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your_api_key
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your_api_secret

NODE_ENV=development