OutCook

OutCook is a real-time messaging application that allows users to send, receive, and manage messages with file attachments, email-like features, and dynamic filtering. The app is built using a modern tech stack and offers a highly interactive and responsive experience.

Frontend :

/ endpoint :

/messages endpoint for rendering the mock email api

auth endpoints (/signin /signup , required only for sending messages , without auth you can still visit the /messages endpoint):

System Design :

Tech Stack

• Backend: Node.js
• Database: MongoDB
• Message Broker: Self-hosted Kafka
• Real-Time Communication: WebSockets
• Cache: Self-hosted Redis (Publisher-Subscriber Model)
• Object Storage: AWS S3 (with presigned URLs for file uploads)
• Deployment: AWS EC2 instance
• Reverse Proxy: NGINX
• SSL: Certbot (HTTPS connection)
• Frontend: React.js

Features

• Send and receive messages with attachments (images, videos, and other files).
• Cookie-based authentication (written from scratch).
• Real-time notifications using WebSockets, Redis, Kafka, and AWS.
• Message filtering: Filter messages by "read", "unread", and "favorites".
• Persistent filtering state via browser storage (localStorage).
• Mark messages as "favorite".
• Pagination for messages.
• Responsive design for various screen sizes.
• Render attachments (images, videos) directly in message body.
• Differentiates between "read" and "unread" messages.

Backend Routes

• POST /signup: Register a new user (authController.signUp).
• POST /signin: Sign in an existing user (authController.signIn).
• POST /signout: Sign out the current user (authController.signOut).
• GET /get_presigned_url/:key: Get a presigned URL for file uploads (awsController.getPreSignedUrl).
• POST /send_message: Send a message (userController.sendMessage).
• GET /get_all_sent_messages: Get all sent messages (userController.getSentMessages).
• GET /get_all_recieved_messages: Get all received messages (userController.getRecievedMessages).
• PUT /mark_as_done/:id: Mark a message as done (userController.markAsDone).

Database Models

Cookie Data Schema

import mongoose from "mongoose";

const cookieDataSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
  email: { type: String, required: true },
  access_token: { type: String, required: true },
});

const CookieData = mongoose.model("CookieData", cookieDataSchema);
export default CookieData;

Message Schema

import mongoose from "mongoose";

const messageSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
  id: { type: mongoose.Schema.Types.ObjectId, required: true, auto: true },
  from: {
    email: { type: String, required: true },
    name: { type: String, required: true },
  },
  to: { email: { type: String, required: true } },
  subject: { type: String, required: true },
  short_description: { type: String, required: true },
  date: { type: Date, required: true },
  body: { type: String, required: true },
  attachments: [{ type: [String] }],
  isFavorite: { type: Boolean, default: false },
  isRead: { type: Boolean, default: false },
});

const Message = mongoose.model("Message", messageSchema);
export default Message;

User Data Schema

import mongoose from "mongoose";
import Message from "./MessageSchema.js";

const userDataSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
  username: { type: String, required: true },
  email: { type: String, required: true },
  password: { type: String, required: true },
  sentMessages: [{ type: mongoose.Schema.Types.ObjectId, ref: "Message", required: false, default: [] }],
  recievedMessages: [{ type: mongoose.Schema.Types.ObjectId, ref: "Message", required: false, default: [] }],
});

const UserData = mongoose.model("UserData", userDataSchema);
export default UserData;