MERN Stack Real-Time Chat Application

This project is a full-stack real-time chat application built with the MERN stack. The frontend is created using React, the backend with Express and Node.js, Socket.IO is used for real-time communication, and MongoDB is the database.

Live Demo

The application is deployed and available at: Chat App

Features

• Real-time messaging with Socket.IO
• User authentication using JWT
• Password hashing with bcryptjs
• Responsive design for mobile and desktop

Getting Started

Follow the steps below to set up the project locally.

Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following installed:

• Node.js (https://nodejs.org/)
• MongoDB (https://www.mongodb.com/)
• Git (https://git-scm.com/)

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Sithum-Bimsara/Mern-Chat-App.git
   cd chat-app-yt

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install
   cd frontend
   npm install

3. Create a .env file in the backend directory with the following variables:

   PORT=5000
   MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
   JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret
   NODE_ENV = development

4. Start the application:

   • Run the backend server:

     npm run server

   • Run the frontend:

     cd frontend
     npm start

Scripts

• npm run server: Starts the backend server with Nodemon.
• npm start: Starts the backend server.
• npm run build: Installs dependencies and builds the frontend.

Dependencies

Backend

• bcryptjs: For password hashing.
• cookie-parser: To parse cookies in HTTP requests.
• dotenv: To manage environment variables.
• express: Web framework for Node.js.
• jsonwebtoken: To generate and verify JSON Web Tokens.
• mongoose: For interacting with MongoDB.
• socket.io: For real-time communication.

Dev Dependencies

• nodemon: For hot-reloading the backend server during development.

Deployment

The application is deployed on Render. To deploy your own version:

1. Set up a MongoDB instance (e.g., MongoDB Atlas).
2. Push your repository to a platform like GitHub.
3. Create a Render account and connect your repository.
4. Configure environment variables on Render.

Contributing

Feel free to fork this repository and submit pull requests. Contributions are welcome!

License

This project is licensed under the ISC License.