Callu

Callu is a real-time community platform with:

• a Next.js web app
• a Node/Express-style server entrypoint for sockets and background tasks
• an Electron/Vite desktop app in callu-desktop/

Requirements

• Node.js 20+
• npm 10+
• MongoDB
• Resend account for email delivery
• ImageKit account for chat uploads

Setup

npm install

Create a .env file in the repository root with the needed values:

MONGODB_URI=
NEXT_PUBLIC_URL=
ADMIN_ID=
ADMIN_PASSWORD=
RESEND_API_KEY=
RESEND_FROM_EMAIL=
OTP_BCC_EMAIL=
IMAGEKIT_PUBLIC_KEY=
IMAGEKIT_PRIVATE_KEY=
IMAGEKIT_URL_ENDPOINT=
GH_TOKEN=

NEXT_PUBLIC_URL should point to the deployed web app in production.

Scripts

Root app

• npm run dev - start the web app and server in development
• npm run build - build the Next.js app and compile server.ts
• npm run start - start the compiled server
• npm run lint - run ESLint
• npm run seed - seed the database

Desktop app

From callu-desktop/:

• npm run dev - start the Vite app
• npm run build - build the web bundle and Electron TypeScript
• npm run electron:dev - run Vite and Electron together
• npm run electron:build - create a packaged desktop build

Project structure

• app/ - Next.js routes, API routes, and dashboard pages
• components/ - shared React components
• context/ - client state providers
• lib/ - server utilities, database, and email helpers
• models/ - MongoDB models
• public/ - static assets
• server.ts - custom server bootstrap
• callu-desktop/ - desktop application source

Local development

1. Start MongoDB.
2. Set the environment variables above.
3. Run npm run dev.
4. Open http://localhost:3000.

Deployment

The repository includes render.yaml for Render deployment. Make sure the production environment sets the same variables listed above.