Chaty 💬

A real-time chat application built with modern web technologies, featuring user authentication, email verification, and rate limiting for a secure and smooth chatting experience.

✨ Features

• Real-time messaging - Instant communication using Socket.IO
• User authentication - Secure signup and login system
• Email verification - Account verification via Resend email service
• Image sharing - Upload and share images with Cloudinary integration
• Rate limiting - Protection against spam and abuse using Arcjet
• Responsive design - Beautiful UI with Tailwind CSS and DaisyUI
• Modern interface - Clean and intuitive user experience

🚀 Tech Stack

Frontend

• HTML - Structure and markup
• Tailwind CSS - Utility-first CSS framework
• DaisyUI - Component library for Tailwind CSS

Backend

• Node.js - JavaScript runtime
• Express.js - Web application framework
• Socket.IO - Real-time bidirectional event-based communication
• MongoDB - NoSQL database for data storage
• Mongoose - MongoDB object modeling for Node.js

Services

• Resend - Email delivery service for signup verification
• Arcjet - Rate limiting and security protection
• Cloudinary - Cloud-based image and video management service

📋 Prerequisites

Before running this application, make sure you have the following installed:

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• MongoDB (running locally or MongoDB Atlas)
• npm or yarn package manager

🛠️ Installation

1. Clone the repository

   https://github.com/jeevanvishnu/Chat-App.git
   cd Chat-App

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Environment Setup

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

   # Database
   MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/chaty
   # or for MongoDB Atlas:
   # MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://username:password@cluster.mongodb.net/chaty
   
   # Server Configuration
   PORT=3000
   NODE_ENV=development
   
   # Email Service (Resend)
   RESEND_API_KEY=your_resend_api_key_here
   
   # Rate Limiting (Arcjet)
   ARCJET_KEY=your_arcjet_key_here
   
   # Cloudinary Configuration
   CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your_cloudinary_cloud_name
   CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your_cloudinary_api_key
   CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your_cloudinary_api_secret
   
   # JWT Secret (generate a secure random string)
   JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_here
   
   # App Configuration
   CLIENT_URL=http://localhost:3000

4. Start MongoDB

   Make sure MongoDB is running on your system:

   # For local MongoDB installation
   mongoose
   
   # Or if using MongoDB Atlas, ensure your connection string is correct in .env

🚀 Usage

1. Start the development server

   npm start

   or for development with auto-restart:

   npm run dev

2. Access the application

   Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:3000

3. Create an account

   • Sign up with your email address
   • Check your email for verification link
   • Verify your account and start chatting!

📁 Project Structure

chaty/
├── public/                 # Static files
│   ├── css/               # Stylesheets
│   ├── js/                # Client-side JavaScript
│   └── index.html         # Main HTML file
├── src/                   # Source code
│   ├── controllers/       # Route controllers
│   ├── middleware/        # Custom middleware
│   ├── models/            # Database models
│   ├── routes/            # API routes
│   ├── services/          # Business logic
│   └── utils/             # Utility functions
├── config/                # Configuration files
├── .env.example           # Environment variables example
├── package.json           # Dependencies and scripts
└── server.js              # Main server file

🔧 Configuration

Email Setup (Resend)

1. Sign up at Resend
2. Create an API key
3. Add the API key to your .env file
4. Configure your domain for email sending

Rate Limiting (Arcjet)

1. Sign up at Arcjet
2. Create a new project
3. Get your API key
4. Add the key to your .env file

Image Management (Cloudinary)

1. Sign up at Cloudinary
2. Go to your dashboard to find your credentials:
   • Cloud Name
   • API Key
   • API Secret
3. Add these credentials to your .env file
4. Configure upload presets if needed for additional security

Database Setup

• Local MongoDB: Ensure MongoDB is installed and running
• MongoDB Atlas: Create a cluster and get your connection string
• Mongoose: Used for elegant MongoDB object modeling and schema validation

🧪 Scripts

# Start the application
npm start

# Development mode with auto-restart
npm run dev

# Run tests (if implemented)
npm test

# Lint code (if configured)
npm run lint

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Socket.IO for real-time communication
• Tailwind CSS for styling
• DaisyUI for beautiful components
• Mongoose for MongoDB object modeling
• Resend for email services
• Cloudinary for image and media management
• Arcjet for security and rate limiting

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⭐ If you found this project helpful, please give it a star on GitHub!