/Talk-Time

Final Specialization project for ALX Software Engineering Program

Primary LanguageJavaScript

Talk Time

A Real-Time Chat Application

Welcome to Talk Time, a real-time chat application built using the MERN stack (MongoDB, Express.js, React.js, Node.js). Users can engage in conversations with each other seamlessly.

Tech Stack

Backend

  • Node.js and Express.js for server-side logic
  • MongoDB for database management
  • Socket.io for real-time communication
  • Bcrypt for password hashing
  • Jsonwebtoken for token-based authentication
  • Cookie-parser for cookie parsing

Frontend

  • React.js for building the user interface
  • Tailwind CSS for styling

Packages Installed

  • Express for server initialization
  • Socket.io for real-time chat functionality
  • Nodemon for automatic server restarts
  • Dotenv for environment variable management
  • Bcrypt for password hashing
  • Jsonwebtoken for token creation
  • Mongoose for MongoDB connection
  • Cookie-parser for cookie parsing

Backend Structure

Routes Folder

  • auth.routes.js: Defines authentication routes (signup, login, logout)
  • messages.routes.js: Defines message routes (api/messages/send/id)
  • user.routes.js: Defines user routes

Controllers Folder

  • auth.controller.js: Handles authentication logic (login, signup, logout)
  • messages.controller.js: Manages message-related functions (sendMessage, getMessage)
  • user.controller.js: Controls user-related functions

Database Folder

  • connectToMongoDB.js: Establishes connection to MongoDB database

Server.js

Contains all backend routes

Models Folder

  • user.model.js: Defines user schema
  • message.model.js: Defines message schema
  • conversation.model.js: Defines conversation schema

Middleware Folder

  • protectRoute.js: Protects routes from unauthorized access

Utils Folder

  • generateToken.js: Generates tokens for authentication and security

Getting Started

To run the application, follow these steps:

  1. Clone the repository git clone https://github.com/yourusername/talk-time.git cd talk-time

  2. Navigate to the frontend and backend directories and install dependencies
    cd frontend npm install
    cd backend npm install

  3. Set up environment variables

    • Create a .env file in the backend directory and configure your application settings, including MongoDB URI and JWT secret key.

  4. Start the server and client
    cd backend npm start server
    cd frontend npm start dev

  5. Access the application in your browser at http://localhost:3000

Acknowledgments

We express gratitude to the following resources which greatly contributed to the development of Talk Time:

  • Documentation from MongoDB, Express.js, React.js, and Node.js
  • Various online tutorials and guides on real-time chat application development
  • Stack Overflow community for valuable insights and solutions

Feel free to reach out with any questions or feedback!