Real-Time Chat Application

This is a real-time chat application built using React, Node.js, Express, and Socket.io. This application allows users to join chat rooms and exchange messages in real-time.

Features

• User Authentication: Users can create accounts and log in to access chat rooms.
• Real-Time Messaging: Messages are delivered instantly to all users in the same chat room.
• Multiple Chat Rooms: Users can join different chat rooms and switch between them.
• User Online Status: Users can see who is online in the chat room.
• Emoji Support: Users can use emojis in their messages.

Technologies Used

Frontend

• React: A JavaScript library for building user interfaces.
• Socket.io-client: A JavaScript library for real-time web applications, used to communicate with the server.
• React Router: Used for routing within the React application.
• Axios: Used for making HTTP requests to the server.
• CSS: Styling of the application.

Backend

• Node.js: A JavaScript runtime environment for running server-side applications.
• Express.js: A web application framework for Node.js.
• Socket.io: A library for real-time, bidirectional communication between web clients and servers.
• JSON Web Tokens (JWT): Used for user authentication and authorization.
• MongoDB: A NoSQL database for storing user information and chat messages.

Installation and Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js and npm (Node Package Manager) installed.
• MongoDB installed and running.

Frontend

Clone this repository: git clone https://github.com/yourusername/real-time-chat-app.git Navigate to the client directory:

cd client Install dependencies: npm install

Rename the .env.example file to .env and update the necessary environment variables such as the API URL.

Start the React development server: npm start

The application should now be running at http://localhost:3000.

Backend

Navigate to the server directory: cd server

Install dependencies:

npm install

Rename the .env.example file to .env and update the necessary environment variables such as the MongoDB connection string and JWT secret key.

Start the Node.js server: npm start The server should now be running at http://localhost:5000.

Usage

Register for an account or log in. Create or join a chat room. Start sending and receiving real-time messages. Contributing If you'd like to contribute to this project, please follow these guidelines:

Fork the repository.

Create a new branch for your feature or bug fix. Make your changes and test thoroughly. Create a pull request with a clear description of the changes. License This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE.md file for details.

Acknowledgments Special thanks to the creators of React, Node.js, Express, and Socket.io for their amazing tools and libraries.