NetSpeak

The Old-School Chatroom. 💀The ghost of 90s chat is a persistent, real-time Node.js/WebSocket service with a pixel-perfect, haunted UI. No accounts, just dread! Built with Kiro to enforce the strict🎃

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💀 NetSpeak: The Old-School Chatroom 🎃

Presented by Akash , Solo Developer.

The Inspiration (Kiroween Challenges)

Modern chat is just too easy, don't you think? Our vision for NetSpeak was born from the Kiroween challenge categories, combining two specific objectives:

  1. Resurrection: Bringing the "no-account, no-fuss" spirit of 90s chatrooms back to life using modern WebSockets.
  2. Costume Contest: Creating an unforgettable, haunting user interface with a pixel-perfect Windows 95 theme and spicy Halloween flair.

This blend inspired this solo developer to create a functional, persistent, real-time chat service that is both technically robust and deeply nostalgic.

The Core Technology (Node.js & WebSockets)

NetSpeak is a high-performance, minimalist, full-stack application built using Node.js and Express, with communication handled by pure WebSockets. This allows for true bidirectional, low-latency messaging—eliminating the lag and heavy overhead of traditional HTTP polling. Our architecture is designed to be lean, fast, and volatile, proving that simplicity can be powerful.

Next-Level Kiro Implementation & Resilience

I genuinely loved working with Kiro, and it inspired me to build features beyond my initial scope, particularly a more advanced chat handling mechanism. Kiro became the backbone of my solo development process:

  • Constraint-Based Steering: I used my ./.kiro/steering/rules.md to enforce severe aesthetic and technical limits (NO databases, ONLY pure CSS). This forced Kiro to deliver creative solutions that fit our Resurrection theme, proving a next-level understanding of its agentic power.
  • The Ultimate Test: Our project survived total disaster! When a major Git error wiped my working history, Kiro's internal logging allowed me to perform a surgical recovery using the git reflog command . This recovery process showcased advanced Git and Kiro mastery under intense hackathon pressure.

I look forward to adopting Kiro for all my future projects, as it proved to be a critical partner in both creation and survival!

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