A modern real-time chat application built with React, Node.js, Express, MongoDB, and Socket.IO.
The app features real-time messaging, user authentication, profile management, and a responsive UI.

• Frontend (Render): Chat App Frontend
• Backend (Render): Chat App Backend

• Real-time messaging interface
• Responsive design for all devices
• Secure user authentication and session management
• Profile editing and user search functionality
• Loading indicators and smooth UX transitions

• User registration and login (JWT + secure cookies)
• Email existence checking
• Profile update and user search APIs
• Secure password hashing using bcryptjs
• Real-time communication with Socket.IO
• MongoDB database for persistent storage

• Frontend: React, Redux, Socket.IO Client
• Backend: Node.js, Express.js, MongoDB, Mongoose, Socket.IO, JWT, bcryptjs
• Deployment: Vercel (Frontend), Render (Backend)

client/ ├── public/ │ └── static assets (favicon, manifest, etc.) ├── src/ │ ├── assets/ (audio, videos, images) │ ├── components/ (UI components like Avatar, SearchUser, Sidebar) │ ├── helper/ (helper functions like uploadFile.js) │ ├── layout/ (application layouts) │ ├── pages/ (major pages like Home, Register, ForgotPassword) │ ├── redux/ (store and userSlice) │ ├── routers/ (application routing) │ ├── App.js / App.css / index.js ├── .env ├── package.json └── README.md 

server/ ├── config/ (MongoDB connection setup) ├── controller/ (request handlers: register, login, logout, update user) ├── helpers/ (utility functions) ├── models/ (Mongoose models for User and Conversation) ├── routes/ (API routes) ├── socket/ (Socket.IO server handling) ├── .env ├── index.js └── README.md 

• Authenticated Socket.IO connections using JWT tokens.
• Event-driven architecture for sending and receiving messages.
• Conversations are saved in MongoDB for persistence.

• Node.js (v14 or newer)
• npm (v6 or newer)
• MongoDB (local or Atlas)

1. Navigate to the client folder:

   cd client

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Run the app:

   npm start

   Access it at: http://localhost:3000

1. Navigate to the server folder:

   cd server

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Create a .env file in the /server directory:

   FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:3000 MONGO_URI=your-mongodb-uri PORT=8080 JWT_SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key 

4. Run the server:

   npm start # or node index.js

   Backend will run on http://localhost:8080

• Frontend and backend must be served over HTTPS in production.
• Configure cookies with SameSite=None; Secure for cross-site authentication.
• Update .env variables before deploying to Vercel and Render.

• React Documentation
• Create React App Docs
• Express.js Documentation
• MongoDB Documentation
• Socket.IO Documentation

This project is licensed under the MIT License.