MERN Chat-App Website

This project is a real-time chat application built using the MERN (MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node.js) stack. It allows users to create accounts, join chat rooms, and engage in real-time conversations with other users.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Demo
• Setup
• Usage
• File Structure
• Contributing
• License

Features

• User authentication and authorization system.
• Create and join chat rooms for real-time conversations.
• Send and receive messages instantly within a chat room.
• Notification system for new messages.

Demo

Link to Demo

Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/gauravbhaskar080/Chat-App.git

2. Install dependencies:

   Navigate to the project directory and run:

   cd Chat-App
   
   cd frontend
   npm install
   cd backend
   npm install

3. Set up MongoDB:

   • Create a .env file in the root directory and add your MongoDB URL:

     MONGO_URI = 'your_mongo_db_url'
     JWT_SECRET = 'your_jwt_secret'
     PORT = 5000
     

Usage

1. Start the server:

   In a new terminal window, navigate to the backend directory and run:

   cd backend
   npm start

   The server will start at http://localhost:5000.

2. Start the client:

   In a new terminal window, navigate to the frontend directory and run:

   cd frontend
   npm start

   The client will start at http://localhost:3000.

3. Access the website:

   Open a web browser and go to http://localhost:3000.

File Structure

• frontend/: Contains the React frontend.
  • public/: Holds static files like CSS, images, and JavaScript.
  • src/: Contains the main source code.
    • components/: React components used in the application.
    • animations/: Animations used for UI elements.
    • config/: Configuration files.
    • context/: React context providers.
    • Pages/: Different pages of the application.
    • App.js: The main application component.
    • index.js: Entry point of the React application.
    • theme.js: Contains theme-related styling.
• backend/: Contains the Node.js backend.
  • config/: Configuration files.
  • controllers/: Controllers for handling routes and data.
  • data/: Sample data for initial setup.
  • middleware/: Custom middleware functions.
  • models/: Mongoose models for MongoDB.
  • public/: Static files.
  • routes/: Express.js route handlers.
  • server.js: Entry point of the Node.js application.
  • .env: Configuration file for environment variables.

Contributing

If you'd like to contribute to this project, please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch for your feature or bug fix.
3. Make your changes and commit them with descriptive messages.
4. Push your changes to your forked repository.
5. Create a pull request to the original repository.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. Feel free to use, modify, and distribute the code for your own purposes.

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