💬 Real-Time Chat Application (MERN Stack)

A full-stack real-time chat application built using the MERN stack with modern technologies like Socket.io, JWT Authentication, and Zustand.

🔗 Live Demo: https://chat-app-uiqr.onrender.com

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🚀 Features

• 🔐 Authentication & Authorization

  • Secure login/signup using JWT

• 💬 Real-Time Messaging

  • Instant messaging powered by Socket.io

• 🟢 Online User Status

  • See who is online in real-time

• 🧠 Global State Management

  • Managed efficiently using Zustand

• ⚙️ Error Handling

  • Robust error handling on both client & server

• 🎨 Modern UI

  • Built with TailwindCSS + DaisyUI

• 🚀 Deployment

  • Fully deployed on Render

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🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend:

• React.js
• Zustand
• TailwindCSS
• Daisy UI

Backend:

• Node.js
• Express.js
• MongoDB
• Socket.io
• JWT (Authentication)

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📂 Project Structure

client/     → Frontend (React + Zustand)
server/     → Backend (Node + Express + MongoDB + Socket.io)

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⚡ Getting Started

1️⃣ Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/your-username/your-repo-name.git
cd your-repo-name

2️⃣ Setup Backend

cd server
npm install
npm run dev

3️⃣ Setup Frontend

cd client
npm install
npm run dev

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🔑 Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the server folder and add:

PORT=5000
MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
JWT_SECRET=your_secret_key

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🎯 Key Learnings

• Implemented real-time communication using WebSockets
• Understood JWT-based authentication flow
• Managed global state with Zustand
• Learned full-stack deployment on Render
• Improved debugging and error handling skills

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to fork this repo and improve it.

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📬 Contact

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to reach out.

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⭐ If you like this project, give it a star!