Convox - Real-Time Chat Application

A modern, real-time chat application built with Node.js, Express, Socket.io, MongoDB, and React.

🚀 Features

• Real-time messaging with Socket.io
• User authentication and registration
• Live chat rooms with instant message delivery
• Modern React UI with responsive design
• Redux state management for efficient data handling
• Real-time notifications for new messages
• User online/offline status

🛠️ Tech Stack

Backend

• Node.js - Runtime environment
• Express.js - Web framework
• Socket.io - Real-time communication
• MongoDB - Database
• JWT - Authentication

Frontend

• React - UI library
• Vite - Build tool
• Redux Toolkit - State management
• Socket.io Client - Real-time client
• CSS3 - Styling

📁 Project Structure

Convox/
├── backend/                 # Backend server
│   ├── config/             # Database configuration
│   ├── controllers/        # Route controllers
│   ├── middleware/         # Authentication middleware
│   ├── models/             # Database models
│   ├── routes/             # API routes
│   ├── socket/             # Socket.io configuration
│   └── index.js            # Server entry point
├── frontend/               # React application
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/     # React components
│   │   ├── hooks/          # Custom React hooks
│   │   ├── redux/          # Redux store and slices
│   │   └── config.js       # Configuration
│   └── package.json
└── README.md

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• MongoDB
• npm or yarn

Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/PankajSingh34/Convox.git
   cd Convox

2. Install backend dependencies

   cd backend
   npm install

3. Install frontend dependencies

   cd ../frontend
   npm install

4. Set up environment variables Create a .env file in the backend directory:

   MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
   JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret
   PORT=5000

5. Start the backend server

   cd backend
   npm start

6. Start the frontend development server

   cd frontend
   npm run dev

7. Open your browser Navigate to http://localhost:5173 (or the port shown in your terminal)

📱 Usage

1. Register a new account or Login with existing credentials
2. Start chatting with other users in real-time
3. Send messages that appear instantly for all online users
4. See who's online and their current status

🔧 API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /api/users/register - User registration
• POST /api/users/login - User login

Messages

• GET /api/messages - Get all messages
• POST /api/messages - Send a new message

Socket Events

• connection - User connects
• disconnect - User disconnects
• sendMessage - Send a message
• newMessage - Receive a new message

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

👨‍💻 Author

Pankaj Singh

• GitHub: @PankajSingh34

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Socket.io for real-time communication
• React team for the amazing UI library
• MongoDB for the database solution
• Express.js for the robust backend framework

---

⭐ Star this repository if you find it helpful!