Talksy - Real-Time Chat App

Talksy is a full-stack real-time chat application built with React, Express, Socket.io, and MongoDB. It supports user authentication, online presence, and instant messaging.

Features

• User signup, login, and profile update
• Real-time messaging with Socket.io
• Online users indicator
• Responsive UI (mobile & desktop)
• Toast notifications for actions
• Avatar/profile picture support

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React, Zustand, Vite, Socket.io-client, react-hot-toast
• Backend: Express, MongoDB, Socket.io
• Other: Cloudinary (for profile pics), dotenv, cookie-parser, cors

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js & npm
• MongoDB (local or Atlas)

Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/Brxj19/talksy.git
cd talksy

2. Install dependencies

Backend:

cd backend
npm install

Frontend:

cd ../frontend
npm install

3. Environment Variables

Create .env files in both backend and frontend folders.

Backend .env example:

PORT=5001
MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret
NODE_ENV=development
CLOUDINARY_URL=your_cloudinary_url

Frontend .env example (optional):

VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:5001/api

4. Start the servers

Backend:

npm run dev

Frontend:

npm run dev

Open http://localhost:5173 in your browser.

Project Structure

Talksy/
  backend/
    src/
      index.js
      controller/
      lib/
      middleware/
      models/
      routes/
      seeds/
  frontend/
    src/
      components/
        skeletons/
      constants/
      pages/
      store/
      lib/
      assets/
      main.jsx
    index.html

Scripts

• npm run dev - Start development server
• npm run build - Build for production

Deployment

• The backend serves the frontend build in production mode.
• Update CORS and environment variables for your deployment.

License

MIT

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**Made with ❤️ by Brxj19