GuffGaff

A real-time chat application built with Django Channels, featuring WebSocket-based messaging, friend management, and group chat capabilities.

🌟 Features

Real-Time Communication

• Instant Messaging: WebSocket-powered real-time message delivery
• Typing Indicators: See when others are typing
• Read Receipts: Track message read status
• Online Status: Real-time user presence indicators
• Requests Notification: Real-time notifications for friend requests

Chat Capabilities

• Private Chats: One-on-one conversations with friends
• Group Chats: Create and manage group conversations
  • Group admin controls
  • Member management (add/remove members)
  • Custom group icons
• Message Features:
  • Text messages
  • File uploads and sharing
  • Image preview support
  • Message editing and deletion
  • Recovery options

Social Features

• Friend System: Send, accept, and manage friend requests
• User Profiles: Customizable profiles with avatars
• Notifications: Real-time notifications for messages and friend requests

User Experience

• Modern UI: Clean, responsive design with dark mode support
• Toast Notifications: Non-intrusive status updates
• Unread Message Badges: Visual indicators for unread content
• Mobile Responsive: Works seamlessly on all device sizes

🛠️ Technology Stack

Backend

• Django 5.2.1: Web framework
• Django Channels 4.2.2: WebSocket support
• Daphne: ASGI server
• Redis: Channel layer backend for WebSocket communication
• Pillow: Image processing for avatars and group icons

Frontend

• Vanilla JavaScript: No framework dependencies
• WebSocket API: Real-time bidirectional communication
• Modern CSS: Custom styling with CSS variables for theming

Infrastructure

• Docker: Containerization for easy deployment
• Docker Compose: Multi-container orchestration
• SQLite: Default database (PostgreSQL-ready)

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+
• Redis server
• pip (Python package manager)

Local Development Setup

1. Clone the repository

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd chatApp

2. Create and activate virtual environment

   python -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install dependencies

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Start Redis server

   redis-server

5. Run migrations

   python manage.py migrate

6. Create a superuser (optional)

   python manage.py createsuperuser

7. Run the development server

   python manage.py runserver

8. Access the application

   • Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:8000
   • Register a new account or login with your superuser credentials

🐳 Docker Deployment

Using Docker Compose (Recommended)

1. Copy environment template

   cp .env.example .env

2. Edit .env file with your configuration

   # Generate a new SECRET_KEY for production
   SECRET_KEY=your-secure-secret-key-here
   DEBUG=False
   ALLOWED_HOSTS=yourdomain.com,www.yourdomain.com
   CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS=https://yourdomain.com,https://www.yourdomain.com

3. Build and start containers

   docker-compose up -d --build

4. Run migrations (first time only)

   docker-compose exec web python manage.py migrate

5. Create superuser (optional)

   docker-compose exec web python manage.py createsuperuser

6. Access the application

   • Navigate to http://localhost:8000

Docker Commands

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f web

# Stop containers
docker-compose down

# Restart containers
docker-compose restart

# Rebuild after code changes
docker-compose up -d --build

🔧 Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
SECRET_KEY	Django secret key	Development key (change in production)
DEBUG	Debug mode	True
ALLOWED_HOSTS	Allowed host headers	*
REDIS_HOST	Redis server host	127.0.0.1 (or redis in Docker)
REDIS_PORT	Redis server port	6379
CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS	Trusted origins for CSRF	Empty

Key Models

• CustomUser: Extended user model with avatar and online status
• ChatRoom: Base model for all chat rooms
• PrivateChat: One-on-one conversations
• GroupChat: Multi-user group conversations
• Message: Chat messages with file support
• MessageReadStatus: Read receipt tracking

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

TODOS:

• Voice/ Video calls with WebRTC

📝 License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.