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EchoLine

A full-stack real-time messaging platform with WebSocket communication, file uploads, and a sleek UI.

Live Demo

https://chat-app-roan-psi.vercel.app

✨ Features

  • ⚡ Real-time messaging with Socket.io
  • 🔔 In-app notifications system
  • 📁 File uploads and sharing via Cloudinary
  • 🔒 Secure authentication with NextAuth.js
  • 👤 User presence indicators and typing status
  • 🎨 Modern UI with Tailwind CSS and Shadcn UI
  • 📱 Responsive design for mobile and desktop
  • 🔍 Message search and history

🏗️ Project Architecture

Client-Server Architecture

EchoLine uses a separated architecture with:

  • Next.js Frontend: Handles UI, authentication, and API routes
  • Express Socket.io Server: Manages real-time communication

This separation allows for independent scaling and deployment of each component.

🔄 Real-time Communication Flow

sequenceDiagram
    participant Client1 as User 1
    participant NextJS as Next.js App
    participant Socket as Socket.io Server
    participant Client2 as User 2

    Client1->>NextJS: Send message
    NextJS->>NextJS: Store in PostgreSQL
    NextJS->>Socket: Emit message event
    Socket->>Client2: Broadcast message
    Socket->>Client2: Send typing notification
    Client2->>Socket: Acknowledge receipt
    Socket->>Client1: Deliver receipt status
Loading

🛡️ Authentication Flow

EchoLine uses NextAuth.js for secure authentication with:

  • Email/password authentication
  • Google OAuth (optional)
  • Session-based authentication
  • Secure password hashing with Argon2

💾 Database Schema

Core Entities

  • User: User profiles and authentication
  • Room: Chat rooms (private or group)
  • Message: Individual messages with content and metadata
  • Notification: System and user notifications

Key Relationships

  • Users participate in multiple Rooms
  • Rooms contain multiple Messages
  • Messages generate Notifications

🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend

  • Next.js 15 (App Router)
  • React 19
  • TypeScript
  • Tailwind CSS
  • Zustand (State Management)
  • React Query / TanStack Query
  • Socket.io Client
  • Framer Motion (Animations)
  • Cloudinary (File Storage)

Backend

  • Node.js
  • Express
  • Socket.io
  • PostgreSQL
  • Prisma ORM
  • NextAuth.js

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 18+ and npm
  • PostgreSQL database
  • Cloudinary account (for file uploads)

Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/elitebot47/EchoLine.git
cd EchoLine

2. Set up the client

cd client
npm install

# Create .env.local file with:
cp .env.example .env.local
# Edit .env.local with your credentials

3. Set up the database

# In the client directory
npx prisma migrate dev
npx prisma generate

4. Set up the server

cd ../server
npm install

5. Start the development servers

In one terminal (client):

cd client
npm run dev

In another terminal (server):

cd server
npm run dev

🔐 Environment Variables

Client Environment Setup (.env.local)

Create a .env.local file in the client directory with the following variables:

# Database Connection
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://username:password@localhost:5432/echoline"

# NextAuth Authentication
AUTH_SECRET="your-nextauth-secret-key"
NEXTAUTH_URL="http://localhost:3000"

# Google OAuth (Optional - for Google Sign-in)
AUTH_GOOGLE_ID="your-google-client-id"
AUTH_GOOGLE_SECRET="your-google-client-secret"

# Cloudinary Configuration (File Storage)
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME="your-cloud-name"
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY="your-api-key"
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET="your-api-secret"

# Cloudinary Upload Presets
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLOUDINARY_UPLOAD_PRESET_ROOM_IMAGE="preset-for-room-images"
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLOUDINARY_UPLOAD_PRESET_ROOM_DOCUMENT="preset-for-documents"
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLOUDINARY_UPLOAD_PRESET_USER_AVATAR="preset-for-avatars"

# Socket.io Server URL
NEXT_PUBLIC_SOCKET_URL="http://localhost:3001"

Server Environment Setup (.env)

Create a .env file in the server directory with:

# Server Configuration
PORT=3001

# CORS Origins (comma-separated)
ALLOWED_ORIGINS="http://localhost:3000,https://your-production-domain.com"

Environment Variable Details

Variable Description Required
DATABASE_URL PostgreSQL connection string Yes
AUTH_SECRET Secret key for NextAuth session encryption Yes
NEXTAUTH_URL Full URL of your Next.js application Yes
AUTH_GOOGLE_ID Google OAuth client ID For Google login
AUTH_GOOGLE_SECRET Google OAuth client secret For Google login
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME Your Cloudinary cloud name Yes
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY Cloudinary API key Yes
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET Cloudinary API secret Yes
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLOUDINARY_UPLOAD_PRESET_* Upload presets for different file types Yes
NEXT_PUBLIC_SOCKET_URL URL for Socket.io server Yes
PORT Server port (server only) Yes
ALLOWED_ORIGINS CORS allowed origins (server only) Yes

Setting Up Cloudinary Upload Presets

  1. Log in to your Cloudinary Console
  2. Navigate to Settings > Upload
  3. Scroll down to "Upload presets" and click "Add upload preset"
  4. Create three presets with appropriate settings:
    • One for room images
    • One for documents
    • One for user avatars
  5. Copy the preset names to your environment variables

🔧 Code Quality & Linting

EchoLine maintains high code quality standards with:

# Run ESLint
npm run lint

# Fix ESLint issues
npm run lint:fix

# Format code with Prettier
npm run format

ESLint Configuration

The project uses ESLint with custom rules for React, TypeScript, and Next.js to ensure code quality and consistency.

Prettier Configuration

Code formatting is standardized using Prettier with the following settings:

{
  "singleQuote": true,
  "jsxSingleQuote": true,
  "tabWidth": 2,
  "semi": true
}

REST API Endpoints

The application provides the following API endpoints:

GET /api/users - Get all users
GET /api/users/:id - Get user by ID
POST /api/rooms - Create a new chat room
GET /api/rooms/:id/messages - Get messages for a room
POST /api/messages - Send a new message

Open the App

Go to http://localhost:3000 in your browser to use the application.

(Optional) Seed the Database

If you have a seed script, you can run it to populate your database with initial data:

npx prisma db seed

🚀 Deployment

Frontend Deployment (Next.js)

  1. Vercel (Recommended)

    vercel

  2. Netlify

    netlify deploy

Backend Deployment (Socket.io Server)

  1. Render

    • Connect your GitHub repository
    • Set build command: npm install && npm run build
    • Set start command: npm start

  2. Railway

    railway up

  3. Fly.io

    fly launch
fly deploy

🔮 Future Roadmap

  • End-to-end encryption
  • Protected socket.io backend with JWT
  • Message reactions and emoji support
  • Message search and filtering

License

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