Text Chat App

A modern, real-time chat application built with Node.js, Express, and Socket.io. Users can create rooms, chat in real-time, and see typing indicators.

Features

• ✨ Real-time messaging with WebSocket
• 👥 Multiple chat rooms
• 📝 Live typing indicators
• 👤 User presence tracking
• 📱 Responsive design
• 🎨 Modern UI with gradient design
• 🔒 XSS protection

Getting Started

Prerequisites

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

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/Obaego12-debug/Text-.git
cd Text-

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Create a .env file:

cp .env.example .env

4. Configure .env if needed (default settings work for local development)

Running the App

Development mode (with auto-reload):

npm run dev

Production mode:

npm start

The app will start on http://localhost:3000 by default.

Testing the Chat

1. Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser
2. Enter a username
3. Enter a room ID (e.g., "general", "tech", "random")
4. Click "Join Room"
5. Open another browser tab/window and repeat steps 2-4 with the same room ID
6. Start chatting!

Project Structure

src/
  ├── server.js          Main application with Socket.io setup
public/
  ├── index.html         Chat UI
  ├── styles.css         CSS styling
  ├── chat.js            Client-side Socket.io logic
.env.example             Environment variables template
.gitignore              Git ignore rules
.eslintrc.json          ESLint configuration
package.json            Project configuration
README.md               This file

API Endpoints

REST API

• GET /api/health — Server health check
• GET /api/rooms — List all active chat rooms
• GET /api/users — List all connected users

Socket.io Events

Client → Server:

• join_room — Join a chat room with username
• send_message — Send a message to the room
• typing — Notify that user is typing
• leave_room — Leave current room

Server → Client:

• user_joined — User joined the room
• receive_message — New message received
• user_typing — User is typing indicator
• user_left — User left the room
• user_disconnected — User disconnected

Development

Linting

npm run lint

Testing

npm test

Environment Variables

PORT=3000              # Server port
NODE_ENV=development   # Node environment

Technologies Used

• Express.js — Web framework
• Socket.io — Real-time WebSocket communication
• dotenv — Environment configuration
• nodemon — Development auto-reload
• ESLint — Code linting
• Jest — Testing framework

Future Enhancements

• User authentication with JWT
• Message persistence (MongoDB/PostgreSQL)
• Private direct messages
• User profiles and avatars
• Message reactions and editing
• File sharing
• Message search
• Voice/video chat

Contributing

Feel free to submit issues and enhancement requests!

License

MIT License

Support

For issues and questions, please create an issue on GitHub.