💬 Chatty - Real-time Messaging Platform

A full-stack real-time chat application built with modern web technologies. Features instant messaging, offline support, typing indicators, and seamless message synchronization across devices.

🚀 Features

💻 Core Functionality

• Real-time Messaging - Instant message delivery with WebSocket connections
• Typing Indicators - See when others are typing in real-time
• Online Presence - Live user status updates
• File Sharing - Image uploads with Cloudinary integration
• Responsive Design - Works seamlessly on desktop and mobile

🛡️ Reliability & Performance

• Offline Message Queuing - Messages are stored locally and sent when back online
• Automatic Retry Logic - Failed messages retry with exponential backoff
• Infinite Scroll Pagination - Smooth loading of large chat histories
• Virtual Scrolling - Optimized performance for thousands of messages
• Cursor-based Pagination - Efficient database queries for message history

🔒 Security & Architecture

• JWT Authentication - Secure login with token rotation
• End-to-end Type Safety - TypeScript across frontend and backend
• Input Validation - Comprehensive validation on client and server
• Rate Limiting - Protection against abuse and DDoS attacks

🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend

• React 18 with TypeScript
• Zustand for state management
• Socket.IO Client for real-time communication
• Tailwind CSS for styling
• React Router for navigation
• Axios for API calls

Backend

• Node.js with Express
• Socket.IO for WebSocket connections
• MongoDB with Mongoose
• JWT for authentication
• Cloudinary for file storage
• bcryptjs for password hashing

DevOps & Tools

• TypeScript end-to-end
• ESLint & Prettier for code quality
• React Hot Toast for notifications
• Lucide React for icons

📦 Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js 16+
• MongoDB 4.4+
• npm or yarn