Chirp Social Media Platform

A Django-based microservice for a simple social media platform called Chirp.

Features

• 📝 Post and view statuses (posts) with 280 character limit
• 👥 Create and manage groups with admin/member roles
• 📧 Send group invitations and manage memberships
• 💬 Post messages in groups with permission controls
• 📩 Send direct messages with privacy protection
• 🔐 JWT-based authentication and authorization
• 🏥 Health check endpoint for server monitoring.

Project Structure

• chirp/ - Main Django project settings, URLs, and JWT utilities
• posts/ - Status (post) related logic and API endpoints
• groups/ - Group management logic with permission system
• dmessages/ - Direct messaging logic with privacy controls
• */tests/ - Comprehensive tests

Technology Stack

• Backend: Django 5.2.3, Django REST Framework
• Database: PostgreSQL (recommended) / SQLite (development)
• Authentication: JWT tokens with HS256 algorithm
• Testing: Django TestCase, APIClient

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• PostgreSQL 12+ (for production)
• Git

Setup Instructions

1. Clone the Repository

git clone git@github.com:opencrafts-io/chirp_backend.git
cd chirp

2. Set Up Virtual Environment

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv

# Activate virtual environment
source venv/bin/activate  # On Linux/Mac
# or
venv\Scripts\activate     # On Windows

3. Install Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Database Setup

For Production (PostgreSQL)

1. Install PostgreSQL
2. Start PostgreSQL service
3. Create database and user

In PostgreSQL shell:

CREATE DATABASE chirp_db;
CREATE USER chirp_user WITH PASSWORD 'your_secure_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE chirp_db TO chirp_user;
ALTER USER chirp_user CREATEDB;
\q

For Development (SQLite)

SQLite is configured by default and requires no additional setup.

5. Environment Configuration

Create a .env file in the project root

6. Database Migration

python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate

7. Start the Server

python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000

8. Verify Server is Running

Test the health check endpoint:

curl http://localhost:8000/ping/
# Expected response: {"message": "Bang."}

API Endpoints

Authentication

All endpoints except /ping/ require JWT authentication:

Authorization: Bearer <jwt_token>

Main Endpoints

• GET /ping/ - Health check (no auth required)
• GET|POST /statuses/ - View/create posts
• GET|POST /groups/ - View/create groups
• GET /groups/discover/ - Discover all available groups with membership status
• POST /groups/{group_name}/join/ - Join a group
• POST /groups/{group_name}/leave/ - Leave a group
• POST /groups/{group_name}/add_member/ - Add member to group (admin only)
• POST /groups/{group_name}/invite/ - Invite user to group (admin only)
• POST /groups/accept_invite/{invite_id}/ - Accept group invitation
• GET|POST /groups/{group_name}/posts/ - View/create group posts
• GET|POST /messages/ - View/send direct messages

Example Usage

# Health check
curl http://localhost:8000/ping/

# Create post (requires JWT)
curl -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer <jwt_token>" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"content": "Hello, Chirp!"}' \
     http://localhost:8000/statuses/

# Discover all groups
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer <jwt_token>" \
     http://localhost:8000/groups/discover/

# Join a group
curl -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer <jwt_token>" \
     http://localhost:8000/groups/my-group/join/

# Leave a group
curl -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer <jwt_token>" \
     http://localhost:8000/groups/my-group/leave/

Testing

Comprehensive Test Suite

The project includes tests:

• Model Tests
• Serializer Tests
• View Tests
• Endpoint Tests
• Middleware Tests
• Integration Tests

Running Tests

# Run all tests
python manage.py test

# Run specific app tests
python manage.py test posts.tests
python manage.py test groups.tests
python manage.py test dmessages.tests

# Run with verbose output
python manage.py test --verbosity=2

# Run specific test categories
python manage.py test posts.tests.test_models
python manage.py test groups.tests.test_endpoints
python manage.py test chirp.tests.test_middleware

Development Workflow

1. Create Feature Branch

git checkout -b feature/new-feature

2. Write Tests First (TDD)

# Add tests to appropriate test file
python manage.py test path.to.new.tests

3. Implement Feature

# Write code to make tests pass
python manage.py test

4. Run Full Test Suite

python manage.py test --verbosity=2

5. Commit Changes

git add .
git commit -m "Add new feature with tests"

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Database Connection: Ensure PostgreSQL is running and credentials are correct
2. JWT Errors: Check JWT_TEST_SECRET in settings
3. Test Failures: Run tests individually to isolate issues
4. Migration Errors: Reset database with python manage.py migrate --run-syncdb

API Documentation

• OpenAPI spec available in chirp_openapi.json
• Import into Postman or Swagger UI for interactive testing

Production Deployment

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create feature branch
3. Write tests for new functionality
4. Ensure all tests pass
5. Submit pull request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

---

For more details, see the code in each app's directory and test suites.