LinkUp - Real-Time Chat Application

LinkUp is a modern real-time chat application built with React, Node.js, Express, MongoDB, and Socket.io. It features user authentication, profile management, real-time messaging, and a beautiful responsive UI.

Features

• User authentication (Sign up, Login, Logout)
• Profile update with avatar and bio
• Real-time messaging with Socket.io
• Online/offline user status
• Unread message count
• Image sharing in chat
• Responsive and modern UI

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React, Vite, Tailwind CSS, Axios, Socket.io-client
• Backend: Node.js, Express, MongoDB, Mongoose, Socket.io
• Cloud: Cloudinary (for image uploads)

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18 or above recommended)
• MongoDB Atlas or local MongoDB instance

1. Clone the repository

git clone <your-repo-url>
cd chat-app

2. Setup the backend

cd server
npm install

Create a .env file in the server/ folder with the following:

MONGODB_URI=<your-mongodb-uri>
PORT=5000
JWT_SECRET=<your-jwt-secret>
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=<your-cloudinary-cloud-name>
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=<your-cloudinary-api-key>
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=<your-cloudinary-api-secret>

Start the backend server:

npm run server

3. Setup the frontend

cd ../client
npm install

Create a .env file in the client/ folder with:

VITE_BACKEND_URL='http://localhost:5000'

Start the frontend dev server:

npm run dev

4. Open the app

Visit http://localhost:5173 in your browser.

Folder Structure

chat-app/
  client/      # React frontend
  server/      # Node.js/Express backend

Deployment

• You can deploy the frontend and backend separately (e.g., Vercel for frontend, Render/Heroku for backend).
• Make sure to update the environment variables for production.

License

This project is for learning and portfolio purposes.

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Made with ❤️ using React, Node.js, and Socket.io