Chat-Flow

Chat-Flow is a modern, real-time chat application built using Next.js and Firebase. It enables seamless communication through instant messaging, user authentication, and an intuitive user interface. Chat-Flow is responsive, making it accessible on both desktop and mobile devices. With features like real-time updates, user profiles, and authentication, it aims to provide an efficient and enjoyable chat experience.

Features

• Real-time Messaging: Instantly send and receive messages.
• User Authentication: Secure login and registration via Firebase Authentication.
• Responsive Design: Optimized for both desktop and mobile use.
• User Profiles: Each user has a customizable profile with settings.
• File Uploads: Seamlessly upload and share images using Cloudinary.
• User Status: Real-time online/offline status updates using Pusher.

Technologies Used

Frontend:

• Next.js: For building a server-rendered React application.
• TypeScript: Ensuring type safety and scalability.
• Tailwind CSS: For building responsive and customizable UI.
• Sadcn UI: For pre-built UI components to speed up development.

Backend:

• NextAuth: For authentication and session management.
• Prisma: An ORM to simplify database interaction.
• MongoDB: As the primary database for storing user and message data.
• Pusher JS: For real-time features like live messaging and user status updates.

File Storage:

• Cloudinary: For storing and serving uploaded images efficiently.

Environment Variables

To run this project, you will need to add the following environment variables to your .env.local file:

DATABASE_URL=<Your MongoDB connection string>
NEXTAUTH_SECRET=<A secure secret for NextAuth>
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=<Your Cloudinary Cloud Name>
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=<Your Cloudinary API Key>
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=<Your Cloudinary API Secret>
AUTH_SECRET=<Your Authentication Secret>
NEXT_PUBLIC_PUSHER_APP_ID=<Your Pusher App ID>
NEXT_PUBLIC_PUSHER_APP_KEY=<Your Pusher App Key>
PUSHER_SECRET=<Your Pusher Secret>
NEXT_PUBLIC_PUSHER_CLUSTER=<Your Pusher Cluster>
NEXT_PUBLIC_WEB_URL=<Your application's public URL>

Getting Started

To run this project locally, follow these steps:

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/vikashkhati007/Chat-Flow
   cd Chat-Flow

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Set up environment variables: Create a .env.local file and add the required environment variables listed above.

4. Run the development server:

   npm run dev

   Your app will be running at http://localhost:3000.

5. Build the project for production:

   npm run build

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to open a pull request or submit issues to improve Chat-Flow.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

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