Real Time Chat App

• A real-time chat application built with the MERN stack (MongoDB, Express.js, React.js, Node.js) using Socket.IO for live messaging and JWT authentication for secure login/signup.
• This project provides a full-stack solution with real-time messaging, online user presence, and a modern React UI styled using TailwindCSS + DaisyUI.

Tech Stack

Layer	Tech
Backend	Node.js, Express, Socket.IO, JWT
Database	MongoDB (Atlas or local)
Frontend	React, Zustand, Socket.IO client
UI Styling	TailwindCSS + DaisyUI

Features:

• Authentication && Authorization with JWT
• Real-time messaging with Socket.io
• Online user status (Socket.io and React Context)
• Global state management with Zustand
• Error handling both on the server and on the client

Prequisites

Make sure you have the following installed:

• Node.js (v14+)
• npm or yarn
• MongoDB (local or Atlas)

Setup .env file inside backend/ with

PORT=5000
MONGO_DB_URI=your_mongo_connection_string
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret
NODE_ENV=development

Run Backend Server

npm run dev

Start Frontend

npm start

This will start the server at http://localhost:3000.