A real-time chat application built with React and Socket.io, featuring secure authentication and room-based messaging.

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• npm

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Install client dependencies
cd client && npm install

# Install server dependencies  
cd ../server && npm install

# Start the server (from server directory)
cd server && npm start

# Start the client (from client directory)
cd ../client && npm start

• 🔐 Secure authentication with JWT tokens
• 💬 Real-time messaging with Socket.io
• 🏠 Public and private chat rooms
• 🔒 Room-based permissions
• 👥 User management
• 📱 Responsive design

• bcrypt password hashing with salt rounds
• JWT token authentication
• Socket.io authentication middleware
• Room-based authorization

Create .env files in both client and server directories:

Server (.env):

JWT_SECRET=your-jwt-secret-key
SESSION_SECRET=your-session-secret-key
CLIENT_URL=http://localhost:3000

Client (.env):

REACT_APP_SERVER_URL=http://localhost:5000

Comprehensive documentation is available in the /documents folder (excluded from version control).

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Submit a pull request

MIT License