A modern, full-stack real-time chat application built with React, Express, MongoDB, Socket.IO, and TailwindCSS.

• 🔒 Authentication: Secure signup, login, and JWT-based session management.
• 💬 Real-Time Messaging: Instant messaging powered by Socket.IO.
• 🖼️ Image Sharing: Send and receive images in chat (Cloudinary integration).
• 🟢 Online Status: See which users are online in real time.
• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 User Sidebar: Easily select users to chat with.
• 🎨 Responsive UI: Beautiful, mobile-friendly design with TailwindCSS and DaisyUI.
• ⚡ State Management: Fast and simple state management using Zustand.
• 🛡️ Protected Routes: Only authenticated users can access chat features.

👉 Try ZappChat Live

• Frontend: React, Vite, Zustand, TailwindCSS, DaisyUI, Axios, Socket.IO Client
• Backend: Express, MongoDB, Mongoose, Socket.IO, Cloudinary, JWT, bcryptjs
• Deployment: Render (or any cloud platform)

git clone https://github.com/sumitti/ZappChat.git
cd ZappChat

MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_uri
PORT=5001
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your_cloud_name
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your_api_key
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your_api_secret
NODE_ENV=development

npm install --prefix backend
npm install --prefix frontend

npm run dev --prefix backend

npm run dev --prefix frontend

ZappChat/
├── backend/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── controller/
│   │   ├── middleware/
│   │   ├── models/
│   │   ├── routes/
│   │   ├── lib/
│   │   └── index.js
│   ├── .env
│   └── [package.json]
├── frontend/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/
│   │   ├── store/
│   │   └── App.jsx
│   ├── .env
│   └── [package.json]
└── [README.md]

Pull requests are welcome! For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.