ChatPulse

A modern real-time chat application built with Next.js and Socket.io.

Overview

ChatPulse is a full-stack chat application that enables real-time messaging in a sleek, responsive interface. The application consists of two main components:

1. Client: A Next.js application with a modern UI built using Tailwind CSS and shadcn/ui components
2. Server: A Node.js/Express backend with Socket.io for real-time communication

Features

• Real-time messaging: Instant message delivery using WebSockets
• User authentication: Secure login and registration
• Chat rooms/groups: Create and join different chat groups
• Responsive design: Works on desktop and mobile devices
• User presence: See who's online in real-time
• Message persistence: Chat history is saved and loaded from the database
• Analytics: User behavior tracking and insights with PostHog

Tech Stack

Frontend (Client)

• Next.js 15
• TypeScript
• Tailwind CSS & shadcn/ui
• Socket.io client
• NextAuth.js for authentication
• React Hook Form with Zod validation
• PostHog for analytics and product insights

Backend (Server)

• Node.js with Express
• TypeScript
• Socket.io for WebSockets
• Prisma ORM
• Redis for scaling socket connections
• PostgreSQL database

Getting Started

The application is split into two main directories:

• /client: Contains the Next.js frontend application
• /server: Contains the Node.js/Express backend

Each directory has its own README with detailed setup and running instructions:

• Client README
• Server README

Quick Start

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/abhinavkale-dev/chatpulse.git
   cd chatpulse

2. Set up the server

   cd server
   npm install
   # Configure your .env file with database and Redis connections
   npm run dev

3. Set up the client

   cd ../client
   npm install
   # Configure your .env.local file with PostHog API key and other environment variables
   npm run dev

4. Access the application

   • Frontend: http://localhost:3000
   • Backend: http://localhost:8080

Analytics

ChatPulse uses PostHog for tracking user behavior, feature usage, and product insights. The analytics implementation:

• Tracks user sessions and engagement
• Monitors feature usage and adoption
• Provides insights for improving user experience
• Respects user privacy with configurable data collection

To configure PostHog, add your PostHog API key to the client's environment variables:

NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY=your_posthog_api_key
NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_HOST=https://app.posthog.com

Development

For detailed development instructions, please refer to the README files in the respective client and server directories.

License

MIT License