Colloquy - a lightweight chat app.

Try it here.

Colloquy is a simple chat app loosely inspired by Slack. Users can send and receive message in real time, join a list of existing channels, and create new channels at any time.

How to use

1. You will need to create an account to send message and create channels. You can do that by clicking on the Sign Up button and selecting a username and password.

2. If you would prefer not to create and account and just want to see what has already been posted, you can click the Guest button to sign in as a guest.

3. Once you are signed in, you can click on any of the existing channels to view the messages that have been posted there. You can also create a new channel by clicking on the + button next to the list of channels.

Technologies and Tools

Client

• Written with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, using the React framework.
• Setup was done using Vite as an alternative to Create React App, allowing aliases for cleaner imports and faster build times.
• Styling relies primarily on React Bootstrap.
• Pages are routed using React Router.
• Websockets communication uses the socket.io-client library.
• HTTP calls to the server's REST API are supported with the axios library.ß
• Webtokens are stored in localStorage for user authentication.

Server

• Written in Python using the Flask framework.
• Websockets communication uses the Flask-SocketIO library.
• Webtokens are generated using the PyJWT library.
• REST API is built using Flask-RESTX.
• Database queries are handled using the psycopg2 library.
• The app is served using Gunicorn and hosted on Render.com.
• Data is stored in a PostgreSQL database hosted on elephantsql.com.

Future Features

This app was a lot of fun to build and will continue to be a platform for experimenting. I plan to continue adding features to make it more functional, polished, and fun to use as my web development skills progress. Some of the features I plan to add are:

• The ability to see which users are currently online.
• The ability to see if another user is currently typing.
• The ability to upload images, both to use as avatars and to send in messages.
• A sound notification when a new message is received.
• Better mobile support.
• The ability to toggle the times messages were sent.

Local Setup

1. Clone this repository to your local machine.
2. Run the setup script by typing 'sh setup.sh' in your terminal. This will automatically install the necessary dependencies, create the PostgreSQL database, and start the server.
3. Navigate to localhost:3000 in your browser to view the app.

Author

Aaron Brinckerhoff - Full-Stack Software Developer | LinkedIn | Website