GhostChat Backend

A logical, secure, and anonymous messaging backend built with Node.js and MongoDB. Users can register to get a unique link, and anyone can send anonymous messages to that link. 🛠 Tech Stack

Runtime: Node.js (Express.js)

Database: MongoDB (Running locally via Docker)

Authentication: JWT (JSON Web Tokens) & Bcrypt

Tools: Mongoose, Dotenv, Nodemon, Cookie-Parser

🚀 Getting Started

1. Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following installed on your machine:

Node.js (v18+)

Docker & Docker Compose (for the local database)

2. Installation

Clone the repository and install dependencies: Bash

git clone <your-repo-url>
cd ghostchat
npm install

3. Environment Setup

Create a .env file in the root directory: Code snippet

PORT=3000
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/gochat
CORS_ORIGIN=*
JWT_SECRET=your_super_secret_random_string
ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRY=1d

4. Database Setup (Docker)

Instead of installing MongoDB on your OS, we use Docker. Run this command to spin up the database container: Bash

# Starts MongoDB on port 27017
docker compose up -d

5. Run the Server

Start the development server with Nodemon (auto-restarts on save): Bash

npm run dev

Server should be running at http://localhost:3000 📡 API Endpoints 👤 User Routes Method Endpoint Description Auth Required POST /api/user/register Create a new account ❌ POST /api/user/login Login & receive JWT Token ❌ 💬 Message Routes Method Endpoint Description Auth Required POST /api/messages/:uniqueLinkId Send an anonymous message to a user ❌ GET /api/messages/my-messages Read your received messages ✅ (JWT) 🧪 Testing with Curl

1. Register a User: Bash

     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"fullName": "Ghost User", "email": "ghost@test.com", "password": "password123"}'

2. Login (Get Token): Bash

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/user/login \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"email": "ghost@test.com", "password": "password123"}'

3. Send Anonymous Message: Bash

# Replace 'unique-link-id' with the one from registration
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/messages/ghostuser-x7z9 \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"content": "I know what you did last summer 👻"}'

4. Read Messages (Protected): Bash

# Replace 'YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN' with the token from login
curl -X GET http://localhost:3000/api/messages/my-messages \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"