BaatCheet 🗣️

Real-time Conversation Application

BaatCheet (meaning "conversation" in Hindi) is a modern, real-time communication platform designed to facilitate seamless interactions between users. Built with a focus on intuitive user experience and robust functionality, it aims to provide a reliable space for instant messaging and connection.

---

✨ Features

• Real-time Messaging: Send and receive messages instantly with live updates.
• User Authentication: Secure user registration and login system.
• Scalable Architecture: Designed with separate frontend and backend components for better maintainability and scalability.
• Responsive Design: Adapts to various screen sizes for a consistent experience across devices.
• Direct Messaging (1-to-1 chats)
• Group Chats
• Emoji Support
• File Sharing
• User Status (online/offline)
• Notifications

---

💻 Technologies Used

Frontend

• JavaScript: Core language for interactive user interfaces
• HTML: Structure of the web pages
• CSS: Styling and visual presentation
• React.js: Component-based frontend framework

Backend

• JavaScript: For server-side logic and APIs
• Node.js: JavaScript runtime environment
• Express.js: Backend framework for handling APIs and routing

Database

• MongoDB: NoSQL database for storing user and message data

Real-time Communication

• Socket.IO: Enables real-time, bi-directional communication between client and server

---

🚀 Getting Started

Follow these steps to set up and run BaatCheet locally on your machine.

Prerequisites

Make sure you have the following installed:

• Node.js (v14.x or higher)
• npm (or Yarn)
• MongoDB
• Git

---

🔧 Installation

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/Jayant420Dhidhi/BaatCheet.git
cd BaatCheet

2. Backend Setup

cd backend
npm install  # or yarn install

Create a .env file in the backend/ directory with the following content:

PORT=5000
DATABASE_URL=mongodb://localhost:27017/baatcheet
JWT_SECRET=your_super_secret_key

Start the backend server:

npm start  # or node server.js

3. Frontend Setup

cd ../frontend
npm install  # or yarn install

Create a .env.development file in the frontend/ directory with the following content:

REACT_APP_API_URL=http://localhost:5000/api

Start the frontend:

npm start  # or yarn start

---

📸 UI Screenshot

Here’s a glimpse of the BaatCheet user interface: