SafeRoom - Real-Time Chat Room App

A real-time chat room application built from scratch, including both backend and frontend components.

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Tech Stack

• Frontend: React
• Backend: Express.js, Socket.io
• Data Store: Redis
• Remote State Management: TanStack Query + Axios
• Styling: Styled-Components

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Features

1. Chat Room Management

   • Create chat rooms with custom names.
   • Protect chat rooms with passwords for secure access.

2. Real-Time Messaging

   • Instant chat powered by Socket.io for seamless communication.

3. Encrypted Communication

   • Basic message encryption using crypto.subtle and AES-CBC for added security.

4. Self-Destructing Rooms

   • Chat rooms automatically self-destruct after a configurable time period.

5. Kill Switch

   • Each room member has access to a Kill Switch to permanently delete all messages for all users.

6. Online Users List

   • See real-time indications of online users and a list of participants in each room.

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Screenshots

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How to use

1. Clone the Repository

   git clone <repoUrl>

2. Configure Redis

   The application uses a Redis instance managed by Docker. Ensure you have Docker Desktop installed.Then run:

   docker compose up

   docker-desktop required on windows

3. Generate SSL certificates

   Generate SSL certificates for both the backend and frontend using tools like openssl or makecert. Save them with the following filenames:

   • cert.pem (SSL certificate)
   • key.pem (Private key)

   Place these files in the root directory of both the backend and frontend folders..

   Encryption requires HTTPS!

   If using openssl, ensure to manually trust both the backend and frontend.

4. Configure .env and install dependencies:

   • To configure your environment, create a .env file in the root directory of both backend and frontend and set the required variables like the .env.example files.

   • Install Dependencies via:

     npm i

5. Start backend

   Navigate to the backend directory and start the server:

   node server.js

6. Start frontend server

   Navigate to the frontend directory and start the development server:

   npm run dev

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

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Contributing

If you’d like to contribute to the development of SafeRoom, feel free to fork the repository and submit pull requests. We welcome suggestions and improvements!

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