Chatster

Chatster is a real-time chat application built with Go (Golang) for the backend and React for the frontend. The application allows users to create accounts, log in, and chat with others in real-time.

Features

• Real-Time Messaging: Chat with others instantly, with messages delivered in real-time.
• User Authentication: Secure user authentication and session management.
• Responsive UI: A responsive and modern user interface built with React.
• WebSocket Integration: Efficient communication between the client and server using WebSockets.

Technologies Used

• Backend:

  • Go: The backend server is built using Go, providing high performance and concurrency handling.
  • Gorilla WebSocket: Used for real-time communication between the server and clients.
  • Gorilla Mux: HTTP request router and dispatcher for matching incoming requests to their respective handler.

• Frontend:

  • React: A JavaScript library for building user interfaces.
  • Axios: Used for making HTTP requests from the frontend to the backend.

• Database:

  • SQLite: A lightweight, disk-based database used to store user data and messages.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Go (1.16+)
• Node.js (14.x or later)
• npm (6.x or later)

Running the Application

Backend

1. Navigate to the backend directory:

   cd backend
   

2. Run the Go server:

   go run main.go
   

The backend server will start on http://localhost:8080.

Frontend

1. Navigate to the frontend directory:

   cd frontend
   

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install
   

3. Start the React development server:

   npm start
   

The frontend application will start on http://localhost:3000.

Usage

1. Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:3000
2. Enter your username when prompted
3. Start chatting with other connected users in real-time

Future Enhancements

• Add user authentication with JWT
• Implement private messaging
• Add message persistence with SQLite
• Create chat rooms/channels