✨ Chatzy 💬 – Real-Time Messaging Platform ✨

A modern full-stack real-time chat application built with the MERN Stack, powered by WebSockets, secure JWT authentication, and production-ready architecture.

Chatzy delivers seamless real-time communication, presence detection, media uploads, and secure user authentication — all deployed on the cloud.

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🌐 Live Demo

Live Project: Chatzy on Render

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🚀 Features

• 🔐 Custom JWT Authentication (No third-party auth)
• ⚡ Real-Time Messaging with Socket.io
• 🟢 Online / Offline Presence Tracking
• 🔔 Notification & Typing Sounds (toggle supported)
• 📨 Automated Welcome Emails (Resend)
• 🗂️ Image Uploads & Cloud Storage (Cloudinary)
• 🚦 API Rate Limiting & Protection (Arcjet)
• 🎨 Modern UI with TailwindCSS + DaisyUI
• 🧠 Global State Management using Zustand
• ☁️ Production Deployment on Render

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🏗️ Tech Stack

• Frontend: React, Vite, TailwindCSS, DaisyUI, Zustand
• Backend: Node.js, Express.js
• Database: MongoDB Atlas
• Real-Time: Socket.io
• Authentication: JWT + bcrypt
• Media Storage: Cloudinary
• Email Service: Resend
• Security: Arcjet Rate Limiting
• Deployment: Render (Free Tier)

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📂 Project Structure

chatzy/
 ├── backend/
 │   ├── src/
 │   └── package.json
 ├── frontend/
 │   ├── src/
 │   └── package.json
 └── package.json (root build controller)

The root package.json handles installation and production build for both frontend and backend.

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⚙️ Environment Variables

Create a .env file inside /backend:

MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_uri
JWT_SECRET=your_secret_key

CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=

RESEND_API_KEY=
ARCJET_KEY=

CLIENT_URL=http://localhost:5173

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🛠️ Local Installation

1️⃣ Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/anuj-singal/chatzy.git
cd chatzy

2️⃣ Install dependencies & build

npm run build

3️⃣ Run Backend (Development)

cd backend
npm run dev

4️⃣ Run Frontend (Development)

cd frontend
npm run dev

Open:
👉 http://localhost:5173

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🌍 Deployment

Production Setup

• Backend + Frontend → Render
• Database → MongoDB Atlas
• Media Storage → Cloudinary
• Emails → Resend

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📈 Why This Project Stands Out

• Custom authentication (no Firebase/Auth0 shortcuts)
• Real-time WebSocket implementation
• Production deployment with proper CORS handling
• Clean full-stack architecture
• SaaS-ready foundation

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📜 License

MIT License Copyright (c) 2026 Anuj Singal

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👨‍💻 Author

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⭐ If you like this project, consider giving it a star on GitHub!