WeChat

A Real-time Messaging Platform

📝 Overview

WeChat is a real-time messaging application built with the MEAN stack (MongoDB, Express.js, Angular, Node.js). It provides a comprehensive platform for real-time communication, friend management, file sharing, and more.

✨ Key Features

• Real-time Messaging: Instant messaging with WebSocket support
• User Authentication: Secure registration, login, and email verification
• Friend System: Send/receive friend requests, manage friends list
• File Sharing: Share various file types in conversations
• Profile Management: Customize user profiles with pictures and personal information
• Statistics Dashboard: View usage statistics and activity metrics
• Theme Support: Toggle between light and dark themes
• Responsive Design: Works on both desktop and mobile devices

🛠️ Technologies

Backend

• Node.js with Express.js - Server framework
• MongoDB - NoSQL database
• WebSockets - Real-time communication
• JWT - Authentication mechanism
• Passport.js - Authentication middleware
• Multer - File upload handling
• Nodemailer - Email service integration
• Swagger - API documentation

Frontend

• Angular 19 - Frontend framework
• TailwindCSS - Utility-first CSS framework
• RxJS - Reactive programming
• Chart.js - Data visualization
• FontAwesome - Icons library

🚀 Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16+)
• MongoDB (v7+)
• npm or yarn

Option 1: Manual Setup

Backend Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Drashko73/WeChat.git
cd WeChat/backend

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Configure environment variables
cp .env.example .env.development
# Edit .env.development with your configuration

# Start the server
npm start

Frontend Setup

# Navigate to frontend directory
cd ../frontend/wechat

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start development server
npm start

Option 2: Docker Setup

The project includes Docker configuration for easy deployment:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Drashko73/WeChat.git
cd WeChat

# Start the containers
docker-compose up -d

This will start:

• Backend API on port 3000
• Frontend application on port 4200
• MongoDB database on port 27017

📋 API Documentation

When running in development mode with SWAGGER_ENABLED=true, API documentation is available at:

http://localhost:3000/swagger

🔒 Environment Configuration

The application requires several environment variables to be configured. Examples are provided in .env.example:

• Database connection settings
• JWT secret and configuration
• SMTP settings for email functionality
• Frontend URLs
• CORS configuration
• Various timeouts and security settings

👨‍💻 Author

• Radovan Draskovic

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.