Chat-App-Backend 💬

Welcome to the backend of a real-time chat application! 🚀 This backend is powered by Node.js, Express, MongoDB, and Socket.IO to provide a seamless, scalable chat experience.

Features ✨

• Real-time messaging using Socket.IO
• User authentication & authorization with JWT tokens
• Persistent chat history stored in MongoDB
• RESTful API for managing users and messages

Technologies Used 🛠️

• Node.js – JavaScript runtime for building the backend
• Express – Web framework for Node.js
• MongoDB – NoSQL database for storing users and messages
• Socket.IO – Real-time bi-directional communication

Installation 🧑‍💻

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Prakhar-code/Chat-App-Backend.git

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd Chat-App-Backend

3. Install the dependencies:

   npm install

Configuration ⚙️

1. Create a .env file in the root directory.
2. Add the following environment variables to the .env file:

   MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
   JWT_SECRET=your_secret_key
   

Running the Application 🚀

1. Start the development server:

   npm run dev

2. The backend will be running on http://localhost:5001.

API Endpoints 📡

• POST /api/auth/signup – Register a new user
• POST /api/auth/login – Log in an existing user
• GET /api/users – Fetch all users
• GET /api/messages – Fetch all messages
• POST /api/messages – Send a new message

Contribution 🤝

Feel free to open issues or create pull requests if you'd like to contribute to the project. Contributions are always welcome!