💬 Quick Chat App

A modern, full-stack real-time chat application
Connect, chat, and share instantly with friends and colleagues.

---

🌎 Live Preview

---

🚀 Features

• 🔒 Secure Authentication — JWT-based signup & login
• 💬 Real-Time Messaging — Powered by Socket.IO
• 🟢 Online Status — See who’s online instantly
• 🖼️ Profile & Media Sharing — Upload avatars & share images in chat
• 📱 Responsive Design — Works beautifully on desktop & mobile
• 🔔 Unread Message Badges — Never miss a message
• ☁️ Cloudinary Integration — Fast & reliable media storage

---

🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend	Backend	Database	Real-Time	Media Storage
React, Vite	Node.js, Express	MongoDB	Socket.IO	Cloudinary
Tailwind CSS	JWT Auth	Mongoose

---

⚡ Getting Started

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/Sneh0510/Chat-App.git
cd CHAT-APP

2. Install Dependencies

cd server && npm install
cd ../client && npm install

3. Configure Environment Variables

• Server (server/.env):

  MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
  PORT=5000
  JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret
  CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your_cloudinary_name
  CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your_cloudinary_api_key
  CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your_cloudinary_api_secret
  

• Client (client/.env):

  VITE_BACKEND_URL='http://localhost:5000'
  

4. Run the App Locally

• Frontend:

  cd client
  npm run dev

• Backend:

  cd server
  npm run server

Visit http://localhost:5173 in your browser.

---

🌐 Deployment

• Ready for deployment on Vercel (see vercel.json in each folder).
• Configure environment variables in your deployment dashboard.

---

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

---