MERN Chat App with Gemini AI Integration 🤖💬

A full-stack real-time chat application built with the MERN stack (MongoDB, Express, React, Node.js), enhanced with:

• 🔐 JWT Authentication
• ⚡ Socket.IO for real-time communication
• 🧠 Gemini AI integration for chatbot interaction
• 🔁 Redis for session management & scalability

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🚀 Features

• 🔐 Secure Authentication using JWT
• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 1:1 and Group Chats
• ⚡ Real-time Messaging with Socket.IO
• 🧠 AI Chatbot Assistant using Google's Gemini API
• 🗃️ Persistent Storage with MongoDB
• 🚀 Efficient Session Management with Redis

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🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend

• React.js (with Hooks)
• TailwindCSS / Styled Components (if used)
• Socket.IO Client

Backend

• Node.js
• Express.js
• MongoDB + Mongoose
• JWT for Authentication
• Redis for Session Storage
• Socket.IO Server
• Gemini AI API

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🔧 Installation & Setup

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/bhanushakya2004/mern-chatapp.git
cd mern-chatapp

2. Setup Backend

cd server
npm install
touch .env  # Add your environment variables
npm start
3. Setup Frontend

cd client
npm install
npm start
📦 .env Configuration

PORT=5000
MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret
REDIS_URL=your_redis_url
GEMINI_API_KEY=your_gemini_api_key
CLIENT_URL=http://localhost:3000
🧠 Gemini AI Chatbot
The chatbot responds to user messages tagged with @ai. You can ask it questions directly in the chat:


@ai hello
@ai tell me a joke
📸 UI Preview
The app includes a message "like" system:


✅ To-Do / Upcoming Features
 File sharing

 Push notifications

 Typing indicators

 Admin dashboard

🧑‍💻 Author
Built with ❤️ by Bhanu Shakya

📄 License
MIT License