Allify - MERN Chatting Application

Where chatting, fun, and friends come alive

A full-stack MERN (MongoDB, Express.js, React.js, Node.js, Socket.IO) online chatting application 💬 with friends additionally with a Personal Chatbot. 🤖

Allify is a chat-app with various features like:

• 🔐 Authentication:
  ✨ SignUp,
  🔑 Login,
  📲 Login with OTP,
  📸 Profile Photo Uploading.

• 🎨 Styling/Theming:
  🌐 A fully responsive app,
  🌙 Dark and ☀️ Light mode.

• 🤖 Personalized AI Chatbot:
  🧠 Remembers the context for personalized interactions.

• 🌐 Web Sockets:
  💬 Real-time chatting,
  🔔 Message Notifications,
  🖋️ Real-Time Typing Animation,
  ❌ Message Deletion,
  🟢 Active Now / ⌛ Last Seen status tracking,
  ✅ Message Seen status,
  🖼️ Sending Image messages with captions.

Built with the tools and technologies:

Guest User login accounts:

username : guestuser1@gmail.com, guestuser2@gmail.com
password: 1234guest

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Allify — Modern MERN Chat Platform

Where chatting, fun, and friends come alive.

A full‑stack MERN (MongoDB, Express, React, Node) realtime chat with Socket.IO, media uploads, AI assistant, and a delightful UI/UX (Chakra UI + Framer Motion).

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🔗 Table of Contents

• Overview
• Screenshots
• Features
• Architecture
• Project Structure
• Getting Started
• Quickstart (Recruiters)
• Author
• License

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📍 Overview

Allify is a Snapchat‑inspired, production‑ready chat experience. Beyond DMs and groups, it layers Stories, Snaps, Streaks, Reactions, Memories, Spotlight/Discover, Map, Notifications, Admin tools, and a Personal AI Assistant. The frontend is React 18 + Chakra UI + Framer Motion with tasteful effects (Lamp glow on Home, animated Butterflies behind routes). The backend is Node/Express + MongoDB with Socket.IO, Cloudinary/AWS S3, web-push, and optional Google Generative AI.

👾 Features

• Authentication
  • Email/password; OTP login; profile photo
• Realtime chat (Socket.IO)
  • DMs, typing indicator, read receipts, online/last‑seen, delete for me/everyone
  • Image messages with captions
• Social layer
  • Snaps, Stories, Streaks, Reactions, Memories, Spotlight/Discover, Best friends & snap score
• Assistant & Utilities
  • Personal AI assistant with memory; captions; reminders; notifications (web‑push)
• Media & Cloud
  • Cloudinary/AWS S3 uploads; transforms; HLS music rooms; map with Leaflet
• Security & Reliability
  • AES‑GCM encryption for sensitive payloads; scheduler for cleanups; audit logs
• Delightful UI/UX
  • Chakra theme, Motion buttons, Animated route transitions, Lamp effect, Butterflies

🧱 Architecture (high‑level)

• Frontend: React 18 (CRACO) + Chakra UI + Framer Motion + React Router v6
• Backend: Node.js/Express + MongoDB/Mongoose + Socket.IO
• Media/Cloud: Cloudinary and/or AWS S3 for assets; web-push for notifications
• Optional AI: Google Generative AI / Vertex AI

📁 Project Structure (abridged)

root/
	backend/    # Express API, models, routes, sockets
	frontend/   # React app (Chakra + Motion), effects
	screenshots/ # repo images used in README

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ and npm
• MongoDB connection string
• Cloudinary or AWS S3 creds (for media)
• Optional: VAPID keys for push; Google AI key

Env setup

From repo root, copy the template and fill values:

Copy-Item .env.example backend/.env

Key vars (see .env.example):

• Backend: PORT, MONGO_URI, JWT_SECRET, CLOUDINARY_, AWS_, EMAIL/PASSWORD, VAPID_*
• Frontend: REACT_APP_API (defaults to http://localhost:5000)

Install & Run (dev)

# backend
cd .\backend; npm i; npm run dev

# new terminal → frontend
cd ..\frontend; npm i; npm start

Frontend runs on 3001; API on 5000 by default.

Build

cd .\frontend; npm run build

⚡ Quickstart (recruiters)

1. Copy envs: Copy-Item .env.example backend/.env and add your Mongo URI + JWT secret at minimum.
2. Start API: cd .\backend; npm i; npm run dev.
3. Start UI: open a new terminal → cd ..\\frontend; npm i; npm start.
4. Login and explore: Dashboard → chats, images, typing, read receipts; try Stories/Snaps.

👤 Author

• Name: Sarthak Nag
• Role: Full‑Stack Developer (MERN) | Realtime systems | UI/UX polish
• Email: sarthakthesde@gmail.com
• GitHub: https://github.com/Sarthak-Developer-Coder
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarthaknag/

🎗 License

MIT — free to use, remix, and learn. │ │ ├── Dashboard