Rust Chat API

A scalable chat API built with Rust, utilizing WebSockets for real-time communication and MongoDB for persistent message storage.

Features

• Real-time chat: Leverages WebSockets for instant message delivery and updates.
• Persistent storage: Stores chat messages in a MongoDB database for future retrieval.
• Scalable architecture: Designed with asynchronous programming and modular structure to handle a high volume of concurrent connections.
• Error handling: Implements custom error types and centralized error handling for graceful error responses.
• Logging: Utilizes structured logging for debugging and monitoring.
• CI/CD: Integrates with GitHub Actions for automated build, test, and deployment.

Prerequisites

• Rust: Make sure you have Rust and Cargo installed on your system. You can follow the instructions at https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install
• MongoDB: You'll need a running MongoDB instance. You can download and install it from https://www.mongodb.com/try/download/community

Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd chat-app

2. Set up environment variables:

   • Create a .env file in the project's root directory.

   • Add the following environment variables:

     MONGODB_URI="mongodb://localhost:27017"  # Replace with your MongoDB connection URI
     MONGODB_DATABASE="chat_app"              # Replace with your desired database name
     MONGODB_COLLECTION="messages"            # Replace with your desired collection name
     SERVER_URL="127.0.0.1"                   # Replace with your server's URL
     SERVER_PORT="8080"                       # Replace with your desired port number
     RUST_LOG="info"                          # Set the desired log level (info, debug, etc.)

3. Build and run:

   make build  # Build the project
   make run    # Run the server

Running with Docker

You can use Docker and Docker Compose to easily build and run the chat API in a containerized environment.

Requirements

• Docker: Make sure you have Docker and Docker Compose installed on your system. You can follow the instructions at https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/

Steps

1. Build the Docker images:

   make docker-build

2. Start the containers:

   make docker-up

3. Access the application:

   • The chat API should now be accessible at http://localhost:8080.
   • You can connect to the MongoDB instance using mongodb://localhost:27017

4. Stop the containers:

   make docker-down

5. View logs:

   make docker-logs

Usage

1. Connect to the WebSocket server:

   • Use a WebSocket client library or tool to connect to ws://SERVER_URL:SERVER_PORT (replace SERVER_URL and SERVER_PORT with the values from your .env file).

2. Send and receive messages:

   • The server expects messages in the following JSON format:

     {
         "username": "your_username",
         "content": "your_message",
         "timestamp": 1694844257
     }

   • When a client sends a message, the server will broadcast the updated list of all messages to all connected clients.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to open issues or submit pull requests.

License

This project is licensed under the Apache-2.0 License.

Remember:

• Replace placeholders like <repository-url>, your_username, and your_message with actual values.
• Customize the README.md further to include any additional information relevant to your project, such as specific features, configuration options, or deployment instructions.

Feel free to ask if you have any more questions or modifications!