💬 NEXUS - Real-Time Chat Application

NEXUS is a modern full-stack chat application built using the MERN stack. It enables users to communicate in real time through a clean and responsive interface while providing secure authentication, profile management, and media uploads.

---

🚀 Features

👤 Authentication

• User Registration
• User Login
• JWT Authentication
• Secure Password Hashing
• Protected Routes

💬 Messaging

• Real-Time Chat Interface
• One-to-One Messaging
• Message History
• Conversation Management

🖼️ Profile Management

• Update User Profile
• Upload Profile Pictures
• Cloudinary Image Storage

🎨 User Experience

• Responsive Design
• Multiple DaisyUI Themes
• Dark & Light Mode Support
• Modern Chat Interface
• Toast Notifications

---

🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend

• React.js
• Vite
• Tailwind CSS v4
• DaisyUI
• Zustand
• React Router DOM
• Axios
• React Hook Form
• React Hot Toast

Backend

• Node.js
• Express.js
• MongoDB
• Mongoose
• JWT Authentication
• Cloudinary

Database

• MongoDB Atlas

---

📂 Project Structure

NEXUS/
│
├── backend/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── controllers/
│   │   ├── db/
│   │   ├── middlewares/
│   │   ├── models/
│   │   │   ├── user.model.js
│   │   │   └── message.model.js
│   │   └── routes/
│   │
│   ├── .env
│   ├── index.js
│   └── package.json
│
├── frontend/
│   ├── public/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/
│   │   ├── pages/
│   │   ├── store/
│   │   ├── lib/
│   │   ├── App.jsx
│   │   └── main.jsx
│   │
│   ├── vite.config.js
│   └── package.json
│
└── README.md

---

⚙️ Installation

Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/your-username/nexus-chat-app.git

cd nexus-chat-app

---

📦 Install Dependencies

Backend

cd backend

npm install

Frontend

cd frontend

npm install

---

🔑 Environment Variables

Create a .env file inside the backend folder:

MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string

PORT=5001

JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret

NODE_ENV=development

CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your_cloud_name

CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your_api_key

CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your_api_secret

---

▶️ Run the Application

Start Backend

cd backend

npm run dev

Backend runs on:

http://localhost:5001

Start Frontend

cd frontend

npm run dev

Frontend runs on:

http://localhost:5173

---

🎨 DaisyUI Themes

NEXUS supports multiple DaisyUI themes including:

• Light
• Dark
• Cupcake
• Retro
• Cyberpunk
• And 20+ additional DaisyUI themes

Users can switch themes for a personalized chat experience.

---

🔮 Future Enhancements

• Group Chats
• Voice Messages
• Video Calling
• Online Presence Indicators
• Read Receipts
• Message Reactions
• File Sharing
• Push Notifications

⭐ Support

If you found this project useful, please consider giving it a Star ⭐ on GitHub.