💬 Full Stack Real-Time Chat App 🚀

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✨ Highlights:

• 💬 Full Stack Real-Time Chat Application built from scratch
• ⚛️ Frontend with React, Tailwind CSS & Hero UI
• 🚀 Backend with Node.js & Express.js
• 🔐 Authentication with Clerk
• 🗄️ MongoDB Database Integration
• ⚡ Real-Time Messaging with Socket.io
• 🟢 Online User Presence Tracking
• 🖼️ Image & Video Sharing Support
• 🎨 Light & Dark Mode
• 🖌️ 13 Custom Wallpapers
• 🌈 11 Beautiful Themes
• ⌨️ Optional Keyboard Sound Effects
• 🔌 Build Your Own WebSocket Server
• 🚫 No Firebase or Supabase Required
• 📤 Media Uploads & Optimization with ImageKit
• 🔔 Webhooks Explained & Implemented
• ⏰ Cron Jobs from Scratch
• 🛡️ Express Middleware Deep Dive
• 📁 File Uploads & Media Handling
• 🌐 Deploy Your App with a Live URL
• 🆓 100% Free Setup to Get Started
• 📂 Full Source Code Included
• 🎯 Resume-Ready Production-Style Project

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🧪 Environment Variables

Backend (/backend)

PORT=<your_port>

NODE_ENV=<development_or_production>

MONGO_URI=<your_mongodb_connection_string>

CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=<your_clerk_publishable_key>
CLERK_SECRET_KEY=<your_clerk_secret_key>
CLERK_WEBHOOK_SIGNING_SECRET=<your_clerk_webhook_signing_secret>

IMAGEKIT_PRIVATE_KEY=<your_imagekit_private_key>

FRONTEND_URL=<your_frontend_url>

Frontend (/frontend)

VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=<your_clerk_publishable_key>

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🚀 Tech Stack

Frontend

• React
• Tailwind CSS
• Hero UI
• Zustand
• Socket.io Client

Backend

• Node.js
• Express.js
• MongoDB
• Socket.io
• Clerk
• ImageKit

Deployment

• Frontend: Render
• Backend: Render
• Database: MongoDB Atlas

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