ConvoWave 💬

A modern, real-time chat application built with React Native (Expo) and Node.js, featuring instant messaging, image sharing, and a beautiful user interface.

✨ Features

• Real-time Messaging - Instant communication powered by Socket.IO
• User Authentication - Secure login and registration with JWT
• Profile Pictures - Camera and photo library integration for custom avatars
• Image Sharing - Send and receive images in conversations
• Cross-Platform - Works on both iOS and Android
• Modern UI - Built with Expo Router and smooth animations
• Persistent Storage - Messages and user data stored securely
• Toast Notifications - Real-time feedback for user actions

🎥 Demo

[Insert your YouTube demo links here]

• iOS Demo: [Link to iOS screen recording]
• Android Demo: [Link to Android screen recording]

📱 Screenshots

[Add screenshots of your app here]

🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend (Mobile App)

• React Native - Cross-platform mobile framework
• Expo (v53) - Development platform
• Expo Router - File-based navigation
• Socket.IO Client - Real-time bidirectional communication
• Zustand - State management
• React Navigation - Navigation library
• Axios - HTTP client
• Lucide React Native - Icon library
• AsyncStorage - Local data persistence

Backend (Server)

• Node.js - JavaScript runtime
• Express.js - Web framework
• Socket.IO - Real-time engine
• MongoDB (Mongoose) - Database
• JWT - Authentication
• Bcrypt.js - Password hashing
• Cloudinary - Image storage and management
• Nodemailer - Email functionality
• CORS - Cross-origin resource sharing

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16 or higher)
• npm or yarn
• Expo CLI
• MongoDB instance
• Cloudinary account (for image uploads)

Backend Setup

1. Clone the repository

git clone <your-repo-url>
cd backend

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Create a .env file in the backend directory

PORT=5000
MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_key
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your_cloudinary_name
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your_cloudinary_key
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your_cloudinary_secret
EMAIL_USER=your_email@example.com
EMAIL_PASSWORD=your_email_password

4. Start the backend server

npm run dev

The server will run on http://localhost:5000

Mobile App Setup

1. Navigate to the app directory

cd chat-app

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Update the API endpoint in your app to point to your backend server

4. Start the Expo development server

npm start

5. Run on your preferred platform

# iOS
npm run ios

# Android
npm run android

📦 Building for Production

Android

npm run build:android

iOS

npm run build:ios

Builds are managed through Expo Application Services (EAS).

🔐 Environment Variables

Backend Required Variables

• MONGODB_URI - MongoDB connection string
• JWT_SECRET - Secret key for JWT tokens
• CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME - Cloudinary cloud name
• CLOUDINARY_API_KEY - Cloudinary API key
• CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET - Cloudinary API secret
• PORT - Server port (default: 5000)

Frontend Configuration

Update the API base URL in your app's configuration to match your backend deployment.

📱 Permissions

iOS

• Camera access for profile pictures
• Photo library access for selecting images

Android

• Camera
• Read/Write external storage

🏗️ Project Structure

ConvoWave/
├── chat-app/              # React Native mobile app
│   ├── app/              # Expo Router pages
│   ├── assets/           # Images, fonts, etc.
│   └── package.json
│
└── backend/              # Node.js server
    ├── src/
    │   ├── controllers/  # Business logic
    │   ├── models/       # Database schemas
    │   ├── routes/       # API endpoints
    │   ├── middleware/   # Auth & validation
    │   └── index.js      # Server entry point
    └── package.json

🤝 Contributing

Contributions, issues, and feature requests are welcome!

📝 License

This project is private and not licensed for public use.

👨‍💻 Author

Emmanard

• EAS Owner: emmanard9

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Expo team for the amazing development platform
• Socket.IO for real-time capabilities
• All open-source libraries used in this project

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Built with ❤️ using React Native and Node.js