A full-stack MERN chat application with real-time messaging, authentication, and online/offline presence tracking.
QuickChat is a real-time messaging platform designed to demonstrate scalable WebSocket communication, secure authentication, and persistent chat storage using the MERN stack.
Frontend
- React.js
- Tailwind CSS
- Real-time UI updates
- State management & API integration
Backend
- Node.js + Express.js
- WebSocket communication with Socket.IO
- JWT authentication & protected routes
- Scalable backend architecture
Database
- MongoDB (users & message storage)
Core Concepts
- Real-time systems
- Authentication & authorization
- Persistent messaging architecture
- WebSockets vs REST communication
- Full-stack MERN development
Most messaging apps require:
- Instant message delivery
- Secure user authentication
- Reliable message storage
- Presence tracking (online/offline)
QuickChat demonstrates how modern chat platforms implement these features using a scalable full-stack architecture.
Powered by Socket.IO:
- Instant message delivery
- Bidirectional communication
- No page refresh required
- User signup & login
- Password protection
- Token-based authentication
- Protected API routes
Displays real-time user status:
- Shows when users are online
- Automatically updates when users disconnect
- Improves real chat experience
Users can:
- Send images in chat
- Store and retrieve media messages
- Maintain chat history with multimedia
- All messages stored in MongoDB
- Chat history available anytime
- Reliable data storage
MERN Stack
- MongoDB
- Express.js
- React.js
- Node.js
Real-Time Communication
- Socket.IO
Authentication
- JSON Web Tokens (JWT)
- User signs up / logs in (JWT authentication)
- Client connects to WebSocket server (Socket.IO)
- Messages are sent instantly via WebSockets
- Backend stores messages in MongoDB
- Online/offline presence tracked in real-time