🌐 FileFlow - P2P File Sharing Application 📁

A peer-to-peer file sharing application with integrated chat functionality, allowing users to connect, communicate, and share files directly with each other.

Built with Go and Docker for seamless deployment and cross-platform compatibility.

✨ Features

• 👤 User Authentication: Connect with a username and maintain persistent sessions
• 💬 Real-time Chat: Send and receive messages with all connected users
• 📁 File Sharing: Transfer files directly between users
• 📂 Folder Sharing: Share entire folders with other users
• 🔍 File Discovery: Look up and browse other users' shared directories
• 🔄 Automatic Reconnection: Seamlessly reconnect with your existing session
• 👥 Status Tracking: Monitor which users are currently online
• 🎨 Colorful UI: Enhanced CLI interface with colors and emojis
• 📊 Progress Bars: Visual feedback for file and folder transfers
• 🔒 Data Integrity: MD5 checksum verification for files and folders

🚀 Installation

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose (recommended) 🐳
• OR Go (1.22.3 or later) 🔧

Option 1: Using Docker (Recommended) 🐳

1. Clone the repository ⬇️

git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/FileFlow.git
cd FileFlow

2. Build and run with Docker Compose 🛠️

# Start the server and example clients
docker-compose up -d

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f

# Stop all services
docker-compose down

3. Run individual containers 📦

# Build the Docker image
docker build -t fileflow .

# Run server
docker run -d -p 8080:8080 --name fileflow-server fileflow ./server --port 8080

# Run client (interactive mode)
docker run -it --name fileflow-client1 --link fileflow-server fileflow ./client --server fileflow-server:8080

Option 2: Native Installation (Without Docker) 🔧

1. Clone the repository ⬇️

git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/FileFlow.git
cd FileFlow

2. Install dependencies 📦

go mod download

3. Build the application 🛠️

# Build server
go build -o bin/server ./server/cmd/server.go

# Build client
go build -o bin/client ./client/cmd/client.go

🎮 Usage

Using Docker 🐳

Starting the Server

# Using Docker Compose
docker-compose up fileflow-server

# Using Docker directly
docker run -d -p 8080:8080 --name fileflow-server fileflow ./server --port 8080

# Custom port
docker run -d -p 3000:3000 --name fileflow-server fileflow ./server --port 3000

Connecting as a Client

# Using Docker Compose (interactive mode)
docker-compose run --rm fileflow-client1

# Using Docker directly
docker run -it --link fileflow-server --name fileflow-client \
  -v $(pwd)/shared:/root/shared \
  fileflow ./client --server fileflow-server:8080

# Connect to remote server
docker run -it --name fileflow-client \
  -v $(pwd)/shared:/root/shared \
  fileflow ./client --server 192.168.0.203:8080

Using Native Binaries 🔧

Starting the Server 🖥️

# Start server on default port 8080
go run ./server/cmd/server.go --port 8080

# Or use the built binary
./bin/server --port 8080

# Start server on custom port
./bin/server --port 3000

Connecting as a Client 📱

# Connect to local server
go run ./client/cmd/client.go --server localhost:8080

# Or use the built binary
./bin/client --server localhost:8080

# Connect to remote server
./bin/client --server 192.168.0.203:8080

Application Validation ✅

The application will automatically validate:

• Server availability before client connection attempts
• Port availability before starting a server
• Existence of shared folder paths

🏗️ Architecture

The application follows a hybrid P2P architecture:

• 🌐 A central server handles user registration, discovery, and connection brokering
• ↔️ File and folder transfers occur directly between peers
• 💓 Server maintains connection status through regular heartbeat checks

📝 Commands

Chat Commands 💬

Command	Description
/help	Show all available commands
/status	Show online users
exit	Disconnect and exit the application

File Operations 📂

Command	Description
/lookup <userId>	Browse user's shared files
/sendfile <userId> <filePath>	Send a file to another user
/sendfolder <userId> <folderPath>	Send a folder to another user
/download <userId> <filename>	Download a file from another user

Terminal UI Features 🎨

• 🌈 Color-coded messages:

  • Commands appear in blue
  • Success messages appear in green
  • Error messages appear in red
  • User status notifications in yellow

• 📊 Progress bars for file transfers:

  [===================================>------] 75% (1.2 MB/1.7 MB)
  

• 📁 Improved file listings:

  === FOLDERS ===
  📁 [FOLDER] documents (Size: 0 bytes)
  📁 [FOLDER] images (Size: 0 bytes)
  
  === FILES ===
  📄 [FILE] document.pdf (Size: 1024 bytes)
  📄 [FILE] image.jpg (Size: 2048 bytes)
  

🔒 Security

The application implements basic reconnection security by tracking IP addresses and user sessions.

• 📁 Folder Path Validation: The application verifies that shared folder paths exist before establishing a connection. If an invalid path is provided, the user will be prompted to enter a valid folder path.
• 🔌 Server Availability Check: Client automatically verifies server availability before attempting connection, preventing connection errors.
• 🚫 Port Conflict Prevention: Server detects if a port is already in use and alerts the user to choose another port.
• 🔐 Checksum Verification: All file and folder transfers include MD5 checksum calculation to verify data integrity:
  • When sending, a unique MD5 hash is calculated for the file/folder contents
  • During transfer, the hash is securely transmitted alongside the data
  • Upon receiving, a new hash is calculated from the received data
  • The application compares both hashes to confirm the transfer was successful and uncorrupted
  • Users receive visual confirmation of integrity checks with clear success/failure messages

This checksum process ensures that files and folders arrive exactly as they were sent, protecting against data corruption during transfer.

🐳 Docker Architecture

FileFlow uses a multi-stage Docker build for optimized image size:

• Build Stage: Compiles Go binaries with all dependencies
• Runtime Stage: Minimal Alpine Linux image with only the compiled binaries
• Network: Bridge network for container communication
• Volumes: Persistent storage for shared files

Docker Benefits

• ✅ Consistent environment across all platforms
• ✅ Easy deployment and scaling
• ✅ Isolated file storage per client
• ✅ No need to install Go locally
• ✅ Quick setup with docker-compose

📊 Project Structure

FileFlow/
├── client/
│   ├── cmd/
│   │   └── client.go          # Client entry point
│   └── internal/
│       ├── connection.go       # Connection handling
│       ├── file.go            # File operations
│       ├── folder.go          # Folder operations
│       └── transfer.go        # Transfer management
├── server/
│   ├── cmd/
│   │   └── server.go          # Server entry point
│   ├── interfaces/
│   │   └── interfaces.go      # Data structures
│   └── internal/
│       ├── connection.go       # Connection handling
│       ├── file.go            # File operations
│       └── folder.go          # Folder operations
├── helper/
│   └── helper.go              # Utility functions
├── utils/
│   └── ui.go                  # UI components
├── Dockerfile                  # Docker build configuration
├── docker-compose.yml         # Multi-container setup
├── .dockerignore              # Docker ignore rules
├── go.mod                     # Go dependencies
└── README.md                  # Documentation

Made with ❤️ by the FileFlow Team