ZynkStack

A modern, full-stack chat application with real-time messaging, video calling, and friend management. Built with Node.js, Express, MongoDB, React, Vite, and Socket.io.

Features

• 🔒 Secure authentication (JWT)
• 💬 Real-time chat (Socket.io)
• 📹 Video calling (Stream API)
• 👫 Friend management
• 🔔 Notifications
• 🌙 Theme support
• 📱 Responsive design

Tech Stack

Backend

• Node.js
• Express.js
• MongoDB (Mongoose)
• Socket.io
• JWT authentication
• Stream API

Frontend

• React
• Vite
• Tailwind CSS
• Axios
• Socket.io client
• Stream API client

Project Structure

ZynkStack/
├── backend/          # Node.js/Express server
├── frontend/         # React/Vite client
└── package.json      # Root package.json for scripts

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16 or higher)
• npm or yarn
• MongoDB database
• Stream API account (for video calling)

Setup Instructions

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/Utkarsh-Tyagi-16/ZynkStack.git
cd ZynkStack

2. Backend Setup

cd backend
npm install

Create a .env file in the backend/ directory with the following variables:

# Server Configuration
PORT=5001
NODE_ENV=development

# Database
MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string

# JWT Configuration
JWT_SECRET_KEY=your_jwt_secret_key

# Stream API (for video calling)
STEAM_API_KEY=your_stream_api_key
STEAM_API_SECRET=your_stream_api_secret

3. Frontend Setup

cd frontend
npm install

Create a .env file in the frontend/ directory with the following variables:

# Stream API Key (for video calling)
VITE_STREAM_API_KEY=your_stream_api_key

4. Running the Application

Development Mode

# Start backend server
cd backend && npm run dev

# Start frontend development server (in a new terminal)
cd frontend && npm run dev

Production Mode

# Build frontend
cd frontend && npm run build

# Start backend
cd backend && npm start

Environment Variables

Backend (.env)

Variable	Description
PORT	Server port number
NODE_ENV	Environment (development/production)
MONGO_URI	MongoDB connection string
JWT_SECRET_KEY	Secret key for JWT token generation
STEAM_API_KEY	Stream API key for video calling
STEAM_API_SECRET	Stream API secret for video calling

Frontend (.env)

Variable	Description
VITE_STREAM_API_KEY	Stream API key for video calling