Social Media Platform

A full-stack social media application developed using Django and Django Rest Framework for the backend and React for the frontend. The platform allows users to create posts, comment, like posts, and interact in real-time through chat.

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Table of Contents

• Features
• Installation
• Technologies Used
• Environment Variables
• Usage
• Contributing
• License

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Features

• User Authentication: Secure login and registration using Google OAuth and JWT for session management.
• Post Creation: Users can create, edit, and delete posts.
• Comments and Likes: Users can comment on and like posts.
• Real-Time Chat: Chat feature for real-time communication (in progress).
• Responsive Design: Intuitive and mobile-friendly user interface.

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Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x
• Node.js and npm
• Git
• Virtual Environment (optional but recommended)

Setup Instructions

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/social-media-platform.git
   cd social-media-platform

2. Set up the backend:

   • Navigate to the backend directory (if applicable).
   • Create a virtual environment (optional but recommended):

   python -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install Python dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Set up environment variables:

   • Create a .env file in the backend directory and add your environment variables, such as:

   SECRET_KEY=your_secret_key
   DEBUG=True
   DATABASE_URL=your_database_url (if using PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.)
   GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your_google_client_id
   GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=your_google_client_secret
   JWT_SECRET_KEY=your_jwt_secret_key

5. Apply migrations:

   python manage.py migrate

6. Run the development server:

   python manage.py runserver

7. Set up the frontend:

   • Navigate to the frontend directory:

   cd frontend

8. Install Node.js dependencies:

   npm install

9. Start the React development server:

   npm start

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Technologies Used

• Backend: Django, Django Rest Framework (DRF)
• Frontend: React
• Database: SQLite (or specify if using PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.)
• Authentication: Google OAuth, JWT
• Deployment: (Optional - specify if deployed to Heroku, AWS, etc.)

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Environment Variables

In your .env file, add the following variables:

SECRET_KEY=your_django_secret_key
DEBUG=True
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your_google_client_id
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=your_google_client_secret
JWT_SECRET_KEY=your_jwt_secret_key