💬 Zync — Real-Time Chat App

Zync is a full-stack real-time chat application that lets users chat privately or in groups, with instant message delivery, persistent storage, and a beautiful multi-theme UI. Built with the MERN stack, Socket.io, Zustand, and JWT, Zync delivers both performance and polish.

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🚀 Features

• 🔐 JWT Authentication – Secure login and protected routes.
• 💬 Real-Time Chat – Instant message exchange using WebSockets.
• 📦 Persistent Message History – Chats are stored using MongoDB.
• 🎨 Responsive Design – Fully mobile-friendly layout with multiple theme support via DaisyUI.
• 🧠 Global State Management – Zustand ensures fast and consistent state across the app.
• 👥 Private & Group Messaging – Start one-on-one or group conversations.(upcoming feature)

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🛠️ Tech Stack

Layer	Technologies Used
Frontend	React.js, Zustand, DaisyUI, Vite
Backend	Node.js, Express.js
Database	MongoDB, Mongoose
Real-Time	Socket.io
Auth	JWT (JSON Web Tokens)
Dev Tools	Git, GitHub, VS Code, dotenv, Postman

🧑‍💻 Getting Started

✅ Prerequisites

• Node.js
• npm
• MongoDB (local or Atlas)

📦 Installation

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/utsavg05/Chat-app.git
cd zync

# 2. Install backend dependencies
npm install

# 3. Setup environment variables
touch .env

Add your secrets in .env:
MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_uri
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret

# 4. Install frontend dependencies
cd client
npm install

# 5. Run both client and server
cd ..
npm run dev



Made with 💻 by Utsav Gupta using the power of the MERN stack ⚡