Environment Setup

To run NPMChat locally, follow these steps.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18+)
• MongoDB (Local or Atlas)
• Cloudinary Account (for image uploads)

Backend Setup

• Navigate to the backend/ directory.
• Create a .env file based on .env.example:

PORT=8080
MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
JWT_SECRET=your_super_secret_key
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your_name
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your_key
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your_secret
CLIENT_URL=http://localhost:3000
NODE_ENV=development

• Install dependencies: npm install
• Start development server: npm run dev

Frontend Setup

• Navigate to the frontend/ directory.
• Create a .env.local file:

NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:8080

• Install dependencies: npm install
• Start development server: npm run dev

Troubleshooting

• CORS Issues: Ensure CLIENT_URL in the backend .env matches your frontend URL.
• Socket Connection: If the socket fails to connect, verify that the backend is running on the expected port (default: 8080).
• Image Uploads: If profile pictures fail to save, check your Cloudinary credentials.