Simple Messaging Platform 💬

A lightweight, embeddable messaging module for group negotiations and temporary conversations. Built with Node.js and Svelte 5 for easy integration into any application.

✨ Features

• 🏠 Room Management - Create and join chat rooms
• 💬 Real-time Messaging - Instant communication with Socket.IO
• 🤝 Group Negotiation - Built-in voting system for group decisions
• 👥 User Presence - See who's online in each room
• 📱 Responsive Design - Works on desktop and mobile
• 🔧 Easy Integration - Simple component-based architecture

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 16+
• npm or yarn

Installation

1. Install dependencies:

   npm run install-all

2. Start development server:

   npm run dev

3. Open your browser: Navigate to http://localhost:5173

📦 Integration

Basic Usage

import MessagingModule from "./lib/MessagingModule.svelte";

let config = {
  serverUrl: "http://your-server.com",
  username: "user123",
  theme: "modern",
};

function handleClose() {
  // Handle module close
}

<MessagingModule {config} onClose={handleClose} />

Configuration Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
serverUrl	string	http://localhost:3000	Backend server URL
username	string	Required	User display name
theme	string	modern	UI theme

🏗️ Architecture

├── server/              # Node.js backend
│   └── index.js        # Socket.IO server
├── client/             # Svelte 5 frontend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── lib/        # Reusable components
│   │   │   ├── MessagingModule.svelte  # Main module
│   │   │   ├── RoomList.svelte         # Room browser
│   │   │   ├── CreateRoom.svelte       # Room creation
│   │   │   └── ChatRoom.svelte         # Chat interface
│   │   ├── App.svelte  # Demo application
│   │   └── main.js     # Entry point
│   └── package.json
└── package.json        # Main project config

🔧 API Reference

Server Endpoints

• GET /api/rooms - List all rooms
• POST /api/rooms - Create new room
• GET /api/health - Server health check

Socket Events

Client → Server

• join-room - Join a chat room
• send-message - Send a message
• start-negotiation - Start group negotiation
• vote - Cast vote on negotiation

Server → Client

• message-history - Historical messages
• new-message - New message received
• user-joined/left - User presence updates
• negotiation-started - Negotiation initiated
• vote-cast - Vote registered
• negotiation-completed - Negotiation finished

💡 Use Cases

• Project Management - Team decision making
• Community Forums - Group discussions
• Customer Support - Temporary help channels
• Event Planning - Collaborative organization
• E-commerce - Buyer-seller negotiations

🎯 Development Scripts

# Install all dependencies (server + client)
npm run install-all

# Development mode (both server and client)
npm run dev

# Server only (development)
npm run server:dev

# Client only (development)
npm run client:dev

# Build for production
npm run build

# Start production server
npm start

🌐 Production Deployment

1. Build the client:

   npm run build

2. Set environment variables:

   export PORT=3000
   export NODE_ENV=production

3. Start the server:

   npm start

🔒 Security Considerations

• Input validation on all user messages
• Rate limiting for message sending
• Room size limitations
• No persistent data storage (temporary conversations)

🎨 Customization

Styling

The components use CSS custom properties that can be overridden:

.messaging-container {
  --primary-color: #667eea;
  --secondary-color: #764ba2;
  --background-color: white;
  --text-color: #333;
}

Component Extension

Extend functionality by modifying the Svelte components in client/src/lib/.

🎯 Strategy & Roadmap

See Competitive Strategy for how this project aligns with Twilio and Africa's Talking (feature parity and patterns) and our edge as an open source, embeddable, self-hosted messaging platform.

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly
5. Submit a pull request

📄 License

MIT License - feel free to use in your projects!

🆘 Support

• Check the browser console for error messages
• Ensure server is running on the correct port
• Verify Socket.IO connection in network tab
• Test with multiple browser tabs for full functionality

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Built with ❤️ using Node.js and Svelte 5