Real-Time Chat Application A real-time web chat app built with Django, Django Channels, WebSockets, HTML, and CSS. This app enables multiple users to communicate instantly in dedicated chat rooms.

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Features Tech Stack Installation Usage Project Structure Contributing License Features Instant Messaging: Real-time updates via WebSockets. User Authentication: Sign-up, login, and logout functionalities. Multiple Chat Rooms: Users can create or join chat rooms. Persistent Chat History: Stores messages to allow users to view past conversations. Responsive Design: Optimized for both desktop and mobile devices. Tech Stack Backend: Django, Django Channels Frontend: HTML, CSS, JavaScript Database: SQLite (default), PostgreSQL (production) WebSockets: Django Channels with Redis channel layer (production) Asynchronous Server: ASGI Installation Prerequisites Python 3.7+ Redis (for the channel layer in production) Steps Clone the repository:

bash Copy code git clone https://github.com/lyepez-glitch/MessagingApp.git cd MessagingApp Set up a virtual environment:

bash Copy code python3 -m venv venv source venv/bin/activate # On Windows use venv\Scripts\activate Install required packages:

bash Copy code pip install -r requirements.txt Configure environment variables:

Create a .env file in the project root and add necessary configurations (e.g., SECRET_KEY, DEBUG). Ensure Redis is running locally, or update the channel layer configuration to point to your Redis server URL. Run migrations:

bash Copy code python manage.py migrate Create a superuser:

bash Copy code python manage.py createsuperuser Start the development server:

bash Copy code python manage.py runserver Access the app: Visit http://127.0.0.1:8000/ in your browser. Access the Live App:

To see the chat app in action, visit https://lyep.pythonanywhere.com/rooms/ in your browser.

Usage Sign Up or Login: Create an account or log in to an existing one. Join or Create Chat Rooms: Find existing rooms or create a new one. Chat in Real-Time: Send messages and interact with other users in the chat room. Project Structure plaintext Copy code MessagingApp/ ├── messaging/ # Django app for chat functionality │ ├── templates/ # HTML templates │ ├── static/ # Static files (CSS, JS) │ ├── consumers.py # WebSocket consumers for handling events │ ├── routing.py # Channels routing configuration │ └── views.py # Views for rendering chat pages ├── config/ │ ├── settings.py # Project settings │ ├── asgi.py # ASGI configuration for Channels │ └── urls.py # URL configuration ├── manage.py └── README.md Contributing Fork the project. Create a feature branch: bash Copy code git checkout -b feature-name Commit changes: bash Copy code git commit -m 'Add feature name' Push to branch: bash Copy code git push origin feature-name Open a pull request. For more information, visit the GitHub repository.