Private Messaging Real-time Chat App

Private Messaging — Real-time Chat App

A minimal, fast one-on-one private messaging app built with React.js and Firebase. Users can register, sign in, sign out, and exchange real-time messages using Firestore realtime updates.

Small footprint · Instant updates · Secure one-on-one conversations

Features

Authentication: Register, Login, Logout (Firebase Auth)
Private one-on-one chats only — no group chats
Real-time messaging via Firestore snapshot listeners
Minimal, responsive UI built with React
Light client-side state, optimized rendering for speed

Highlights

Privacy-first: conversations are strictly between two users
Real-time: new messages appear instantly without refresh
Fast: minimal components and efficient Firestore queries
Simple data model: users collection + messages/conversations stored per pair

Tech stack

React (Create React App / Vite)
Firebase Authentication
Firestore (Realtime)
Optional: CSS modules / Tailwind / Styled components

Getting started

Clone the repo:

git clone https://github.com/IlyosovSarvarbek/chat_app.git
cd chat_app

Install dependencies:

npm install

Add Firebase config (example .env.local):

REACT_APP_FIREBASE_API_KEY=your_api_key
REACT_APP_FIREBASE_AUTH_DOMAIN=your_auth_domain
REACT_APP_FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID=your_project_id

Run locally:

npm start

Usage

Create an account or sign in with an existing one
Find or select a contact and start a private conversation
Messages sync instantly across devices thanks to Firestore realtime listeners
Use Logout to end the session

Data model (example)

users (uid, displayName, photoURL, lastSeen)
conversations or messages (senderId, receiverId, text, timestamp)
Indexed queries fetch only the two-user conversation for fast reads

Contributing

Small improvements, bug fixes, and UI enhancements welcome. Open an issue or PR.

License

Open source — see repository for license details.