🗨️ ChatApp – Local Web Chatroom using Spring Boot & WebSockets

ChatApp is a simple local network chatroom application built with Java 17, Spring Boot, and WebSockets. It enables real-time, bidirectional messaging between clients on the same LAN using STOMP over WebSocket.

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🚀 Technologies Used

• ☕ Java JDK 17
• 🌱 Spring Boot 3.5.3
• 🔄 WebSocket (STOMP protocol)
• 🧩 SockJS (WebSocket fallback)
• ✍️ Lombok
• 📦 Maven

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⚙️ Features

• 💬 Real-time messaging over LAN
• 🔁 Bi-directional communication using WebSockets
• 🕒 Timestamped messages
• ⚡ Lightweight Spring-based architecture
• 🎨 Fully functional front-end (HTML, CSS, JS)

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📁 Project Structure

chatapp/
├── src/
│   └── main/
│       ├── java/com/jose/chatapp/
│       │   ├── config/WebSocketConfig.java       # WebSocket configuration
│       │   ├── controller/ChatController.java    # Message handler
│       │   ├── model/ChatMessage.java            # Message model
|       |   └── ChatappApplication.java           # main()
│       └── resources/static/
│           ├── index.html                        # Web UI
│           ├── app.js                            # Front-end logic
│           └── main.css                          # Stylesheet
├── pom.xml                                       # Maven dependencies and build
└── README.md                                     # Project documentation

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▶️ How to Run

✅ Prerequisites

• Java 17+
• Maven

🚦 Steps

git clone https://github.com/your-username/chatapp.git
cd chatapp
mvn spring-boot:run

Then open http://localhost:8080 in your browser.

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📡 How It Works

1. Clients connect to the WebSocket endpoint at /ws (with SockJS fallback).
2. Messages are sent to /app/chat.
3. The server adds a timestamp and broadcasts the message to all subscribers on /topic/messages.
4. The front-end receives and displays messages in real time.

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🔐 Limitations & Security Notes

• Works only on the local network (LAN).

• ❌ No authentication or message persistence.

• ⚠️ Messages are not encrypted — use only for learning or internal LAN communication.

• Can be extended with:

  • JWT Authentication
  • HTTPS support
  • User login system
  • Chat rooms

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🌱 Future Improvements

• 👥 Private & group chats (chat rooms)
• 🔐 User authentication & login
• 🔒 Encrypted TLS communication
• 💡 Front-end revamp (React, Angular, etc.)
• 💾 Message history persistence

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📝 License

MIT License © José Barroso

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