VIDEO / CALL / CHAT

This is a simple video call and chat application using WebRTC and Socket.io.

Technologies Used

• WebRTC
• Socket.io
• Next.js
• Node.js
• Express
• bun runtime

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• bun runtime (1.1.0 or higher)

How To Develop

1. Clone the repository

   https://github.com/shu-vro/video-audio-chat.git
   cd video-audio-chat

2. Install the dependencies. NB: this project used bun as the package manager.

   cd server
   bun i
   cd ../client
   bun i

3. Make a file named .env.local in the client directory and add the following:

   NEXT_PUBLIC_SERVER_URL=http://localhost:3001

4. Make a file named .env.local in the server directory and add the following:

   CLIENT_URL=http://localhost:3000
   NODE_ENV="development"`

5. Start the server

   cd server
   bun run dev # or bun start if don't want to use nodemon
   
   # Then create a new terminal and navigate to the client directory
   cd client
   bun run dev

   In case You want to see the production build, you can run the following commands:

   cd server
   bun run start
   
   # Then create a new terminal and navigate to the client directory
   cd client
   bun run build
   bun run start

6. Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:3000

Troubleshooting

• If you encounter issues with WebRTC, ensure that your server is running with SSL enabled.
• Check the browser console for any error messages and follow the suggested solutions.

Appendices

1. This code can be hosted anywhere, but it is recommended to use a server with SSL enabled. As WebRTC requires a secure connection to work properly. You can use Render to host the server and Vercel to host the client.

2. This project is a simple implementation of WebRTC and Socket.io. It is not recommended to use this code in production as it lacks many features like authentication, error handling, etc.

3. If you want to deploy this project to production, you can use the following steps:

   • Deploy the server to Render or Heroku
   • Deploy the client to Vercel or Netlify
   • Update the .env file in the client directory with the server URL

4. If you want to contribute to this project, you can create a pull request with your changes. I will review it and merge it if it is good. For additional information, head to CONTRIBUTING.md