parkchat-server

A simple, room-based real-time chat server built with Go. It uses WebSockets for communication, SQLite for data persistence, and provides basic user authentication.

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Features ✨

• User Registration: Secure user registration with password hashing (bcrypt).
• Multiple Chat Rooms: Create and join different chat rooms dynamically based on the URL path.
• Real-Time Messaging: Instant message broadcasting to all users in a specific room using WebSockets.
• Message History: An endpoint to retrieve the last 50 messages from a chat room.
• System Messages: Automatic notifications when a user joins or leaves a room.
• Persistent Storage: Chat messages and user data are saved in a local SQLite database (chat.db).

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Tech Stack 🛠️

• Backend: Go
• WebSocket: gorilla/websocket
• Database: SQLite (using glebarez/sqlite driver)
• Password Hashing: golang.org/x/crypto/bcrypt

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Getting Started

Follow these instructions to get the server up and running on your local machine.

Prerequisites

• Go (version 1.18 or newer is recommended)

Installation & Running

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Astelta/parkchat-server.git
   cd parkchat-server

2. Install dependencies: This project uses Go Modules. Dependencies will be downloaded automatically on the first run, or you can fetch them manually.

   go mod tidy

3. Run the server:

   go run ./main.go

   The server will start on port 8080 by default and will create a chat.db file in the project root to store data.

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API Endpoints & Usage 📖

1. Register a User

• Endpoint: POST /register
• Description: Creates a new user account.
• Request Body (JSON):

  {
      "nickname": "your_nickname",
      "password": "your_password"
  }

• Responses:
  • 201 Created: If the user is successfully registered.
  • 409 Conflict: If the nickname already exists.
  • 400 Bad Request: If the nickname or password is empty.

2. Get Chat History

• Endpoint: GET /history/{roomName}
• Description: Retrieves the last 50 messages from the specified chat room.
• Authentication: HTTP Basic Auth. Use the nickname and password of a registered user.
• Response:
  • 200 OK: Returns a JSON array of message objects.

    [
        {
            "id": 0,
            "chat_room": "",
            "nickname": "user1",
            "content": "Hello World!",
            "timestamp": "2025-09-08T15:30:00Z"
        }
    ]

  • 401 Unauthorized: If authentication fails.

3. Connect to Chat (WebSocket)

• Endpoint: GET /ws/{roomName}
• Description: Upgrades the HTTP connection to a WebSocket to join a chat room.
• Authentication: HTTP Basic Auth. Use the nickname and password of a registered user.
• URL Example: ws://localhost:8080/ws/general

WebSocket Communication

• Sending Messages: Send a JSON object with a content key. The server will automatically fill in the other details (nickname, timestamp, etc.).

  {
      "content": "This is my message!"
  }

• Receiving Messages: You will receive message objects in the following format. The type can be "chat" for user messages or "system" for join/leave notifications.

  {
      "id": 123,
      "chat_room": "general",
      "nickname": "some_user",
      "content": "Hello everyone!",
      "timestamp": "2025-09-08T15:32:10Z",
      "type": "chat"
  }

  {
      "id": 0,
      "chat_room": "general",
      "nickname": "some_user",
      "content": "some_user has joined the room",
      "timestamp": "2025-09-08T15:31:05Z",
      "type": "system"
  }

4. Health Check

• Endpoint: GET /health
• Description: A simple endpoint to check if the server is running.
• Response:
  • 200 OK: With a plain text body OK.