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Backend for Codehive 🚀

Introduction 🌟

The backend of Codehive is built using Node.js and Express, designed to provide a real-time collaborative coding environment. It enables seamless communication (video calling and chat), dynamic room management and code synchronization using Socket.IO. Additionally, the backend ensures robust functionality with periodic health checks and task scheduling.

Features ✨

  1. Real-Time Collaboration

    • Synchronize code changes across all users in a room in real time.
    • Broadcast cursor positions to enhance teamwork and visibility.

  2. Room Management

    • Create unique rooms using UUID for collaborative sessions.
    • Manage participants, including handling joins, leaves and disconnections.

  3. Integrated Communication

    • Supports video and audio toggling, ensuring a smooth virtual coding experience.

  4. Health Monitoring

    • Periodic server health checks via a dummy route using Node-Cron.

  5. Scalable Architecture

    • Seamless integration with frontend through environment variables for flexible deployments.

Backend Specifics 🔧

Tech Stack

  • Core Frameworks and Libraries:

    • Express: Lightweight web framework for server-side operations.
    • Socket.IO: Enables real-time, bidirectional communication.
    • Node-Cron: Schedules periodic tasks like health checks.
    • Axios: Simplifies HTTP requests for external APIs.
    • UUID: Generates unique identifiers for rooms.

  • Utilities:

    • CORS: Ensures secure communication between the frontend and backend.
    • dotenv: Manages environment variables for flexible configuration.

Key Functionalities

  1. Socket.IO Events

    • chat_message: Facilitates real-time messaging among users.
    • create_room: Dynamically creates rooms with a unique ID.
    • join_room: Allows users to join existing rooms and synchronizes room data.
    • code_change: Updates code across participants in real time.
    • toggle_video and toggle_audio: Handles user media preferences.
    • disconnect: Cleans up rooms and user data upon disconnection.

  2. API Endpoints

    • GET /: Verifies server availability with a basic response.
    • GET /keep-alive: Keeps the server active by simulating requests.

  3. Cron Jobs

    • Executes a scheduled health check every 8 minutes to ensure server reliability.

Installation and Getting Started 🛠️

Follow the steps below to set up and run the backend server for Codehive:

Prerequisites

  • Node.js (v16+ recommended)

  • npm or yarn

  • A .env file with the following environment variables:

    FRONTEND_URL=<Frontend_URL>  
BACKEND_URL=<Backend_URL>

Steps

  1. Clone the Repository

    git clone https://github.com/codehiveofficial/codehive-server.git
cd codehive-server

  2. Install Dependencies

    # Using npm  
npm install  

# Or using yarn  
yarn install

  3. Set Up Environment Variables
    Create a .env file in the root directory and add the required environment variables as shown above.

  4. Run the Development Server

    node server.js

    The server will run at the specified PORT (default: 5000). You can check its status by visiting http://localhost:5000.

  5. Verify the Setup
    Access the / endpoint in your browser or via Postman to confirm the server is up and running.

Server is ready 🤟

By completing these steps, your backend will be fully operational and ready to support the Codehive platform. 🚀