RTM Chat - Real-Time Messaging Application

A Django-based real-time messaging application that provides chat functionality with WebSockets using Django Channels.

Features

• Real-time chat messaging
• Chat room creation and management
• User authentication and permission control
• WebSocket-based communication
• Modern Bootstrap 5 interface

Technology Stack

• Python 3.12
• Django 5.1
• Django Channels for WebSockets
• Celery for background tasks
• Bootstrap 5 for frontend UI
• SQLite (default) / MySQL support

Getting Started

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/rtm_chat.git
cd rtm_chat

# Update submodules
git submodule update --init

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv

# Activate virtual environment
source venv/bin/activate

# Upgrade pip and install packages
pip install --upgrade pip
pip install -r requirements/py312_dj5.txt

# For MySQL support (optional)
pip install -r requirements/mysql.txt

# Migrate models to database
python manage.py migrate

# Configure project/.env
dotenv="project/.env"
if [ ! -f $dotenv ]; then
    touch ${dotenv}
    secret=$(python manage.py generate_secret_key)
    echo "DJANGO_SECRET_KEY=\"${secret}\"" >> ${dotenv}
    echo "DJANGO_DEBUG=true" >> ${dotenv}
    echo "BOOTSTRAP=bs5" >> ${dotenv}
fi

# Run the development server
python manage.py runserver

Project Structure

• apps/ - Contains Django applications
  • chat/ - Main chat application with real-time messaging functionality
  • gizmo/ - Utility application
• common/ - Common utilities and shared code
• project/ - Django project configuration
• qux/ - Core functionality and utilities
• templates/ - Global templates
• requirements/ - Dependency requirements files

Environment Variables

Django Settings

• DJANGO_SECRET_KEY - Secret key for Django
• DJANGO_DEBUG - Debug mode (true/false)
• DJANGO_ALLOWED_HOSTS - Allowed hosts for Django
• DJANGO_SITE_ID - Site ID
• BOOTSTRAP - Bootstrap version (default: bs5)

Database Configuration

• DB_TYPE - Database type (sqlite3/mysql)
• DB_NAME - Database name
• DB_USERNAME - Database username
• DB_PASSWORD - Database password
• DB_HOST - Database host
• DB_PORT - Database port

Development

Running with Docker (Optional)

1. Make sure Docker and Docker Compose are installed
2. Run docker-compose up -d
3. Access the application at http://localhost:8000

Code Formatting

The project uses the following code quality tools:

• Black for code formatting
• isort for import sorting
• pylint for linting

Testing

Run tests with:

python manage.py test

Deployment

A basic deployment script is provided in deploy.sh.

License

See the LICENSE file for licensing information.