WebSocket Chat Server

A real-time chat server built using Rust with support for group and private messaging through WebSocket connections. This server allows users to join and leave chat rooms, send group messages to a room, or have private conversations with other users.

**note:**The project is not complete and need to develop,it will be build as fast as I can.

Features

• Real-time Communication: Supports WebSocket-based messaging for low-latency, bi-directional communication.
• Group Chat: Users can join rooms and broadcast messages to all participants in the room.
• Private Chat: Users can send direct messages to others.
• Token-based Authentication: Optional token-based authentication for user sessions.
• Scalable Architecture: The server is designed to handle multiple concurrent connections.

Table of Contents

• Installation
• Usage
  • Starting the Server
  • Client Interaction
• Configuration
• Message Format
  • Enter Room
  • Leave Room
  • Group Chat
  • Private Chat
• Error Handling
• Contributing
• License

Installation

To get started with the websocket_chat_server, follow the instructions below.

Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following installed on your system:

• Rust (latest stable version)
• Cargo

Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/websocket_chat_server.git
cd websocket_chat_server

Build the Project

You can build the project with Cargo:

cargo build --bin testserver --release

Run the Project

After building the project, you can run the server with:

cargo run --bin testserver --release

Usage

Starting the Server

To start the WebSocket chat server, run the following command:

cargo run --bin testserver --release

The server will listen for WebSocket connections on ws://127.0.0.1:8080/. You can adjust the server settings in the configuration section below.

Client Interaction

Clients can connect to the server using WebSocket clients such as a browser, WebSocket libraries, or custom clients. The server supports the following message types for interaction:

• Enter Room: Join a chat room.
• Leave Room: Leave the current room.
• Group Chat: Send a message to all users in the room.
• Private Chat: Send a direct message to a specific user.

Configuration

The server can be configured by modifying the environment variables or the configuration file. Key settings include:

• Port: The port the server listens on (default: 8080).
• Max Connections: Maximum number of WebSocket connections allowed.
• Authentication: Enable or disable token-based authentication.

You can modify these settings in the .env file or pass them as command-line arguments.

Message Format

Each WebSocket message consists of a message_type and a message_body. Below is the format for different message types.

Enter Room

{
  "message_type": "Enter",
  "message_body": {
    "sender_username": "your_username"
  },
  "token": "optional_uuid_token"
}

Leave Room

{
  "message_type": "Leave",
  "message_body": {
    "sender_username": "your_username"
  },
  "token": "optional_uuid_token"
}

Group Chat

{
  "message_type": "GroupChat",
  "message_body": {
    "sender_username": "your_username",
    "content": "your_message"
  },
  "token": "optional_uuid_token"
}

Private Chat

{
  "message_type": "PrivateChat",
  "message_body": {
    "target_username": "target_user",
    "sender_username": "your_username",
    "content": "your_message"
  },
  "token": "optional_uuid_token"
}

Error Handling

The server provides basic error handling and logging. If a WebSocket connection is closed or an invalid message is received, the server will log the error and terminate the connection if necessary.

Common error scenarios include:

• Invalid Message Format: The server will log an error if a malformed message is received.
• Authentication Errors: If a message is sent without a valid token (in token-based mode), the server will reject the message.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow the steps below to contribute to the project:

1. Fork the repository.

2. Create a new branch for your feature or bug fix:

   git checkout -b my-feature-branch
   

3. Make your changes and commit them:

   git commit -m "Add some feature"
   

4. Push the branch:

   git push origin my-feature-branch
   

5. Open a Pull Request.

Code Style

Please ensure your code follows Rust’s standard code style. You can use cargo fmt to automatically format your code.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.