Nexus | Prerna Sharma

Nexus

A real-time group chat application where users join shared rooms via a Room ID. Messages broadcast instantly to every member over a persistent WebSocket connection, with no individual accounts required.

Socket.IONode.jsExpressMongoDBReactTailwind CSS

Overview

Nexus is a real-time group chat app where users enter any Room ID and immediately join that shared conversation. Identity is room-based — no signup needed. Messages persist in MongoDB and are pushed to every connected client the instant they are sent.

Problem Statement

Standard HTTP is request-response: the client asks, the server answers, then the connection closes. Chat requires the server to push data to clients the moment a message arrives, without clients polling. Traditional polling is wasteful and creates visible lag — a real chat needs true bidirectional push communication.

Proposed Solution

Socket.IO establishes a persistent WebSocket connection between each browser and the Express server. When a user sends a message the server receives it via the socket event, persists it to MongoDB, and immediately broadcasts it to every other socket that joined the same room — delivering sub-100ms updates without any page refresh.

Key Outcomes

Demonstrates core real-time patterns: room-based namespacing, event-driven architecture, and synchronising state across multiple clients simultaneously. Served as the foundation for understanding WebSocket lifecycle management and scalable chat design.