Highlights:
- Custom JWT Authentication (no 3rd-party auth)
- Real-time Messaging via Socket.io
- Online/Offline Presence Indicators
- Notification & Typing Sounds (with toggle)
- Welcome Emails on Signup (Resend)
- Image Uploads (Cloudinary)
- REST API with Node.js & Express
- MongoDB for Data Persistence
- API Rate-Limiting powered by Arcjet
- Beautiful UI with React, Tailwind CSS & DaisyUI
- Zustand for State Management
- Git & GitHub Workflow (branches, PRs, merges)
- Easy Deployment (free-tier friendly with Sevalla)