Implement group chat creation and basic group messaging

[Ashmit-Aryan]

Feature: Implement Group Chat Creation

Description

The application currently supports only one-to-one messaging. A group chat feature should be implemented to allow multiple users to communicate within a shared chat room.

Users should be able to create a group, add participants, and exchange messages in real time using the existing WebSocket infrastructure.

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Expected Behavior

Users should be able to:

1. Create a new group chat.
2. Add members to the group during creation.
3. View the group in their chat list.
4. Send and receive messages within the group.
5. Receive real-time updates through WebSocket events.

Group chats should behave similarly to direct chats but support multiple participants.

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Current Behavior

• The application only supports direct one-to-one messaging.
• There is no concept of group conversations.
• No database schema or socket logic exists for multi-user chat rooms.

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Proposed Solution

Database Design

Create a Group collection.

Example schema:

{
  name: String,
  admin: ObjectId,
  members: [ObjectId],
  createdAt: Date
}

Group messages can either:

• Use a separate groupId field in the messages collection
• Or use a dedicated group message collection.

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Backend (Node.js + Express)

Add endpoints such as:

POST /api/groups
GET /api/groups
GET /api/groups/:groupId
POST /api/groups/:groupId/add-member
POST /api/groups/:groupId/remove-member

Responsibilities:

• Create group
• Store group metadata
• Manage members
• Fetch group chats for a user

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WebSocket / Socket.IO

Use socket rooms to manage group messaging.

Example flow:

• Join group room when user opens group chat
• Broadcast messages to all members

Example:

socket.join(groupId)
io.to(groupId).emit("group_message", message)

Acceptance Criteria

• Users can create a group chat.
• Multiple users can participate in the same conversation.
• Messages are delivered in real time using WebSocket.
• Groups appear in the chat list alongside direct chats.

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Environment

Backend: Node.js
Framework: Express
Database: MongoDB
Realtime: Socket.IO
Frontend: React + Zustand + TailwindCSS