A simple demo application showcasing the musonza/chat Laravel package. This application demonstrates how to build a real-time chat system using Laravel, Vue.js, Inertia.js, and Laravel Reverb.

• 💬 Real-time messaging with Laravel Reverb
• 👥 User-to-user conversations
• 🤖 Bot conversations
• 🔐 Authentication with Laravel Breeze
• 📱 Responsive Vue.js frontend with Inertia.js
• 🔒 Message encryption support
• ✨ Modern UI with Tailwind CSS

Try it live: chat-demo.up.railway.app (coming soon)

• PHP >= 8.2
• Composer
• Node.js >= 18.x and npm
• SQLite (or MySQL/PostgreSQL)

1. Clone the repository

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd chat-demo

2. Install PHP dependencies

   composer install

3. Install JavaScript dependencies

   npm install

4. Set up environment file

   cp .env.example .env
   php artisan key:generate

5. Configure your database

   Edit .env and set your database configuration. For SQLite (default):

   DB_CONNECTION=sqlite
   DB_DATABASE=/absolute/path/to/database/database.sqlite

6. Run migrations

   php artisan migrate

7. Build frontend assets

   npm run build

   Or for development:

   npm run dev

8. Start the development server

   php artisan serve

   For full development setup (server, queue, logs, and Vite):

   composer run dev

Make sure to configure Laravel Reverb in your .env file:

REVERB_APP_ID=your-app-id
REVERB_APP_KEY=your-app-key
REVERB_APP_SECRET=your-app-secret
REVERB_HOST=localhost
REVERB_PORT=8080
REVERB_SCHEME=http

Start the Reverb server:

php artisan reverb:start

The application uses Laravel's broadcasting system. Make sure your .env has:

BROADCAST_DRIVER=reverb

1. Register a new account or login with existing credentials
2. Start a conversation by clicking "New Conversation" and selecting a user
3. Chat with bots by navigating to the Discover page
4. Send messages in real-time - messages appear instantly for all participants

• Backend: Laravel 12
• Frontend: Vue.js 3 + Inertia.js
• Real-time: Laravel Reverb
• Styling: Tailwind CSS
• Chat Package: musonza/chat

chat-demo/
├── app/
│   ├── Http/Controllers/
│   │   ├── Api/          # API endpoints for conversations and messages
│   │   └── ChatController.php
│   └── Models/
│       └── Bot.php       # Bot model for chat bots
├── resources/
│   └── js/
│       ├── Components/Chat/    # Vue chat components
│       ├── Pages/Chat/         # Chat pages
│       └── Composables/        # Vue composables for messages and real-time
└── database/
    └── migrations/       # Database migrations including chat tables

php artisan test

This project uses Laravel Pint for code formatting:

./vendor/bin/pint

This is a demo application. If you'd like to contribute to the underlying chat package, please visit musonza/chat.

This demo application is open-sourced software licensed under the MIT license.

Click the button above or follow these steps:

1. Create a Railway account at railway.app

2. Create a new project and add a PostgreSQL database

3. Deploy from GitHub

   • Connect your GitHub account
   • Select this repository
   • Railway will auto-detect the Laravel app

4. Set environment variables in Railway dashboard:

   APP_NAME="Chat Demo"
   APP_ENV=production
   APP_DEBUG=false
   APP_URL=https://your-app.up.railway.app
   
   # Database (auto-filled if using Railway PostgreSQL)
   DB_CONNECTION=pgsql
   DB_HOST=${{Postgres.PGHOST}}
   DB_PORT=${{Postgres.PGPORT}}
   DB_DATABASE=${{Postgres.PGDATABASE}}
   DB_USERNAME=${{Postgres.PGUSER}}
   DB_PASSWORD=${{Postgres.PGPASSWORD}}
   
   # Generate with: php artisan key:generate --show
   APP_KEY=base64:your-generated-key
   
   # For real-time (Option A: Pusher - recommended for demo)
   BROADCAST_CONNECTION=pusher
   PUSHER_APP_ID=your-pusher-app-id
   PUSHER_APP_KEY=your-pusher-key
   PUSHER_APP_SECRET=your-pusher-secret
   PUSHER_APP_CLUSTER=us2
   
   VITE_PUSHER_APP_KEY="${PUSHER_APP_KEY}"
   VITE_PUSHER_APP_CLUSTER="${PUSHER_APP_CLUSTER}"

5. For real-time WebSockets, choose one option:

   Option A: Pusher (Easiest)

   • Sign up at pusher.com (free tier: 200k messages/day)
   • Create a Channels app and copy credentials
   • Update .env as shown above

   Option B: Soketi on Railway

   • Add Soketi as a separate Railway service
   • Configure it as a Pusher-compatible server

   Option C: Run without real-time

   • Set BROADCAST_CONNECTION=log
   • Messages will save but won't appear instantly (refresh to see new messages)

To create a one-click deploy template:

1. Deploy the app manually first
2. Go to Railway dashboard → Project Settings → Generate Template
3. Replace the button URL in this README

• musonza/chat - The Laravel chat package powering this demo