CodeSockets – Real-time Collaborative Coding with Help Requests, Versioned Fixes

Short Description

CodeSockets addresses a common pain point for developers: the lack of immediate, meaningful help and effective real-time collaboration when facing coding challenges. Whether you're stuck on a bug, want to review another developer's approach, or wish to crowdsource better solutions, CodeSockets is built to streamline that process.

The Solution:
CodeSockets delivers a full-featured platform for real-time collaboration:

• Post help requests
• Receive and review versioned solutions
• Collaborate in real time (including shadow debugging)
• Get notifications for every update
• Enjoy a modern, searchable interface

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Features

• Help Requests: Post your code problems and receive solutions from the community.
• Versioned Fixes: Track different attempts and solutions to each help request, enabling iterative progress.
• Ask & Help Section: Community Q&A with syntax-highlighted code snippets.
• Shadow Debugging Mode: Watch another developer’s live session in real time—perfect for learning and mentoring—without interfering.
• Notifications: Real-time updates for new solutions, accepted answers, and more.
• Search + Filters: Quickly find relevant requests, posts, or topics by searching keywords and applying filters.

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Tech Stack

• Frontend: React + TailwindCSS
  UI, components, responsive layout
• Backend: Node.js + Express.js
  RESTful API & business logic
• Database: Neon
  (Postgres-compatible relational operations)
• Authentication: Auth0 (React SDK)

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Architecture

Client (React) 
   ⬍ 
Express.js REST API 
   ⬍ 
Neon Database (Postgres)

• Real-time updates powered by WebSockets/Socket.io (for collaborative sessions & notifications).
• Modular routing and environment-based configuration.

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Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18+ recommended)
• npm
• Neon account (or Postgres-compatible DB)
• Auth0 account (for authentication)

Installation

git clone https://github.com/Ashwin-973/Code-Sockets.git
cd Code-Sockets

Backend

cd backend
npm install
# Copy .env.example to .env and set your DB credentials
npm run dev

Frontend

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev

Environment Variables

• DB_URL (Neon/Postgres connection string)
• JWT_SECRET (token signing)
• AUTH0_DOMAIN, AUTH0_CLIENT_ID (for Auth0 integration)
• (See backend/.env.example and frontend/.env.example for full list)

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Usage

1. Sign Up / Login

• Use Auth0 to create an account or sign in securely.

2. Posting a Help Request

• Click “Ask for Help”, fill in your code/problem, and submit.
• Other users see your request and can respond with versioned solutions.

3. Accepting/Rejecting Solutions

• Review incoming fixes.
• Accept the best solution (marks it as resolved), or leave comments for further iterations.

4. Shadow Debugging

• Join a “shadow” session to watch another user’s live code and debugging steps.
• Great for learning, onboarding, or remote mentorship.

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Screenshots / GIFs

Add your own screenshots here!

• Dashboard View:
  

• Ask & Help Section:
  

• Notifications Dropdown:
  

• Shadow Debugging:
  

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Contributing

1. Fork this repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/your-feature)
3. Commit your changes
4. Push to your fork
5. Open a Pull Request (with a clear description of your changes)

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License

MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

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Future Improvements

• AI-powered debugging assistant
• Pair programming mode with voice/video chat
• Advanced filtering and search (by tags, skills, solved/unsolved, etc.)
• More integrations (Slack, Discord, etc.)

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Personal Touch

This project started as a way to scratch my own itch for better real-time debugging and collaboration. You might even notice some movie-inspired names sprinkled throughout the codebase—it’s my way of keeping coding fun and creative!

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Note:
This README is based on a partial codebase analysis. For the most up-to-date code and features, browse the repository on GitHub.