BridgeChat

• BridgeChat
  • Features
  • Tech Stack
  • Getting Started
    • Prerequisites
    • Installation
  • 🔐 Local Secrets Setup
  • Documentation
  • Contributing
  • License
  • Changelog
  • Contact

BridgeChat is a real-time chat application designed to break language barriers by integrating real-time translation. It offers seamless communication for users across different languages and platforms—starting with a web interface and expanding to mobile and desktop.

Features

• Real-Time Messaging: Fast, reliable message delivery with instant updates.
• Group Chats: Start conversations with multiple users, auto-generate group names, and customize group settings with group names and participant lists.
• Automatic Translation: Messages are translated on-the-fly into each participant’s preferred language in both individual and group chats.
• User Privacy: Secure, username-based registration without the need for phone numbers.
• Scalability: Built using Flutter and Firebase for cross-platform support (web, mobile, desktop).
• Polished UI: Gradient backgrounds, responsive layouts, message timestamps, and day-grouped messages for a modern chat experience.

Tech Stack

• Front-End: Flutter (for Web, Mobile, and Desktop)
• Back-End: Firebase (Authentication, Firestore/Realtime Database, Cloud Functions, Hosting)
• Real-Time Communication: Firebase’s real-time updates
• Translation Integration: External translation via Self-Hosted Libretranslate calls.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Flutter SDK installed on your machine
• A Firebase project with Authentication, Firestore/Realtime Database, Cloud Functions, and Hosting enabled
• API key/configuration for your translation service (if applicable)

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/av1155/bridgechat.git

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd BridgeChat

3. Install dependencies:

   flutter pub get

4. Configure Firebase:

• Update your Firebase configuration (e.g., firebase_options.dart) with your project details.

5. Run the app:

   flutter run

   💡 Tip: For web builds, you can use flutter run -d chrome or flutter build web to test and deploy.

🔐 Local Secrets Setup

To run locally:

1. Copy lib/secrets_sample.dart to lib/secrets.dart
2. Fill in your actual translation API URL
3. Make sure lib/secrets.dart is not committed (already in .gitignore)

Documentation

Detailed project documentation is available in the BridgeChat_Docs folder:

• Project Vision
• SRS
• System Architecture
• Project Plan & Roadmap
• Testing & Quality Assurance
• Deployment & Maintenance
• Developer Documentation

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or submit a pull request with improvements or bug fixes.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.md for details.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for a history of changes and version updates.

Contact

For inquiries, please contact [email protected].