Privora

A distributed chat application with a C-based client/server and a Python (Flask) authentication system.

Directory Structure

• client/ - C client code.
• server/ - C server code.
• flask_auth/ - Flask authentication system for user management.
• include/ - Header files for the C application.
• build/ - Compiled binaries.
• logs/ - Log files (optional).
• assets/ - Project assets (e.g., images, logos).
• .gitignore - Specifies files and directories to ignore in Git.
• README.md - This file.

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How to Clone the Project

Run the following command to clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/med1001/Privora.git
cd Privora

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How to Build and Run the C Chat Application

Prerequisites

Ensure that you have GCC and Make installed. If not, install them using:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install build-essential

Before building the project, ensure that the libcurl is installed using the following command on Ubuntu-based systems:

sudo apt-get install libcurl4-openssl-dev

Building the Server & Client

1. Navigate to the server/ directory and compile the server:

   cd server
   make  # Builds the server

2. Navigate to the client/ directory and compile the client:

   cd ../client
   make  # Builds the client

Running the Chat Application

After building, you can run the client and server from the build/ directory in both client and server:

cd build 
./server &  # Start the server in the background
./client  # Start the client

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Setting Up Flask Authentication

The Flask authentication system handles user account creation and private messaging authentication.

Prerequisites

Ensure you have Python 3.8+ installed. If not, install it using:

sudo apt install python3 python3-venv python3-pip

Setting Up the Virtual Environment

1. Navigate to the flask_auth/ directory:

   cd flask_auth

2. Create and activate a virtual environment:

   source venv/bin/activate  

3. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

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Configuring the .env File

Before running the Flask authentication server, you need to properly set up the .env file. The .env file should contain the following environment variables:

SMTP_SERVER=smtp.gmail.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_USERNAME=your_email@example.com
SMTP_PASSWORD=your_smtp_password
FROM_EMAIL=your_email@example.com

• SMTP Credentials: These are necessary for sending confirmation emails and password recovery notifications.
• Security Note: Do not push your .env file to any public repositories to protect sensitive information. Instead, add it to your .gitignore file and share it securely with your team if needed.
• You can create a .env.example file without the sensitive values to demonstrate the expected structure of the .env file.

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Running the Flask Server

Start the authentication server with:

python auth_server.py

By default, Flask runs on http://127.0.0.1:5000/.

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How to Clean the C Build

To remove compiled binaries and build artifacts, run:

make clean

Run this command separately in both server/ and client/ directories if needed.

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Next Steps

• Add private chat functionality between two users.

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Contributing

Feel free to contribute! Fork the repo, make your changes, and submit a pull request.

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License

This project is open-source and available under the GNU General Public License v3.0.