{"id":2438,"date":"2023-09-12T11:14:48","date_gmt":"2023-09-12T11:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learning.workfall.com\/learning\/blog\/?p=2438"},"modified":"2025-09-12T09:46:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T09:46:09","slug":"how-to-build-an-interactive-real-time-chat-application-with-websockets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learning.workfall.com\/learning\/blog\/how-to-build-an-interactive-real-time-chat-application-with-websockets\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\">11<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Illustrations\/1.png\" alt=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>What is Socket.io?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\"><a href=\"https:\/\/socket.io\/\">Socket.io<\/a>, a widely-used JavaScript library, offers a framework for facilitating real-time, two-way communication between web clients (like browsers) and servers. It uses WebSockets as the primary communication method but also offers fallback options such as long polling for environments where WebSockets may not be supported. This makes it a powerful tool for building interactive and dynamic web applications that require instant data exchange between clients and servers, such as chat applications, online gaming, collaborative tools, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Why Socket.io?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">Socket.io is a JavaScript library preferred for <a href=\"https:\/\/learning.workfall.com\/learning\/blog\/supercharge-your-react-app-with-real-time-graphql-subscriptions-apollo-client\/\">real-time<\/a> communication in web applications due to its seamless bidirectional data exchange between clients and servers, utilizing WebSockets with fallback mechanisms like long polling for broader compatibility. Its user-friendly API simplifies development, embracing an event-driven structure for custom interactions. Scalable and versatile, Socket.IO enables both small-scale projects and large-scale applications to manage concurrent connections efficiently. Its extensive community and documentation resources further enhance its appeal, making it an ideal choice for creating dynamic and interactive web experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Hands-On<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Illustrations\/2.png\" alt=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Required installations:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To perform the demo, you require the following installations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Node js:<\/strong> It offers an efficient runtime environment for developing server-side and networking applications using JavaScript.<\/li><li><strong>Socket.io:<\/strong> Socket.io is a JavaScript library that enables real-time, bidirectional communication between web clients and servers.<\/li><li><strong>VS Code:<\/strong> It is a feature-rich source code editor designed to enhance coding speed and efficiency by offering a wide range of useful tools.<\/li><li><strong>Live Server:<\/strong>&nbsp; It is a VS Code extension that enables real-time preview and live reloading for web development.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">In this hands-on, we will learn how to leverage Web Sockets and Node.js in order to develop a chat web application using the Socket.io library. We will begin by setting up a dedicated project directory and then proceed to install the socket.io library.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">Following that, we will write the backend logic for our application and move on to designing the application&#8217;s front-end using HTML and CSS.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">Additionally, we will craft the client-side code logic using the socket.io library. Throughout the process, we will conduct regular testing to ensure the application functions smoothly both in terms of user interface and backend functionality. By following these steps, you are about to embark on an enjoyable and rewarding journey of building your own chat application.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">The principles covered in this tutorial will be applicable to programming languages or technologies that support Web Sockets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Create a new directory on your local machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/1.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Open VS Code and click on open, to open the directory you just created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/2.jpg\" alt=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>After opening the newly created directory, you will see a welcome screen like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/3.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Open the command prompt and run the command npm init.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/4.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">If Node is properly installed on your machine, then you will see the screen below. Enter a name for the project. Press enter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/5.jpg\" alt=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Enter yes and press the enter key or else just press the enter key to initialize the folder creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/6.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, in the folder structure on the left side, you will see a new file with the name <em>package.json<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/7.jpg\" alt=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Open your command prompt and run the command as shown in the image below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><code>npm install socket.io<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/8.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>On successful installation, you will see the screen as shown in the image below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/9.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In the file structure, you will get to see the new folders and files created based on the packages you install.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/10.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, post-installation if you open the package JSON file, you will see the socket.io package installed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/11.jpg\" alt=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, right-click on the folder structure and click on Create a new file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/12.jpg\" alt=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Enter a file name and save the file as <em>index.js<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/13.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In <em>index.js<\/em>, we first need to require the HTTP and socket.io modules:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/14.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">Now, we&#8217;ll make a web server and connect it to a port number. For this demonstration, we&#8217;ll go with port 8000, but you&#8217;re free to pick any open port number on your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/15.jpg\" alt=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">Now if we start the server by typing &#8220;<em>node index.js<\/em>&#8221; in the terminal and then go to &#8220;<em>http:\/\/localhost:8000<\/em>&#8221; in our web browser, we should be able to see the message &#8220;Server is running!&#8221; displayed on the webpage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/16.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">Afterward, our next step involves connecting the Socket.IO server to our HTTP server. We achieve this by using the &#8216;listen&#8217; method on the &#8216;io&#8217; object and providing our HTTP server as a parameter to this method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/17.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">We will store all the users that will be joining the chat in a variable called \u201cusers\u201d. It will be an object with no value initially as shown in the image below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/18.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">Moving forward, we&#8217;re going to work on the logic for our chat application. We&#8217;ll start by creating an Event Listener that pays attention whenever a new person joins our Socket.IO server. Then, all the other codes we need will be placed inside this Event Listener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/19.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">Now, we will handle the scenario when a new user joins the application. We will record the user&#8217;s name in the user&#8217;s object and then notify all other connected users about the arrival of the new user by emitting a &#8216;user-joined&#8217; event along with the user&#8217;s name. This way, users are informed in real-time when someone new joins the chat or application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/20.jpg\" alt=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">Next, let&#8217;s tackle what happens when a user wants to send a message. In this case, our program pays attention to a special &#8216;send&#8217; event. When this event happens, the program grabs the content of the message and the sender&#8217;s name. The sender&#8217;s name is saved in the &#8216;users&#8217; object, and each sender has a unique ID. Once the program has the message and sender&#8217;s name, it spreads this message to all the other users who are currently connected, except the sender. We use another event called &#8216;receive&#8217; for this purpose. This way, everyone in the group gets the message except the person who originally sent it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/21.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">Now, the final event will occur when a user leaves the chat. For this purpose, we will create another Event Listener that listens for the &#8216;disconnect&#8217; event. Upon detecting this event, it informs all other connected users, except the departing user, by emitting a &#8216;left&#8217; message. The user&#8217;s name, stored in the &#8216;users&#8217; object using their unique socket ID, is included in the &#8216;left&#8217; message. Subsequently, the user&#8217;s information is removed from the &#8216;users&#8217; list to ensure its accuracy and to keep it up-to-date. This process guarantees that everyone is informed about the departure and that the user records remain precise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/22.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>With the server configuration in place, it&#8217;s time to proceed to the setup of the client-side code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">To begin, we&#8217;ll make a fresh directory named &#8220;client&#8221; in the main project directory. This directory will serve as the storage location for all the client-side code of our chat application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/23.jpg\" alt=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Create a new file inside the \u201cclient\u201d directory and save it as \u201c<em>index.html<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/24.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Add this boiler plate code to the <em>index.html<\/em> file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/25.jpg\" alt=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">Now, we will integrate Socket.IO into our client-side code by including the Socket.IO CDN in the &lt;head&gt; section of the \u201c<em>index.html<\/em>\u201d file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/26.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We will be using Font Awesome icons in our application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">To incorporate Font Awesome icons into our application, we&#8217;ll need to include the provided code snippet within the &lt;head&gt; section of our &#8220;<em>index.html<\/em>&#8221; file. This will link the Font Awesome icons CDN to our application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/27.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">Next, we&#8217;ll write the HTML code to design the user interface of our chat app. Insert the provided code within the &lt;body&gt; tag in the <em>index.html<\/em> file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/28.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">To get a glimpse of our UI&#8217;s appearance, we&#8217;ll set up a VS Code extension called Live Server. This extension lets us see real-time UI changes as we code, eliminating the need for constant page reloading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Install the Live Server extension from VS Code extensions from the left side menu as shown in the image below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/29.jpg\" alt=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">After installation is done, open the <em>index.html<\/em> file and click on \u201cGo Live\u201d from the bottom right corner of the VS Code window as shown in the image below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/30.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ll be able to see our UI on the browser as shown in the image below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/31.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">We will make our UI look like a chat application by adding some styling. Simply right-click on the &#8216;client&#8217; folder, create a new file, and name it &#8216;<em>styles.css<\/em>&#8216; as shown in the image below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/32.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">Now, let\u2019s link our CSS file to our HTML code by placing the below-provided code to the &lt;head&gt; tag in the <em>index.html<\/em> file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/33.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, let\u2019s write some CSS code to style the UI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Add the below-provided code to the <em>styles.css<\/em> file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/34.jpg\" alt=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/35.jpg\" alt=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/36.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Open the browser to see the changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/37.jpg\" alt=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, we\u2019ll write client-side logic for our application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Create a file inside the \u2018client\u2019 folder and save it as \u2018<em>app.js<\/em>\u2019 as shown in the image below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/38.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">Link the Javascript file to the HTML code by adding the below-provided code to the &lt;head&gt; section of the <em>index.html<\/em> file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/39.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The final HTML code will look as shown in the image below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/40.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">Now, open the app.js file and write the below-provided code to establish a connection to the WebSocket server using the Socket.IO library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/41.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">Write the below-provided code to get DOM elements in respective Js variables so that we can alter them later. For example: putting our messages on the right side and other\u2019s messages on the left side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/42.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Include the code below in <em>app.js<\/em>. It&#8217;ll request the user&#8217;s name right at the start and inform the server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/43.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Open the browser to test the code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/44.jpg\" alt=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, we&#8217;ll create a function to add new event information to the UI container. It will also apply the &#8216;message&#8217; class to the element.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/45.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">The code below listens for the &#8216;user-joined&#8217; event. When this event happens, it sticks a message onto the left side of the UI container. This message lets everyone else using the app know that a new user has joined. Add this code to your <em>app.js<\/em> file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/46.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Include the following code in the app.js file. This code listens for the &#8216;receive&#8217; event from the server. When this event occurs, it places the message on the left side of the container in the UI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/47.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">Next, we&#8217;ll listen for a &#8216;left&#8217; event sent by the server. This event will be triggered when a user exits the chat. When this happens, we&#8217;ll display the information to the rest of the users by adding a message to the UI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/48.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, in the \u2018send\u2019 event, when the user hits the send button we have to show the message to the right side of the container on the UI and also send the message typed by the user to the server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/49.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The final Javascript code will look as shown in the image below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/50.jpg\" alt=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">As we are done with the coding part, let\u2019s test out our application by opening two browser windows, one in incognito mode and the other in normal mode as shown in the image below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/51.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/52.jpg\" alt=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Enter the names and start sending and receiving messages in real-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/53.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/workfall-techblogs.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\/179\/Images\/54.jpg\" alt=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">In this hands-on, we have learned how to utilize Web Sockets and Node.js to create a chat web application with the Socket.io library. We started by creating a dedicated project directory and then installed the socket.io library. After that, we wrote the backend login of our application and proceeded to design the application using HTML and CSS as well as write the logic for client-side code using the socket.io library. We continuously tested our application to ensure its appearance on the UI and the functionality on the backend. By following this process, you&#8217;ve had an enjoyable and rewarding experience in building your own chat application. The principles covered in this tutorial can be applied to any programming language or technology that supports Web Sockets. We will come up with more such use cases in our upcoming blogs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Meanwhile\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">If you are an aspiring Backend developer and want to explore more about the above topics, here are a few of our blogs for your reference:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.workfall.com\/learning\/blog\/how-to-perform-encryption-and-decryption-of-messages-using-crypto-in-node-js\/\">How to perform encryption and decryption of messages using Crypto in Node.js?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.workfall.com\/learning\/blog\/how-to-configure-cors-in-node-js-with-express\/\">How to Configure CORS in Node.js With Express?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.workfall.com\/learning\/blog\/how-to-connect-to-mongodb-using-mongoose-and-mongodb-atlas-in-node-js\/\">How to connect to MongoDB using Mongoose and MongoDB Atlas in Node.js?<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Stay tuned to get all the updates about our upcoming blogs on the cloud and the latest technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Keep Exploring -&gt; Keep Learning -&gt; Keep Mastering<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\">At <a href=\"https:\/\/www.workfall.com\/\">Workfall<\/a>, we strive to provide the best tech and pay opportunities to kickass coders around the world. If you\u2019re looking to work with global clients, build cutting-edge products, and make big bucks doing so, give it a shot at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.workfall.com\/partner\/\">workfall.com\/partner<\/a> today!<br><br><style type=\"text\/css\"><\/style><section id='' \n                class='helpie-faq accordions faq-toggle open-first groupSettings-482__enabled' \n                data-collection='' \n                data-pagination='0' \n                data-search='0' \n                data-pagination-enabled='0'\n                role='region'\n                aria-label='FAQ Section'\n                aria-live='polite'><h3 class=\"collection-title\">Frequently Asked Questions:<\/h3><article class=\"accordion \"><div class='helpie-faq-row'><div class='helpie-faq-col helpie-faq-col-12' ><ul><li class=\"accordion__item \"><div class=\"accordion__header \" \r\n                id=\"accordion-header-post-2664\"\r\n                role=\"button\"\r\n                aria-expanded=\"false\"\r\n                aria-controls=\"accordion-content-post-2664\"\r\n                data-id=\"post-2664\" \r\n                data-item=\"hfaq-post-2664\" \r\n                style=\"background:transparent;\" \r\n                data-tags=\"\"\r\n                tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"accordion__title\">Q: What is Socket.IO and why is it used in this tutorial?<\/div><\/div><div id=\"accordion-content-post-2664\" \r\n                class=\"accordion__body\" \r\n                role=\"region\"\r\n                aria-labelledby=\"accordion-header-post-2664\"\r\n                style=\"background:transparent;\"><p><span class=\"rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\">11<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>A:<\/strong> Socket.IO is a popular JavaScript library that enables real-time, bidirectional communication between clients and servers. It leverages WebSockets and includes fallback options like long polling, ensuring broader compatibility and event-driven architecture\u2014ideal for building interactive chat applications<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"accordion__item \"><div class=\"accordion__header \" \r\n                id=\"accordion-header-post-2665\"\r\n                role=\"button\"\r\n                aria-expanded=\"false\"\r\n                aria-controls=\"accordion-content-post-2665\"\r\n                data-id=\"post-2665\" \r\n                data-item=\"hfaq-post-2665\" \r\n                style=\"background:transparent;\" \r\n                data-tags=\"\"\r\n                tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"accordion__title\">Q: What tools and libraries are required to follow the tutorial?<\/div><\/div><div id=\"accordion-content-post-2665\" \r\n                class=\"accordion__body\" \r\n                role=\"region\"\r\n                aria-labelledby=\"accordion-header-post-2665\"\r\n                style=\"background:transparent;\"><p><span class=\"rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\">11<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>A:<\/strong> You\u2019ll need:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Node.js<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u2014 for the server-side runtime,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Socket.IO<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u2014 to enable real-time communication,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Visual Studio Code (VS Code)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u2014 as the development environment.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> These tools set the foundation for setting up both backend and frontend components.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"accordion__item \"><div class=\"accordion__header \" \r\n                id=\"accordion-header-post-2666\"\r\n                role=\"button\"\r\n                aria-expanded=\"false\"\r\n                aria-controls=\"accordion-content-post-2666\"\r\n                data-id=\"post-2666\" \r\n                data-item=\"hfaq-post-2666\" \r\n                style=\"background:transparent;\" \r\n                data-tags=\"\"\r\n                tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"accordion__title\">Q: What are the high-level steps to build the chat application?<\/div><\/div><div id=\"accordion-content-post-2666\" \r\n                class=\"accordion__body\" \r\n                role=\"region\"\r\n                aria-labelledby=\"accordion-header-post-2666\"\r\n                style=\"background:transparent;\"><p><span class=\"rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\">11<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Create a project directory and initialize it with <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">npm init<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Install the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">socket.io<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> package<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Write backend logic in <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">index.js<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, creating an HTTP server and integrating Socket.IO<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Set up client-side files (<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">index.html<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">app.js<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">) with UI and Socket.IO logic<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Run the application locally and test communication between browser windows.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"accordion__item \"><div class=\"accordion__header \" \r\n                id=\"accordion-header-post-2667\"\r\n                role=\"button\"\r\n                aria-expanded=\"false\"\r\n                aria-controls=\"accordion-content-post-2667\"\r\n                data-id=\"post-2667\" \r\n                data-item=\"hfaq-post-2667\" \r\n                style=\"background:transparent;\" \r\n                data-tags=\"\"\r\n                tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"accordion__title\">Q: How are user events (join, message, leave) handled in this app?<\/div><\/div><div id=\"accordion-content-post-2667\" \r\n                class=\"accordion__body\" \r\n                role=\"region\"\r\n                aria-labelledby=\"accordion-header-post-2667\"\r\n                style=\"background:transparent;\"><p><span class=\"rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\">11<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When a user joins, their name is stored and a <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8220;user-joined&#8221;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> event is emitted to other connected clients.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Messages are sent using a <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8220;receive&#8221;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> event handled by client-side rendering logic.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8220;left&#8221;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> event is emitted and displayed when a user exits the chat.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"accordion__item \"><div class=\"accordion__header \" \r\n                id=\"accordion-header-post-2668\"\r\n                role=\"button\"\r\n                aria-expanded=\"false\"\r\n                aria-controls=\"accordion-content-post-2668\"\r\n                data-id=\"post-2668\" \r\n                data-item=\"hfaq-post-2668\" \r\n                style=\"background:transparent;\" \r\n                data-tags=\"\"\r\n                tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"accordion__title\">Q: How do you test the application to ensure it works correctly?<\/div><\/div><div id=\"accordion-content-post-2668\" \r\n                class=\"accordion__body\" \r\n                role=\"region\"\r\n                aria-labelledby=\"accordion-header-post-2668\"\r\n                style=\"background:transparent;\"><p><span class=\"rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\">11<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>A:<\/strong> Once both backend and frontend are running, open two browser windows (one in incognito mode and one normal). Join the chat in both windows, exchange messages, and observe real-time updates appearing in each\u2014this confirms correct functionality.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/learning.workfall.com\/learning\/blog\/how-to-build-an-interactive-real-time-chat-application-with-websockets\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/section><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\">11<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span> What is Socket.io? Socket.io, a widely-used JavaScript library, offers a framework for facilitating real-time, two-way communication between web clients (like browsers) and servers. It uses WebSockets as the primary communication method but also offers fallback options such as long polling for environments where WebSockets may not be supported. This makes it a powerful tool for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2439,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[288],"tags":[372,455,265,250,454,456,6],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets? - The Workfall Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn to craft a dynamic, real-time chat application using Websockets. Level up your development skills using our latest blog!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/learning.workfall.com\/learning\/blog\/how-to-build-an-interactive-real-time-chat-application-with-websockets\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Build an Interactive Real-Time Chat Application with Websockets? - The Workfall Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn to craft a dynamic, real-time chat application using Websockets. 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