nextjs-realtime

A real-time chat application built with Next.js and Redis Pub/Sub.

Features

• Real-time messaging with Server-Sent Events (SSE)
• Self-destructing chat rooms with automatic expiration
• Optimized Redis operations with connection pooling and pipelining
• Room management with owner privileges

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ or Bun
• Redis server (local or remote)

Installation

1. Clone the repository and install dependencies:

bun install
# or
npm install

2. Configure your environment variables:

Copy .env.example to .env and update with your Redis URL:

cp .env.example .env

Update the .env file:

REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379

For Redis with authentication:

REDIS_URL=redis://:your-password@localhost:6379

3. Start the development server:

bun dev
# or
npm run dev

Architecture

Redis Optimizations

The application implements several Redis optimizations:

1. Connection Pooling: Singleton pattern ensures efficient connection reuse
2. Pipelining: Batch operations are executed using Redis pipelines
3. Pub/Sub: Real-time updates use Redis Pub/Sub with Server-Sent Events
4. Automatic Serialization: JSON data is automatically serialized/deserialized

Key Components

• src/lib/redis.ts: Optimized Redis wrapper with connection pooling
• src/lib/realtime.ts: Custom real-time implementation using Redis Pub/Sub
• src/lib/realtime-client.ts: Client-side SSE consumer
• src/app/api/realtime/route.ts: SSE endpoint for real-time updates

API Routes

• POST /api/room/create - Create a new chat room
• POST /api/room/join - Join an existing room
• GET /api/room/sudo - Check owner privileges
• GET /api/room/ttl - Get room expiration time
• DELETE /api/room - Destroy a room (owner only)
• POST /api/messages - Send a message
• GET /api/messages - Get all messages in a room
• DELETE /api/messages - Delete a message (owner only)
• GET /api/realtime - SSE endpoint for real-time updates

Performance Features

1. Batch Operations: Multiple Redis commands are executed in a single pipeline
2. Connection Reuse: Single Redis connection is reused across all requests
3. Optimized JSON Handling: Automatic serialization/deserialization
4. Keep-Alive: SSE connections use keep-alive to prevent timeouts
5. Error Recovery: Automatic retry logic for failed Redis operations

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
REDIS_URL	Redis connection URL	redis://localhost:6379

Production Deployment

For production, consider:

1. Use a managed Redis service (AWS ElastiCache, Redis Cloud, etc.)
2. Enable Redis persistence (RDB or AOF)
3. Set up Redis Sentinel or Cluster for high availability
4. Configure proper Redis memory policies
5. Enable TLS for Redis connections

Example production Redis URL:

REDIS_URL=rediss://:password@your-redis-host:6380

License

MIT