myworldbox / chessu

Online multiplayer Chess built with React (Next.js), Express, socket.io, and PostgreSQL

This project is still in the early stages of development. Expect bugs and incomplete features.

Yet another Chess web app. Live demo at chessust.vercel.app.

• play against other users in real-time
• spectate and chat in ongoing games with other users
• optional user accounts for tracking stats and game history
• play solo against Stockfish (wip)
• mobile-friendly
• ... and more (view roadmap)

Built with Next.js 13, Tailwind CSS + daisyUI, react-chessboard, chess.js, Express.js, socket.io and PostgreSQL.

Configuration

Node.js 18 or newer is recommended.

This project is structured as a monorepo using npm workspaces, separated into three packages:

• client - Next.js application for the front-end, deployed to chessust.vercel.app via Vercel.
• server - Node/Express.js application for the back-end, deployed to server.chessust.vercel.app via Railway.
• types - Shared type definitions for the client and server.

For separate deployments, you may exclude the client or server directory. However, you should include the types folder as it contains shared type definitions that are required by both packages.

Environment variables

client:

NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:3001 # replace with backend URL

server:

CORS_ORIGIN=http://localhost:3000 # replace with frontend URL
PORT=3001
SESSION_SECRET=randomstring # replace for security

# PostgreSQL connection info (required)
PGHOST=db.example.com
PGUSER=exampleuser
PGPASSWORD=examplepassword
PGDATABASE=chessu

You may also create a .env file in each package directory to set their environment variables.

Scripts

For development:

# install all dependencies, including eslint and prettier
npm install

# concurrently run frontend and backend development servers
npm run dev

# or run them separately
npm run dev -w client
npm run dev -w server

For production:

# for separate deployments
npm install -w client
npm install -w server

npm run build -w client
npm run build -w server

npm start -w client
npm start -w server

Contributing

Pull requests are welcome. For feature changes or suggestions, please open an issue first for discussion.