2025

Streamify — Real-Time Communication Platform

A real-time communication platform supporting video calls, messaging, and presence tracking using WebRTC, Socket.io, and JWT-based authentication.

Technology Stack

Node.jsReactSocket.ioWebRTCJWTTailwind CSS

Overview

System Architecture

  • Signaling: Custom Node.js/Socket.io signaling server negotiates WebRTC connection metadata (SDP, ICE candidates).
  • Media Transport: WebRTC establishes efficient P2P UDP data channels for video and audio streams.
  • State Management: Redis stores ephemeral presence data (online status, active rooms) for blazing-fast access.
  • Security: JWT-based handshake mechanism validates socket connections before upgrading protocols.

Key Challenges

  • Managing real-time presence across multiple sessions.
  • Designing signaling flows for WebRTC.
  • Securing real-time connections with JWT authentication.
  • Ensuring scalability under concurrent usage.

Key Learnings

  • WebSockets outperform polling for real-time UX.
  • Decoupling signaling from media streams simplifies architecture.
  • JWT-based session validation prevents unauthorized socket access.

Impact

  • Enabled smooth real-time communication with low perceived latency.