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Live Chat

Overview​

The RCB platform includes real-time chat rooms powered by STOMP over WebSocket. Members can join topic-based rooms (general, model-specific, members-only) and exchange messages in real time.

Workflow​

Room Types​

TypeWho Can Join
PUBLICEveryone
MEMBERS_ONLYActive members only
MODEL_SPECIFICMembers with that Renault model

Step-by-Step: Join a Chat Room​

  1. Log in and navigate to Chat (/chat).
  2. The room list is shown on the left sidebar.
  3. Click a room to join it.
  4. Message history (last 30 messages) is loaded.
  5. Type a message in the input box and press Enter or click Send.

Step-by-Step: Understand Rate Limiting​

Messages are rate-limited to prevent spam:

  • 5 messages per 10 seconds per user per room.
  • If exceeded, the message is rejected with an error notification.
  • The rate limit resets automatically after the window passes.

Application Properties​

PropertyDefaultDescriptionWhen to Change
rcb.async.core-pool-size4Thread pool for async message handlingIncrease for high-concurrency deployments
rcb.async.max-pool-size10Max async threadsTune based on server capacity
rcb.async.queue-capacity500Message queue capacityIncrease if messages are dropped under load

Security Notes​

  • JWT validated on STOMP CONNECT — unauthorized clients are rejected before subscribing.
  • Rate limiting via ChatChannelInterceptor (Caffeine cache, per-user sliding window).
  • Banned users cannot send or receive messages in any room.
  • Message content is not encrypted in transit beyond HTTPS/WSS — use HTTPS in production.
  • Admin can soft-delete messages (marked isDeleted = true) — clients see them as removed in real time.

QA Checklist​

  • Navigate to /chat while logged in → room list displayed
  • Join room → message history loaded
  • Send message → appears for all connected users in real time
  • Send 6 messages in 10 seconds → 6th rejected with rate limit error
  • Banned user tries to send → rejected
  • Logout → WebSocket connection closed, messages no longer received
  • Admin deletes message → removed from other users' feeds in real time