📨 Mini Message Board

A modern chat-style message board built with Node.js, Express, EJS, and MongoDB Atlas.
Deployed live on Render: 👉 Mini Message Board Live

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🚀 Features

• 📩 Post and view messages in real time board style
• 👤 Dynamic avatar colors based on username initials
• 💬 Chat bubble UI with smooth layout
• 😀 Emoji picker in the message form
• 🌙 Day/Night mode toggle (persists with localStorage)
• 📅 Human-friendly timestamps (Aug 26, 2025, 19:35)
• 🎨 Consistent modern design across all pages (/, /new, and message detail view)
• 🗄️ Messages stored in MongoDB Atlas (persistent storage)
• ☁️ Deployed to Render

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📂 Project Structure

mini-message-board/
├─ app.js
├─ routes/
│ └─ index.js
├─ views/
│ ├─ index.ejs # Home - shows messages
│ ├─ form.ejs # Form to add new message
│ └─ message.ejs # Single message view
├─ public/
│ ├─ styles.css # Styling
│ └─ theme.js # Dark/Light mode logic
├─ package.json
├─ README.md

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🛠️ Tech Stack

• Backend: Node.js, Express
• Templating: EJS
• Database: MongoDB Atlas
• Styling: CSS + modern chat UI patterns
• Deployment: Render (connected via GitHub repo)

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⚡ Run Locally

# 1. Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/USERNAME/mini-message-board.git
cd mini-message-board

# 2. Install dependencies
npm install

# 3. Set up environment variables (.env)
MONGODB_URI=your-mongodb-connection-string
DB_NAME=mini_message_board

# 4. Start server
node app.js