Cote
Real-time collaboration platform for team workspaces, channels, messaging, presence, and live updates using React, TypeScript, Node.js, PostgreSQL, and Socket.IO.
Cote is a real-time collaboration platform built for teams to communicate and work together through workspaces, channels, messaging, and live presence.
I built Cote from the ground up across the frontend and backend, focusing on a clean interface backed by real-time communication, persistent data, authentication, and role-based access control.
Real-Time Collaboration
Cote uses Socket.IO to keep conversations and user activity synchronized in real time. Messages, presence, typing indicators, and channel events are pushed to connected users without requiring the interface to constantly refresh.
The frontend is built with React and TypeScript, with React Query handling server state and API-driven workflows. The backend uses Node.js, Express, and PostgreSQL for application logic and persistent data.
Built End to End
I worked across the complete application, from the UI and component architecture to REST APIs, database design, authentication, authorization, and real-time socket events.
Workspace membership and channel permissions are handled through role-based access control, while cursor-based pagination keeps message history efficient as conversations grow.
The harder part was keeping API state and real-time events consistent, especially when users had multiple active connections. I separated the API and socket responsibilities and made the events explicit, which kept the system easier to debug and extend.
Cote was built as more than a chat interface.
It gave me the opportunity to design and ship a complete full-stack system where the frontend, backend, database, authentication, and real-time layer all have to work together.
It’s a project that represents how I like to build: simple on the surface, structured underneath, and designed to work in real-world use.
