Chatridge — Offline Local WiFi Messaging (Flutter)

Chatridge is a Flutter mobile app that enables offline messaging between devices connected to an ESP32 WiFi access point.

Features included in this scaffold:

• Registration screen (username & device name)
• Polling-based chat screen (send & receive messages)
• Device list screen (discover devices)
• File picker + upload stub
• Simple persistence using SharedPreferences for registration info

ESP32 server assumptions (you must ensure your ESP32 firmware exposes these endpoints):

• Base URL: http://192.168.4.1
• POST /register with JSON {"username","deviceName","ip"}
• GET /devices -> JSON list of devices
• GET /messages -> JSON list of messages
• POST /messages with JSON {"from","to?","text"}
• POST /upload receives multipart/form-data file upload

ESP32 example firmware

An example Arduino sketch is included at esp32_server/chatridge_server.ino. It provides a minimal in-memory server and demonstrates the endpoints the client scaffold expects. It's a simple demo (not production-ready). The upload endpoint in that demo is simplified — for robust file handling consider using AsyncWebServer or parsing multipart boundaries properly.

These endpoints are assumptions used to create a working client scaffold. If your ESP32 server has different endpoints or payloads, update lib/services/api_service.dart accordingly.

How to run

1. Install Flutter and ensure flutter doctor is clean.
2. Open this folder in VS Code or Android Studio.
3. Run flutter pub get.
4. Launch on an emulator or device that can connect to the ESP32 access point.

Notes & next steps

• This scaffold is intentionally small to give a working foundation. Add persistent message storage (sqflite/hive), encryption, better error handling, and UI improvements.
• Update API interactions in ApiService to match the ESP32 firmware.