nasyx-rakeeb/realtime-mongo

This project adds live, automatically updating documents to MongoDB, similar to how Google's Firestore database works. Normally, an app has to keep asking a database if anything changed. With this tool, a client can instead subscribe to a single document and receive an update the moment it changes, without repeatedly checking. It works by pairing two MongoDB features together: Change Streams, which notify a server whenever data in a collection changes, and WebSockets, which keep an open connection between a server and a browser or app so updates can be pushed instantly. The project is split into a few separate pieces a developer installs based on need: a server package that connects to MongoDB and watches for changes, a client package that works in any JavaScript project, and a set of React specific helpers, called hooks, that make it easy to display a live document inside a React app with just one line of code. Setting it up requires MongoDB version 6 or newer running as a Replica Set, which is a specific MongoDB configuration needed for Change Streams to work, plus a recent version of Node.js on the server. Once running, a developer starts the server and points it at the MongoDB collections to watch, then subscribes to individual documents from the client side using an ID, similar in style to Firestore's document subscription pattern. The project also includes an authentication option, where the server can check a login token before allowing someone to subscribe to a document, and it automatically reconnects and re-subscribes if a client's connection drops. It is aimed at developers already using MongoDB who want Firestore style live updates without switching databases, and it is released under the MIT license.