Hello, Stranger.

Anonymous random video chat — a portfolio demonstrator by glasscube.uz

Live at stranger.glasscube.uz
Source: github.com/glasscubeio/random-video-chat-demo

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What it does

Users visit the site, pick a nickname, and are matched with a random stranger for a live video call. Everything is anonymous and ephemeral — no accounts, no history, no database. When you leave, your name is freed and your session is gone.

How it works

User A visits                         User B visits
     │                                      │
     ▼                                      ▼
 Pick nickname                         Pick nickname
     │                                      │
     └──────► Socket.IO signaling ◄─────────┘
                     │
              Matchmaking queue
                     │
         Both users get "matched"
                     │
        WebRTC offer/answer exchange
                     │
        ┌────────────────────────────┐
        │  Direct peer-to-peer video │
        └────────────────────────────┘

• Signaling is handled by the backend via Socket.IO
• Video streams directly browser-to-browser over WebRTC (no server relay)
• Nicknames are held in server memory for the duration of the session
• Disconnect → name is freed, session ends

Project structure

hellostranger/
├── api/          Bun + Socket.IO signaling server
│   ├── main.ts
│   ├── services/socket.ts
│   └── utils/cache.ts
├── ui/           React + Vite frontend
│   └── src/
│       ├── components/
│       │   ├── LandingScreen.tsx
│       │   ├── ChatScreen.tsx
│       │   └── HowItWorksModal.tsx
│       └── hooks/
│           ├── socket.ts
│           └── webrtc.ts
└── README.md

Running locally

Backend (runs on port 8888):

cd api
bun install
bun dev

Frontend (runs on port 5173):

cd ui
bun install
cp .env.example .env   # set VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:8888
bun dev

Deployment

Service	URL
Frontend	stranger.glasscube.uz
Backend	wsv.glasscube.uz

The frontend is a static Vite build. The backend is a single Bun process.

Tech stack

Layer	Tech
Runtime	Bun
Backend	Socket.IO 4
Frontend	React 19 + Vite 7
Styling	Tailwind CSS v4
Animations	Framer Motion
Icons	Lucide React
P2P video	WebRTC (browser native)
Signaling	Socket.IO over WebSocket
State	In-memory (Map)

Known limitations

• No TURN server — connections may fail on restrictive NATs/firewalls
• Single-server only — no horizontal scaling
• In-memory state — restart clears all users
• No moderation, no abuse protection

For a production deployment you'd add STUN/TURN infrastructure, persistent sessions, and auth. This project intentionally keeps none of that.

License

MIT