Our Tech-Books–based learning platform needs a lightweight, maintainable chat layer so students can discuss material in the moment without leaving the site. Email-and-password accounts are already part of the project, so the chat module should reuse that authentication flow. Core requirements • Real-time delivery (WebSockets, Socket.IO, or a modern equivalent). • Both private 1-to-1 conversations and multi-user group rooms. • Every message saved to a database and retrievable as a scrollable history. • Clear, well-commented code that drops neatly into the existing Tech-Books repository, with a short README covering setup and any migrations. Tech freedom Choose the backend stack you work fastest with—Node/Express, Django/Channels, FastAPI, Go, etc.—as long as it stays open-source friendly and easy for another developer to pick up. Timeline I’d like an MVP running on a branch ASAP; we can polish UI details after basic send/receive and persistence are solid. Deliverables 1. Chat server code and integration hooks. 2. Database schema or migrations. 3. Minimal front-end widgets (send box, thread view, room selector). 4. Setup instructions and summary of key functions/tests. If this sounds straightforward, tell me which stack you’d use and how quickly you can push the first working commit.