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Overview

FF Messaging Service Documentation​

The FF Messaging Service is a robust, scalable, and secure Flask-based messaging service that integrates REST APIs and WebSockets for real-time communication. This service is designed to handle both user-to-user and organization-to-organization messaging with features like offline message delivery, read receipts, and typing indicators.

Key Features​

  • User Authentication: JWT-based authentication for secure access
  • Real-Time Communication: WebSocket support for instant messaging
  • Offline Message Delivery: Store and forward functionality for offline users
  • Read Receipts: Track when messages are read
  • User Presence: Monitor online/offline status of users
  • Rate Limiting: Configurable rate limits to prevent abuse
  • Feature Flags: Toggle features without code deployment
  • Comprehensive Logging: Structured logging for monitoring
  • Scalable Architecture: Built with Redis and RabbitMQ
  • Organization Support: Handle both user and organization-level messaging

Technical Stack​

  • Framework: Flask + Flask-SocketIO
  • Database: MongoDB for message storage
  • Cache: Redis for session management and rate limiting
  • Message Queue: RabbitMQ for asynchronous processing
  • Documentation: Self-documenting API
  • Runtime: Python 3.12+

System Requirements​

  • Python 3.12.6 or higher
  • MongoDB 5.0+
  • Redis 6.2+
  • RabbitMQ
  • Docker and Docker Compose (for containerized deployment)

Installation​

1. Clone the Repository​

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/ff-messaging-service.git
cd ff-messaging-service

2. Set Up Environment Variables​

Create a .env file in the project root:

SECRET_KEY=your_flask_secret_key
JWT_SECRET_KEY=your_jwt_secret_key
MONGO_URL=mongodb://mongo:27017
CACHE_REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379/3
ES_HOST=http://elasticsearch:9200
FEATURE_FLAGS_PATH=feature_flags.json
RATELIMIT_DEFAULT=200 per day;50 per hour

3. Using Docker Compose​

docker-compose up --build

This will start:

  • Web service on port 5000
  • MongoDB on port 27017
  • Redis on port 6379

4. Manual Installation​

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # Linux/Mac
.venv\Scripts\activate     # Windows

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Run the service
python wsgi.py

Basic Configuration​

The service can be configured through environment variables or the config.py file:

  • SECRET_KEY: Flask secret key
  • JWT_SECRET_KEY: JWT encryption key
  • MONGO_URL: MongoDB connection string
  • CACHE_REDIS_URL: Redis connection string
  • FEATURE_FLAGS_PATH: Path to feature flags JSON file
  • RATELIMIT_DEFAULT: Default rate limiting rules

Feature Flags​

Feature flags are managed through feature_flags.json:

{
  "enable_read_receipts": true,
  "enable_user_presence": true,
  "enable_offline_delivery": true,
  "enable_typing_indicators": true,
  "enable_rate_limiting": true
}

Health Check​

The service provides a basic health check endpoint at /:

curl http://localhost:5000/

Documentation Access​

API documentation is available at:

http://localhost:5000/documentation