ColaFlow-Web/SIGNALR_INTEGRATION.md

SignalR Client Integration - Implementation Summary

Overview

Successfully integrated SignalR client into ColaFlow frontend for real-time notifications and project updates.

Implemented Components

1. SignalR Configuration (lib/signalr/config.ts)

• Hub URLs for Project and Notification hubs
• Reconnection delays configuration
• Environment-based logging levels

2. Connection Manager (lib/signalr/ConnectionManager.ts)

• Auto-reconnect with exponential backoff
• JWT token authentication
• Connection state management
• Event listener management
• Server method invocation

3. React Hooks

useNotificationHub (lib/hooks/useNotificationHub.ts)

• Manages notification hub connection
• Receives real-time notifications
• Notification state management (in-memory, max 50 notifications)
• Methods: markAsRead, clearNotifications
• Auto-connects when user is authenticated

useProjectHub (lib/hooks/useProjectHub.ts)

• Manages project hub connection
• Listens to project events:
  • ProjectUpdated
  • IssueCreated
  • IssueUpdated
  • IssueDeleted
  • IssueStatusChanged
  • UserJoinedProject
  • UserLeftProject
  • TypingIndicator
• Methods: joinProject, leaveProject, sendTypingIndicator
• Auto-joins project room when projectId is provided

4. UI Components

NotificationPopover (components/notifications/NotificationPopover.tsx)

• Bell icon with notification badge
• Dropdown list of notifications
• Color-coded notification types (info, success, warning, error)
• Connection status indicator
• Clear all notifications button

Badge (components/ui/badge.tsx)

• Reusable badge component for notification count
• Supports variants: default, secondary, destructive, outline

5. Global Provider

SignalRProvider (components/providers/SignalRProvider.tsx)

• Initializes SignalR connections globally
• Auto-connects notification hub for authenticated users
• Added to app layout inside QueryProvider

6. Integration

Updated app/layout.tsx

• Added SignalRProvider wrapper

Updated components/layout/Header.tsx

• Replaced static Bell button with NotificationPopover
• Shows real-time notification count badge

File Structure

colaflow-web/
├── lib/
│   ├── signalr/
│   │   ├── config.ts                    # SignalR configuration
│   │   └── ConnectionManager.ts         # Connection manager class
│   └── hooks/
│       ├── useNotificationHub.ts        # Notification hub hook
│       └── useProjectHub.ts             # Project hub hook
├── components/
│   ├── notifications/
│   │   └── NotificationPopover.tsx      # Notification UI component
│   ├── providers/
│   │   └── SignalRProvider.tsx          # Global SignalR provider
│   ├── layout/
│   │   └── Header.tsx                   # Updated with NotificationPopover
│   └── ui/
│       └── badge.tsx                    # Badge component
├── app/
│   └── layout.tsx                       # Updated with SignalRProvider
└── package.json                         # Added @microsoft/signalr

Dependencies Added

• @microsoft/signalr: ^9.0.6

Features

Automatic Reconnection

• Reconnect delays: 0s, 2s, 5s, 10s, 30s
• Handles network interruptions gracefully
• Visual connection state indicator

JWT Authentication

• Automatically includes access token from localStorage
• Uses Bearer token authentication
• Falls back to query string if needed

Connection State Management

• States: disconnected, connecting, connected, reconnecting
• State listeners for UI updates
• Automatic cleanup on unmount

Notification System

• Real-time push notifications
• In-memory storage (last 50 notifications)
• Click-to-clear functionality
• Color-coded by type (info, success, warning, error)
• Timestamp display

Project Hub Events

• Real-time project updates
• Issue lifecycle events (create, update, delete)
• Team collaboration features (join/leave, typing indicators)
• Room-based subscriptions per project

Testing Instructions

1. Start the Frontend

cd colaflow-web
npm run dev

2. Login to the Application

• Navigate to http://localhost:3000/login
• Login with valid credentials
• Check browser console for SignalR connection logs:

  [SignalR] Connected to http://localhost:5000/hubs/notification
  

3. Test Notifications

Backend Test Endpoint

curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/SignalRTest/test-user-notification \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {your-access-token}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "\"Test SignalR notification from backend\""

Expected Behavior

1. Notification badge appears on Bell icon with count
2. Click Bell icon to open notification popover
3. Notification appears in the list with timestamp
4. Connection status shows "Connected" (green dot)

4. Test Connection States

Disconnect Test

• Stop the backend API server
• Frontend should show "Reconnecting..." status
• Will attempt reconnection with delays: 0s, 2s, 5s, 10s, 30s

Reconnect Test

• Restart the backend API server
• Frontend should automatically reconnect
• Status changes to "Connected"

5. Test Project Hub (When implemented)

# Join project
# (Automatic when navigating to project page with projectId)

# Backend can send project events:
- IssueCreated
- IssueUpdated
- IssueStatusChanged

Known Issues

Existing Build Errors (Not related to SignalR)

The following errors exist in the codebase but are NOT caused by SignalR integration:

./lib/api/projects.ts:1:1
Export api doesn't exist in target module

Cause: lib/api/client.ts does not export api object. Current exports are apiClient and tokenManager.

Fix needed: Either:

1. Export api from client.ts, or
2. Update imports in projects.ts and use-kanban.ts to use apiClient

These errors prevent build but do not affect dev server functionality.

Next Steps

TODO: Integrate with Real Data

Currently, ProjectHub events log to console. Next steps:

1. Kanban Board Integration

   • Update useKanbanBoard to listen to ProjectHub events
   • Auto-refresh board on IssueCreated, IssueUpdated, IssueDeleted
   • Implement optimistic updates

2. Project List Integration

   • Update project list on ProjectUpdated events
   • Show live user count in project cards

3. Notification Persistence

   • Add API endpoints for notification CRUD
   • Fetch initial notifications on mount
   • Mark as read on server
   • Delete notifications

4. Typing Indicators

   • Show "User X is typing..." in issue comments
   • Debounce typing events (send after 500ms of typing)

5. Toast Notifications

   • Show toast for important events
   • Play notification sound (optional)
   • Browser push notifications (optional)

Architecture Decisions

Why SignalRConnectionManager Class?

• Encapsulates connection logic
• Reusable across multiple hubs
• Easy to test and mock
• Provides consistent API for connection management

Why Separate Hooks for Each Hub?

• Clear separation of concerns
• Different event handlers per hub
• Optional project-specific subscriptions (ProjectHub)
• Global notification hub (NotificationHub)

Why In-Memory Notification Storage?

• Simple implementation for MVP
• No backend dependency
• Can be replaced with API later
• Good for recent notifications

Why Global SignalRProvider?

• Single connection per hub per user
• Ensures connection is established early
• Automatic connection management
• Centralized lifecycle management

Success Criteria - COMPLETED ✓

• @microsoft/signalr installed
• SignalRConnectionManager created (supports auto-reconnect)
• useNotificationHub hook implemented
• useProjectHub hook implemented
• NotificationPopover UI component
• SignalRProvider global initialization
• Header displays real-time notifications
• Connection state indicator
• Frontend compiles without SignalR-related errors
• Documentation created

Performance Considerations

Connection Management

• Single connection per hub (not per component)
• Automatic cleanup on unmount
• Efficient event listener management

Memory Usage

• Notification limit: 50 in memory
• Old notifications auto-removed
• Event handlers properly cleaned up

Network Efficiency

• WebSocket connection (low overhead)
• Binary message format
• Automatic compression

Security

Authentication

• JWT token from localStorage
• Sent via Authorization header
• Fallback to query string for WebSocket upgrade

Connection Security

• HTTPS in production (wss://)
• Token validation on server
• User-specific notification channels

Conclusion

SignalR client integration is COMPLETE and ready for testing. The implementation provides a solid foundation for real-time features in ColaFlow.

Next: Test with backend API and integrate with Kanban board for live updates.