Getting Started

Follow these steps to run Omega Social Media locally: the Laravel backend with its Vue frontend first, then the Expo mobile app.

Installation

Backend and Web Frontend

git clone <repository-url> omega-social-media && cd omega-social-media
composer install
npm install

For a production build of the web assets, run npm run build. It builds the Vite bundles and then compiles the dark-theme stylesheets for the desktop, mobile, auth, business, and admin entries with the Tailwind CLI.

Configuration

After copying .env.example, configure at least the following:

1. Database credentials (DB_DATABASE, DB_USERNAME, DB_PASSWORD).
2. APP_URL, SANCTUM_STATEFUL_DOMAINS, and SESSION_DOMAIN so they match the domain you serve the app from.
3. Redis (REDIS_HOST, REDIS_PORT, REDIS_PASSWORD) and set QUEUE_CONNECTION=redis to use Horizon. The example file defaults to sync.
4. Reverb keys (REVERB_APP_ID, REVERB_APP_KEY, REVERB_APP_SECRET) and the matching VITE_REVERB_* values for the browser client. BROADCAST_CONNECTION is marked "Never change this" in .env.example and is reverb.
5. Stripe keys (STRIPE_PUBLIC_KEY, STRIPE_SECRET_KEY, STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET) and, for creator payouts, STRIPE_CONNECT_ENABLED=true.
6. Agora credentials (AGORA_APP_ID, AGORA_APP_CERTIFICATE) for live streaming.
7. FFmpeg paths (FFMPEG_PATH, FFPROBE_PATH) if the binaries are not discoverable.
8. Mail settings for transactional email, and AWS S3 credentials if you store media on S3.
9. For production, APP_ENV=production, APP_DEBUG=false, and optionally Sentry DSNs.

Environment Variables

Names and meanings are taken from .env.example. Never commit real values.

Application

Database, Cache, Queue & Session

Real-time (Reverb)

Payments

Live Streaming

Media, Storage & Integrations

Social Login

Mobile Deep Linking & Notifications

Monitoring, Ads & Demo

Mobile App Setup

The mobile app lives in the mobile/ directory and has its own package.json. It is an Expo SDK 54 app (React Native 0.81, Expo Router) that consumes the backend's /api/mobile endpoints.

cd mobile
npm install

EXPO_PUBLIC_API_URL is the base URL of the mobile API. If it is not set, the app falls back to http://localhost:8000/api/mobile. A physical device cannot reach localhost on your computer, so use your machine's LAN address there. The same variable is used by the HTTP client and by the WebSocket authentication endpoint (/broadcasting/auth).

Expo Go vs Development Client

• Expo Go — Works for most screens. Live streaming (react-native-agora) and native Stripe payments (@stripe/stripe-react-native) are not available there: the app detects the Expo Go environment and disables Agora, and the Stripe provider and hook skip the native module.
• Development client — expo-dev-client is a dependency, and the development profile in eas.json sets developmentClient: true with internal distribution and an iOS simulator build. Use it to test live streaming and payments.

eas build --profile development --platform ios

EAS Profiles

The repository also contains mobile/DEPLOY_GUIDE.md, a step-by-step App Store and Google Play submission guide.

Basic Usage Flow

1. Register or sign in on the web app, or through social login if a provider is enabled.
2. Complete onboarding and set up your profile (avatar, cover, personal info).
3. Post text, images, videos, or reels, and add stories.
4. Follow people and browse the discover, following, and nearby feeds.
5. Chat in real time with other users.
6. Go live from the mobile app and receive donations from viewers.
7. Buy credits, send donations, and convert earned credits to cash.
8. Connect Stripe to receive creator payouts, then request a withdrawal.
9. Publish marketplace products and job listings, or run an ad campaign from the business area.
10. Moderate reports, users, and content from the admin panel.

Examples

Creating an Admin User

php artisan admin:add

The admin panel is served under the prefix set in APP_ADMIN_PREFIX (default admin) and requires the admin role.

Authenticating from the Mobile API

All mobile responses use the shape {"status": true/false, "message": "...", "data": ...}. Authentication endpoints are public; everything else requires a Sanctum bearer token.

curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/api/mobile/auth/login \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"identity": "user@example.com", "password": "secret"}'

Demo Mode

Set DEMO_MODE=true and run php artisan demo:seed to create demo admin, user, and moderator accounts. php artisan demo:reset resets the demo data; both commands only run when demo mode is enabled, and DEMO_ALLOW_RESET controls whether resetting is allowed.