Orca

Overview

Orca is a free and open-source community platform that offers a range of features to enhance user experience. With real-time notifications, users can receive instant updates on likes, comments, followers, and messages. Email notifications ensure that users stay informed about interactions with their profile or posts. The platform also includes a messenger feature for private conversations between members. The newsfeed and follow system allow users to stay updated on fresh posts from the members they follow. Orca is responsive, providing a great user experience on any device or screen. It is also SEO-friendly, implementing best practices for meta tags and page loading performance. Users can customize the platform to match their brand, thanks to built-in branding capabilities. The UI library offers dozens of reusable UI components. The search and explore feature allows users to discover new members and their posts.

Features

• Real-time notifications: Stay instantly informed about likes, comments, followers, and messages.
• Email notifications: Receive email updates for profile and post interactions.
• Messenger: Have private conversations with other members through instant messaging.
• Newsfeed and Follow system: Stay updated on fresh posts from members you follow.
• User presence system: Instantly see when members are online or offline.
• Responsive: Enjoy a seamless user experience on any device or screen.
• SEO-friendly: Built-in SEO best practices, including meta tags and page loading performance.
• Branding: Customize the platform to match your brand.
• UI library: Access dozens of reusable UI components.
• Search and Explore: Discover new members and their posts.

Installation

To install Orca, ensure that you have Node.js version 12.20.0 or higher, Yarn, and MongoDB installed and running on your machine. Follow these steps to get started:

1. Create a new directory called my-app inside your desired location.

2. Open the terminal or command prompt and navigate to the my-app directory.

3. Run the following command to generate an initial Orca project and install dependencies:

   npx create-orca-app my-app
   

4. Once the installation is complete, you can run the Orca app locally using the following command:

   cd my-app
   yarn start
   

5. Open your web browser and enter the following URL to access the app: http://localhost:3000

Please note that additional configurations, such as creating an admin user and configuring CDN and Email services, may be required to fully utilize all of Orca’s features. Refer to the Configuration Docs for detailed instructions.

Summary

Orca is a feature-rich and customizable community platform that offers real-time notifications, email notifications, a messenger system, a newsfeed with a follow system, a user presence system, and responsive design. With its SEO-friendly approach, built-in UI library, and search and explore feature, Orca provides a comprehensive solution for creating and managing online communities. The platform is open-source and licensed under MIT, making it accessible to developers who wish to contribute to its development.