Pulseboard — Realtime UI & Reliability Work

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  Actual local frontend without a connected multiplayer backend; empty activity counts are expected in this capture.

Inspiration

Pulseboard explores a shared, real-time visual experience: visitors contribute color and movement to a global energy field.

What it does

The interface presents a canvas-based field with activity indicators, color selection, optional sound, GitHub sign-in, and a leaderboard. The repository separates the browser client from the server, with Socket.IO handling live communication and PostgreSQL supporting persistent data.

How it is built

Pulseboard uses a TypeScript monorepo with a React/Vite client and a Node.js/Express server. Its realtime interface combines Canvas, Web Audio, Socket.IO, authentication, and database-backed state.

My contributions

My verified work focuses on maintenance and documentation. I also coauthored a database-migration failure fix behind an OAuth sign-in symptom and added a rollback safeguard. This entry describes that contribution scope rather than claiming sole authorship of every system in the application.

Challenges and learning

The project connects a visual realtime interface to operational concerns: startup migrations, authentication, and safe failure handling. A sign-in problem can originate in the database startup path, so diagnosing the whole request and initialization flow matters.

Gallery and status

The screenshot is a fresh local capture of the actual frontend. It runs without a connected multiplayer backend for this portfolio capture, so the empty activity counts are not evidence of a live user session. Public source and contribution history are available in the repository.

Next steps

Validate multiplayer behavior with a connected backend, strengthen migration recovery coverage, and make connection state clearer in the interface.

Contributor: Rami Abdelrazzaq.

Built With

• canvas
• express.js
• node.js
• postgresql
• react
• socket.io
• typescript
• vite
• web-audio-api