IRLobby

IRLobby is an activity-first social matching application. Users swipe on nearby activities. When two users select the same activity, the application creates a match and opens a chat that includes the activity context.

Live app | Download | Quick start | License

Product purpose

Many swipe applications start with user profiles. IRLobby starts with the plan: activity, time, place, and energy. When two users want the same real-world activity, the application creates a focused match and conversation.

Features

• Activity-first discovery with swipeable cards for nearby plans
• Vibe quiz personalization for the activity feed
• Match-to-chat flow that keeps activity context in the conversation
• Web and mobile clients that share API assumptions and release checks
• Safety and privacy surfaces: account deletion, blocking, reporting, and moderation
• Stripe-ready ticketing and QR redemption for paid activities
• Django backend with REST APIs, WebSockets, Celery, Redis, Postgres/PostGIS, and release gates

Tech stack

Area	Stack
Mobile	Expo 54, React Native 0.81, React 19, NativeWind
Web	React 18, Vite, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS
Backend	Django 4.2 LTS, Django REST Framework, Channels, Celery
Data	PostgreSQL/PostGIS in production, SQLite-friendly local defaults
Integrations	Stripe, Expo push notifications, Sentry, SMTP, Twitter OAuth
Tooling	GitHub Actions, EAS Build, Jest, pytest, ruff, black, mypy

Architecture

flowchart LR
	Web[React + Vite web] --> API[Django REST API]
	Mobile[Expo mobile app] --> API
	Mobile --> WS[Django Channels WebSockets]
	Web --> WS
	Shared[packages/shared] --> Web
	Shared --> Mobile
	API --> DB[(Postgres + PostGIS)]
	API --> Redis[(Redis)]
	Redis --> Celery[Celery workers]
	API --> Stripe[Stripe]
	API --> SMTP[SMTP email]

Repository layout

These packages are active and supported:

• apps/mobile — React Native / Expo mobile app
• apps/web — React + Vite public site and authenticated app shell
• irlobby_backend — Django REST, WebSocket, Celery, and deployment code
• packages/shared — shared schema and utility code
• docs — release, parity, deployment, email, and brand documentation
• site — static marketing and App Store legal pages (/privacy, /support) served from the Hetzner nginx stack

Quick start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20.x
• Python 3.12 for local development and CI
• Python 3.11.9 for production deploys
• Git

Install JavaScript workspaces

npm install

Run the backend

cd irlobby_backend
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
cp ../.env.example .env
python manage.py migrate
python manage.py runserver

The API is available at http://localhost:8000.

Run the web app

npm run dev:web

Run the mobile app

npm run dev:mobile

Follow the Expo CLI instructions to open the app in a simulator or on a device.

Development checks

• npm run check:api-contract — validates frontend API path usage against Django routes
• npm run check:web — runs web lint, format check, tests, and production build
• npm run check:mobile — runs mobile typecheck and iOS bundle export
• npm run check:release — runs the full frontend and mobile release gate

Backend checks run from irlobby_backend:

python manage.py check
pytest

Release and deployment

• Deployment overview — production environment variables, Redis hardening, health checks, and hosting notes
• Oracle backend runbook — Docker Compose backend deployment
• App Store release, launch checklist, and Play Store launch — mobile release flow
• Repository settings checklist — GitHub description, website, topics, and social preview recommendations

Contributing

IRLobby is a closed-source project. The project does not accept public pull requests. For authorized contribution arrangements, see CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

IRLobby is proprietary software. All rights reserved. See LICENSE.