docs: update README.md to provide detailed project overview, features, installation instructions, and contribution guidelines

Author: rahul-vyas-dev

README.md

@@ -1,2 +1,81 @@
-# msgBox
-A modern message-sending app built with Next.js, featuring real-time AI responses using OpenAI, user authentication with NextAuth, and designed as a learning project to explore full-stack Next.js development.
+# msgbox
+
+A lightweight Next.js (App Router + TypeScript) messaging demo application.
+
+This project demonstrates a minimal messaging flow with user sign-up, email verification, authentication (NextAuth), server validation (Zod), and MongoDB (Mongoose).
+
+## What this repo contains
+
+- Next.js App Router pages and API routes under `src/app`
+- Reusable UI components under `src/components`
+- Zod validation schemas in `src/schemas`
+- Mongoose models in `src/model` and DB helpers in `src/lib`
+- Helper utilities for email verification and resend logic
+
+## Features
+
+- Sign up and sign-in with email verification
+- Send, accept, and list messages via API routes
+- Request validation using Zod schemas
+- NextAuth credentials provider for authentication
+
+## Requirements
+
+- Node.js 18+ (or the version used in your environment)
+- npm (or yarn / pnpm)
+
+## Install
+
+Install dependencies:
+
+```powershell
+npm install
+```
+
+## Environment variables
+
+Create a `.env.local` file in the project root and add the required environment variables. Common variables used by this project include:
+
+- `MONGO_URI` — MongoDB connection string
+- `NEXTAUTH_SECRET` — NextAuth secret
+- `NEXTAUTH_URL` — NextAuth URL (for example, `http://localhost:3000`)
+- `OPENAI_API_KEY` — (only if OpenAI features are used)
+- SMTP / email variables used by the verification email sender (check `src/helpers/sendVerificationEmail.ts`)
+
+Check the API route files under `src/app/api` for any additional environment variables referenced by specific routes.
+
+## Run (development)
+
+```powershell
+npm run dev
+```
+
+## Build and start (production)
+
+```powershell
+npm run build
+npm run start
+```
+
+## Project structure (high level)
+
+- `src/app` — App Router pages and API routes (core application)
+- `src/components` — UI components and shared presentational pieces
+- `src/schemas` — Zod validation schemas for request bodies
+- `src/model` — Mongoose models (e.g. `User`)
+- `src/lib` — utilities (DB connection, helpers)
+- `src/helpers` — e.g. `sendVerificationEmail.ts`
+
+## Notes & recommended next steps
+
+- Add a `LICENSE` if you intend to publish the repo publicly.
+- Add automated tests (Vitest or Jest) for API routes and helper logic.
+- Add stronger type annotations for NextAuth authorize return types to avoid `any`.
+
+## Contributing
+
+Contributions are welcome. Open an issue to discuss larger changes or submit a PR with a clear description and tests when appropriate.
+
+---
+
+<sub>Created by following the "Chai aur NextJs" playlist on YouTube.</sub>