Description
We need an experienced Next.js developer to build the frontend for real-time 1:1 messaging in Talynto, a contractor-hiring platform. Clients message contractors, contractors message clients, and admins message either. **The backend is finished, tested, and documented** — Stream Chat is fully integrated server-side, and the API contract is stable. This engagement is frontend only. The UI is also already built: the messages screen exists as pixel-faithful, mockup-matched components (contact list, conversation panel, message bubbles, composer, date dividers). **It is currently wired to hardcoded placeholder data.** Your job is to make it real, without changing how it looks. ## Stack | | | |---|---| | Framework | Next.js 16 (App Router), React 19 | | Language | TypeScript, `strict: true` | | Styling | Tailwind v4 (CSS-first config, no `tailwind.config`) | | Validation | Zod — every API response is schema-parsed, no `as` casts | | Chat SDK | `stream-chat` (headless JS client) — **not** `stream-chat-react` | | Backend | .NET API (separate repo, no changes needed) | ## The core challenge This codebase is **100% server-first**. There is no SWR, no react-query, no axios, and no client-side `fetch` anywhere today. Data is loaded in Server Components, mutations go through Server Actions, and the auth token lives in an httpOnly cookie that browser code cannot read. Real-time chat is inherently a stateful, long-lived client connection. **You will be introducing the first genuine client-si