SkilledTalk — Professional Skills Marketplace & Social Network

Laravel 8 + Livewire platform combining a LinkedIn-style professional network with a skills-based consultation marketplace. Professionals list their skills, accept paid video consultations via Twilio, and monetize through subscriptions and a built-in wallet system.

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Table of Contents

• What is SkilledTalk?
• Tech Stack
• Architecture
• Route Structure
• Database Schema
• Real-time Features
• Consultation & Video Calling
• Wallet & Payments
• Mobile API
• Getting Started

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What is SkilledTalk?

SkilledTalk is a professional marketplace where:

• Professionals create profiles with tagged skills, post content, and offer paid consultation slots
• Users discover professionals by skill, follow them, engage with posts, and book video consultations
• Groups & Pages enable community building around topics and professional brands
• Wallet system manages earnings, withdrawals, and subscription payments

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Tech Stack

Package	Version	Purpose
laravel/framework	^8.0	Core framework
livewire/livewire	^2.8	Reactive UI (feed, comments, real-time updates)
pusher/pusher-php-server	^4.1.5	WebSocket broadcasting (chat, notifications)
stripe/stripe-php	^7.0	Payment processing + subscription billing
twilio/sdk	^6.0	SMS OTP verification + video consultation rooms
laravel/sanctum	^2.9	API token authentication (mobile API)
laravel/breeze	^1.1	Auth scaffolding
Bootstrap	5.x	Frontend CSS framework
MySQL	—	Primary database

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Architecture

Web Application (Laravel + Livewire)
    |
    +-- /home, /discover     — Social feed, professional discovery
    +-- /inbox               — Real-time chat (Pusher + Laravel Echo)
    +-- /post/*              — Post CRUD, reactions, comments
    +-- /group/*             — Group communities
    +-- /job/*               — Job board
    +-- /wallet/*            — Stripe payments, withdrawal requests
    +-- /subscription        — Subscription plan management
    |
Mobile API (Laravel Sanctum)
    |
    +-- /api/user/*          — Auth, profile, OTP (Twilio SMS)
    +-- /api/post/*          — Feed, reactions, comments
    +-- /api/jobs/           — Job listings
    +-- /api/fellow/*        — Connections
    +-- /api/engagements/    — Engagement tracking

Real-time: Pusher + Laravel Echo
    -> Chat messages
    -> Video call invites
    -> Notifications

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Route Structure

Social Feed:

GET  /home                    — Main feed (Livewire)
GET  /discover                — Discover professionals by skill

Profile:

GET  /profile                 — Own profile
POST /profile/update          — Update profile info
GET|POST /experience/*        — Work experience management
GET  /user/profile/{id}       — View another user's profile
POST /user/addSkill           — Tag skills to profile
GET  /search, /search/skills  — Full-text search

Posts:

POST /post/create             — Create post (text + media)
GET|POST /post/{id}/edit      — Edit post
DELETE /post/delete           — Delete post
POST /post/repost             — Repost
POST /post/rate               — React (like) to a post
POST /post/reflect            — Comment on a post
POST /post/save               — Save post to bookmarks

Messaging & Video Calls:

GET  /inbox/{id?}             — Real-time chat inbox (Pusher)
POST /inbox/sendMessage       — Send message
POST /inbox/setMeeting        — Schedule video consultation
POST /inbox/AcceptRejectMeeting — Accept/reject meeting request
GET  /user/calling/{meeting_id} — Join Twilio video room

Groups & Pages:

GET|POST /group/list          — Browse / create groups
POST /group/join, /group/leave
GET|POST /page/*              — Business/professional pages
POST /page/follow, /page/unfollow

Jobs:

GET  /job/*                   — Browse job listings
POST /job/apply               — Apply to a job post

Wallet & Subscriptions:

GET  /wallet                  — Balance overview
POST /wallet/withdraw         — Request withdrawal
POST /wallet/ebank            — Link e-bank account
GET  /subscription            — Subscription plans
POST /unsubscribe             — Cancel subscription

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Database Schema (48 Migrations)

Users & Profiles:

Table	Key Columns
users	id, name, email, password, otp, otp_verified
profiles	user_id, bio, headline, location, avatar, cover
skills	id, name
custom_fields	user_id, field_key, field_value
employee_types	id, name

Social:

Table	Key Columns
posts	id, user_id, content, media, post_type (post/job/repost)
post_media	id, post_id, file_path, media_type
reflections	id, post_id, user_id, content (comments)
rates	id, post_id, user_id (reactions/likes)
user_save_posts	user_id, post_id
connections	id, requester_id, receiver_id, status
friends	user_id, friend_id (accepted connections)
messages	id, from_id, to_id, message, read_at
notifications	id, user_id, type, data, read_at

Consultations:

Table	Key Columns
consultations	id, consult_from (UUID), consult_with (UUID), consult_type, date, time, meeting_id, is_accepted

Groups & Pages:

Table	Key Columns
groups	id, name, description, creator_id, privacy
group_users	group_id, user_id, role
pages	id, name, category, owner_id
page_followers	page_id, user_id

Jobs:

Table	Key Columns
post_jobs	id, post_id, title, location, salary, type (linked to posts)
job_applicants	job_id, user_id, cover_letter

Financials:

Table	Key Columns
subscriptions	id, title, month, price
user_subscriptions	user_id, subscription_id, expires_at, stripe_subscription_id
withdrawals	id, user_id, price, is_approved
user_ebank_mail	user_id, ebank_id, account_info
ebank	id, name (banking partners)
ads	id, owner_id, target, budget

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Real-time Features

Broadcasting driver: Pusher + Laravel Echo on the frontend.

Feature	Channel Type	Event
New chat message	Private chat.{user_id}	MessageSent
Video call invite	Private call.{user_id}	CallInitiated
Meeting accepted/rejected	Private	MeetingUpdated
Notifications	Private notifications.{user_id}	NewNotification

Livewire handles reactive UI updates (feed pagination, live comment counts, post creation) without page reload.

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Consultation & Video Calling

1. Professional lists available times in their profile

2. User initiates meeting:
   POST /inbox/setMeeting
   -> Create consultations record (status: pending, meeting_id: UUID)
   -> Broadcast CallInitiated event via Pusher

3. Professional responds:
   POST /inbox/AcceptRejectMeeting
   -> is_accepted = true/false
   -> Broadcast MeetingUpdated event

4. If accepted — both parties join:
   GET /user/calling/{meeting_id}
   -> Twilio SDK generates room token
   -> Join Twilio Video room (meeting_id = room name)
   -> WebRTC video/audio session

5. Session ends -> earnings credited to professional wallet

OTP verification: twilio/sdk sends SMS OTP on registration. users.otp + users.otp_verified columns track state.

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Wallet & Payments

Earning: Professionals earn from consultations booked through the platform.

Subscription billing: Stripe handles subscription plans. user_subscriptions table tracks active plans with Stripe subscription IDs.

Withdrawals:

1. Professional requests withdrawal (POST /wallet/withdraw)
2. Links e-bank account (POST /wallet/ebank)
3. Admin reviews and approves via skilledtalk-admin
4. withdrawals.is_approved set to true

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Mobile API

Full REST API for mobile clients, authenticated via Laravel Sanctum tokens.

Endpoint	Description
POST /api/user/register	Register + send OTP
POST /api/user/verify-otp	Verify OTP → activate account
POST /api/user/login	Token issuance
POST /api/user/logout	Revoke token
`GET	POST /api/user/profile`
GET /api/post/feed	Paginated post feed
POST /api/post/create	Create post
POST /api/post/rate	React to post
POST /api/post/reflect	Comment on post
GET /api/jobs/	Job listings
GET /api/fellow/myFellows	Connections list
GET /api/engagements/	Engagement analytics

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Getting Started

composer install
cp .env.example .env
php artisan key:generate
php artisan migrate --seed
php artisan serve

Required environment variables:

PUSHER_APP_ID=
PUSHER_APP_KEY=
PUSHER_APP_SECRET=
PUSHER_APP_CLUSTER=

STRIPE_KEY=
STRIPE_SECRET=

TWILIO_SID=
TWILIO_TOKEN=
TWILIO_FROM=

BROADCAST_DRIVER=pusher

Related Repositories

Repo	Purpose
skilledtalk-admin	Admin panel for platform management