Case Study

Charaloom

AI character creation and streaming chat platform with multilingual UX, Firebase auth, and creator-friendly sharing.

Next.js 16 React 19 TypeScript Firebase OpenAI AI SDK

Live Demo

Project Overview

Charaloom is a full-stack AI character platform where users can create characters, manage profiles, and chat in real time. It combines content creation, social discovery, and conversational AI into one product experience.

Key Features

Character CRUD: Create, edit, and manage personalized AI characters
Streaming Chat: Low-latency chat flow with OpenAI SDK streaming responses
Auth System: Google sign-in, anonymous sign-in, and account upgrade support
Content Discovery: Preset lists and infinite-scroll browsing for character exploration
Multilingual Routing: Localized UX with en and ko routes using next-intl
Profile Management: User profile updates, account controls, and privacy-aware flows

Technical Challenges & Solutions

Challenge 1: Reliable state boundaries

Used TanStack Query for server state and Zustand for local UI state to keep chat, feed, and form workflows predictable.

Challenge 2: End-to-end chat architecture

Structured API and backend layers to keep persona context, history handling, and streaming output maintainable over time.

Challenge 3: Auth and data integration

Integrated Firebase Auth, Firestore, and Storage with API routes to support secure, user-scoped content operations.

What I Learned

Applying app-router patterns to a complex product surface
Designing AI UX that balances speed, control, and personality consistency
Building testable frontend/domain logic with Vitest and React Testing Library
Shipping multilingual interfaces without fragmenting core product logic

Impact

Charaloom turns character ideation into an interactive social product, enabling creators to move from concept to conversation in minutes.