RideAlong — Travel Companion Finder

Overview

RideAlong is a full-stack, real-time travel ridesharing platform where users can find companions for trips on two wheels or four. The tagline says it all: "Never Travel Alone Again."

Users post upcoming trips (by bike or car), others browse a public feed, express interest in joining, and once accepted — they can chat in real-time to coordinate. The platform combines a social discovery layer with instant messaging, powered by Supabase Realtime and web push notifications.

Visit Live: RideAlong – Travel Companion Finder

Technology Stack

Frontend

Framework: Next.js 16 (App Router)
UI Library: React 19 + TypeScript
Styling: Tailwind CSS v4 (dark theme)
Hosting: Vercel

Backend & Infra

Database: Supabase (PostgreSQL)
Auth: Supabase Auth
Realtime: Supabase Realtime
Push: Supabase Edge Functions

Core Features & Workflow

RideAlong delivers a complete social travel experience — from identity to coordination — with five tightly integrated feature modules.

Auth & Profiles

Email/password signup and login with full profile creation — name, avatar, bio, and vehicle type (bike or car) — powered by Supabase Auth.

Trip Feed

A public, browsable feed of all open trips showing destination, travel dates, vehicle type, and available seats. Users can create and manage their own trips.

Interest System

One request per trip per user. Trip owners accept or decline joiners, and trips auto-close once all seats are filled — keeping the feed always accurate.

Real-time Chat

Supabase Realtime-powered messaging channel that unlocks only after an interest request is accepted — keeping coordination contextual and secure.

Push Notifications

Supabase Edge Functions fire web push notifications for new interest requests, acceptances, and incoming chat messages — keeping users in the loop.

Row Level Security

Five PostgreSQL tables — profiles, trips, interests, messages, and push_subscriptions — each protected by Supabase RLS policies for fine-grained access control.

Never Travel Alone Again

RideAlong brings together the social spontaneity of travel with the reliability of structured coordination. By pairing a real-time trip feed with a gated chat system and push notifications, riders can discover companions, align on plans, and hit the road — all within a single, cohesive platform.

Built entirely on the Supabase ecosystem — from auth to database to edge functions — and deployed on Vercel, RideAlong is a showcase of what a modern, full-stack app looks like when every layer is purpose-built for real-time interaction.

Project Deep Dive