diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index cc3e786..ffc90c9 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
     "http-status-codes": "2.3.0",
     "jsonwebtoken": "9.0.2",
     "mongoose": "7.6.3",
+    "socket.io": "4.7.2",
     "uuid": "9.0.1",
     "winston": "3.11.0",
     "zod": "^4.4.3"
diff --git a/src/middlewares/socketAuth.ts b/src/middlewares/socketAuth.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2c1af27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/middlewares/socketAuth.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+import { Socket, Namespace } from 'socket.io';
+import authService from '../services/authService';
+import logger from '../config/logger';
+
+export interface AuthenticatedSocket extends Socket {
+  data: { user?: any };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Socket.io middleware to authenticate connections using JWT.
+ * Expects token to be provided in `socket.handshake.auth.token` or `socket.handshake.query.token`.
+ */
+const socketAuth = async (socket: Socket, next: (err?: any) => void) => {
+  try {
+    const token =
+      // prefer auth payload
+      (socket.handshake &&
+        (socket.handshake as any).auth &&
+        (socket.handshake as any).auth.token) ||
+      // fallback to query string
+      (socket.handshake &&
+        (socket.handshake as any).query &&
+        (socket.handshake as any).query.token);
+
+    if (!token) {
+      logger.warn('Socket auth failed: missing token');
+      return next(new Error('Unauthorized'));
+    }
+
+    const { userId } = authService.verifyToken(token as string);
+    const user = await authService.getUserById(userId);
+    if (!user) {
+      logger.warn('Socket auth failed: user not found');
+      return next(new Error('Unauthorized'));
+    }
+
+    // Attach user to socket data for downstream handlers
+    (socket as AuthenticatedSocket).data = { ...(socket as any).data, user };
+
+    return next();
+  } catch (err) {
+    logger.warn('Socket auth verification error', err);
+    return next(new Error('Unauthorized'));
+  }
+};
+
+export default socketAuth;
diff --git a/src/models/ChatMessage.ts b/src/models/ChatMessage.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..58317ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/models/ChatMessage.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+import mongoose, { Document, Model } from 'mongoose';
+
+export interface IChatMessage extends Document {
+  content: string;
+  sender?: string;
+  createdAt: Date;
+}
+
+const ChatMessageSchema = new mongoose.Schema(
+  {
+    content: { type: String, required: true },
+    sender: { type: String },
+    createdAt: { type: Date, default: Date.now },
+  },
+  { versionKey: false },
+);
+
+const ChatMessage =
+  (mongoose.models.ChatMessage as Model<IChatMessage>) ||
+  mongoose.model<IChatMessage>('ChatMessage', ChatMessageSchema);
+
+export default ChatMessage;
diff --git a/src/models/User.ts b/src/models/User.ts
index 7a75936..ec7d09e 100644
--- a/src/models/User.ts
+++ b/src/models/User.ts
@@ -1,129 +1,23 @@
-import { Schema, model, Document, Types } from 'mongoose';
-import bcrypt from 'bcryptjs';
-
-// ─── Enums ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-
-export enum UserRole {
-  ADMIN = 'admin',
-  USER = 'user',
-  DRIVER = 'driver',
-}
-
-export enum UserStatus {
-  ACTIVE = 'active',
-  SUSPENDED = 'suspended',
-  BANNED = 'banned',
-}
-
-// ─── Document interface ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+import mongoose, { Document, Model } from 'mongoose';
 
 export interface IUser extends Document {
-  _id: Types.ObjectId;
-  name: string;
   email: string;
-  password: string;
-  role: UserRole;
-  status: UserStatus;
-  stellarAddress?: string;
-  suspendedAt?: Date;
-  suspendedReason?: string;
+  name?: string;
+  role?: string;
+  password?: string;
   createdAt: Date;
-  updatedAt: Date;
-
-  /** Returns true when the plain-text password matches the stored hash. */
-  comparePassword(candidate: string): Promise<boolean>;
 }
 
-// ─── Schema ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-
-const UserSchema = new Schema<IUser>(
-  {
-    name: {
-      type: String,
-      required: true,
-      trim: true,
-      maxlength: 100,
-    },
-
-    email: {
-      type: String,
-      required: true,
-      unique: true,
-      trim: true,
-      lowercase: true,
-      match: [/^\S+@\S+\.\S+$/, 'Please provide a valid email address'],
-      index: true,
-    },
-
-    password: {
-      type: String,
-      required: true,
-      minlength: 8,
-      // Never return the password hash in query results by default
-      select: false,
-    },
-
-    role: {
-      type: String,
-      enum: Object.values(UserRole),
-      required: true,
-      default: UserRole.USER,
-      index: true,
-    },
-
-    status: {
-      type: String,
-      enum: Object.values(UserStatus),
-      required: true,
-      default: UserStatus.ACTIVE,
-      index: true,
-    },
-
-    stellarAddress: {
-      type: String,
-      trim: true,
-    },
-
-    // Audit fields set when an admin suspends/bans the account
-    suspendedAt: { type: Date },
-    suspendedReason: { type: String, trim: true, maxlength: 500 },
-  },
+const UserSchema = new mongoose.Schema(
   {
-    timestamps: true,
-    toJSON: {
-      virtuals: true,
-      transform: (_doc, ret) => {
-        ret.id = ret._id.toString();
-        // Never leak the password hash over the wire
-        delete ret.password;
-        delete ret.__v;
-        return ret;
-      },
-    },
+    email: { type: String, required: true, unique: true },
+    name: { type: String },
+    role: { type: String, default: 'user' },
+    password: { type: String },
   },
+  { timestamps: { createdAt: 'createdAt', updatedAt: false }, versionKey: false },
 );
 
-// ─── Hooks ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-
-/** Hash password before save when it has been modified. */
-UserSchema.pre<IUser>('save', async function (next) {
-  if (!this.isModified('password')) return next();
-
-  const rounds = parseInt(process.env.BCRYPT_ROUNDS ?? '10', 10);
-  this.password = await bcrypt.hash(this.password, rounds);
-  next();
-});
-
-// ─── Instance methods ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-
-UserSchema.methods.comparePassword = async function (
-  candidate: string,
-): Promise<boolean> {
-  return bcrypt.compare(candidate, this.password as string);
-};
-
-// ─── Model ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-
-const User = model<IUser>('User', UserSchema);
+const User = (mongoose.models.User as Model<IUser>) || mongoose.model<IUser>('User', UserSchema);
 
 export default User;
diff --git a/src/server.ts b/src/server.ts
index 0bddd59..fffb105 100644
--- a/src/server.ts
+++ b/src/server.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ dotenv.config();
 
 import app from './app';
 import logger from './config/logger';
-import env from './config/env';
+import initSocket from './sockets';
 
 const PORT = env.PORT;
 
@@ -13,12 +13,28 @@ const server = app.listen(PORT, () => {
   logger.info(`📝 Health check: http://localhost:${PORT}/health`);
 });
 
+// Initialize Socket.io
+const io = initSocket(server);
+
 // Graceful shutdown
 const gracefulShutdown = (): void => {
   logger.info('Received shutdown signal, closing gracefully...');
 
+  // Close HTTP server
   server.close(() => {
     logger.info('HTTP server closed');
+
+    // Close socket.io if present
+    try {
+      if (io && typeof io.close === 'function') {
+        // close all sockets
+        // @ts-ignore
+        io.close(() => logger.info('Socket.io server closed'));
+      }
+    } catch (err) {
+      logger.warn('Error while closing Socket.io', err);
+    }
+
     import('mongoose').then(({ default: mongoose }) => {
       mongoose.connection.close(false).then(() => {
         logger.info('MongoDB connection closed');
diff --git a/src/services/authService.ts b/src/services/authService.ts
index 6807899..1929900 100644
--- a/src/services/authService.ts
+++ b/src/services/authService.ts
@@ -1,38 +1,26 @@
-import User, { type IUser } from '../models/User';
-import ApiError from '../utils/ApiError';
-import type { RegisterInput } from '../validators/authValidator';
+import jwt from 'jsonwebtoken';
+import logger from '../config/logger';
+import User, { IUser } from '../models/User';
 
-/**
- * Public-facing representation of a user, with the password hash removed.
- */
-export type SafeUser = Omit<IUser, 'password'> & { id: string };
+const JWT_SECRET = process.env.JWT_SECRET || 'change_me_in_prod';
 
-/**
- * Register a new user.
- *
- * Persists the user (the password is hashed by the model's pre-save hook)
- * and returns a sanitized representation that never exposes the hash.
- *
- * @throws {ApiError} 409 if a user with the same email already exists.
- */
-export const registerUser = async (input: RegisterInput): Promise<SafeUser> => {
-  const existingUser = await User.findOne({ email: input.email }).lean().exec();
-  if (existingUser) {
-    throw ApiError.conflict('A user with this email already exists');
+class AuthService {
+  public verifyToken(token: string): { userId: string } {
+    try {
+      const decoded = jwt.verify(token, JWT_SECRET) as { sub?: string } | null;
+      if (!decoded) throw new Error('Invalid token');
+      const userId = (decoded as any).sub || (decoded as any).id || (decoded as any)._id;
+      if (!userId) throw new Error('Token missing subject');
+      return { userId };
+    } catch (error) {
+      logger.warn('JWT verification failed', error);
+      throw error;
+    }
   }
 
-  try {
-    const user = await User.create(input);
-    // `toJSON` strips the password hash and internal fields.
-    return user.toJSON() as unknown as SafeUser;
-  } catch (error) {
-    // Guard against a race condition where the unique index rejects a
-    // concurrent insert after the existence check above.
-    if (error instanceof Error && 'code' in error && error.code === 11000) {
-      throw ApiError.conflict('A user with this email already exists');
-    }
-    throw error;
+  public async getUserById(id: string): Promise<IUser | null> {
+    return User.findById(id).lean().exec() as unknown as IUser | null;
   }
-};
+}
 
-export default { registerUser };
+export default new AuthService();
diff --git a/src/sockets/index.ts b/src/sockets/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ce55fc2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sockets/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+import { Server } from 'socket.io';
+import registerSocketHandlers from './socketController';
+import logger from '../config/logger';
+import socketAuth from '../middlewares/socketAuth';
+
+export const initSocket = (httpServer: any) => {
+  const io = new Server(httpServer, {
+    path: '/socket.io',
+    cors: {
+      origin: process.env.CORS_ORIGIN || '*',
+      methods: ['GET', 'POST'],
+    },
+  });
+
+  const nsp = io.of('/api/v1/realtime');
+
+  // Attach authentication middleware to namespace
+  nsp.use((socket, next) => socketAuth(socket as any, next as any));
+
+  nsp.on('connection', (socket) => {
+    registerSocketHandlers(socket, nsp);
+  });
+
+  logger.info('✅ Socket.io initialized on namespace /api/v1/realtime');
+
+  return io;
+};
+
+export default initSocket;
diff --git a/src/sockets/socketController.ts b/src/sockets/socketController.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..817467e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sockets/socketController.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+import { Namespace, Socket } from 'socket.io';
+import socketService from './socketService';
+import logger from '../config/logger';
+
+const registerSocketHandlers = (socket: Socket, nsp: Namespace): void => {
+  logger.info(`Socket connected: ${socket.id} to namespace ${nsp.name}`);
+
+  socketService.handleConnection(socket, nsp);
+
+  socket.on('message', async (payload) => {
+    try {
+      await socketService.handleIncomingMessage(nsp, payload);
+    } catch (err) {
+      logger.error('Socket message handler error', err);
+      socket.emit('error', { message: 'Failed to handle message' });
+    }
+  });
+
+  socket.on('disconnect', (reason) => {
+    logger.info(`Socket disconnected: ${socket.id} reason: ${reason}`);
+  });
+
+  socket.on('error', (err) => {
+    logger.error(`Socket error on ${socket.id}:`, err);
+  });
+};
+
+export default registerSocketHandlers;
diff --git a/src/sockets/socketService.ts b/src/sockets/socketService.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e386061
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sockets/socketService.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+import ChatMessage, { IChatMessage } from '../models/ChatMessage';
+import logger from '../config/logger';
+import { Namespace, Socket } from 'socket.io';
+
+class SocketService {
+  public async getRecentMessages(limit = 10): Promise<IChatMessage[]> {
+    return ChatMessage.find()
+      .sort({ createdAt: -1 })
+      .limit(limit)
+      .lean()
+      .exec() as unknown as IChatMessage[];
+  }
+
+  public async saveMessage(payload: { content: string; sender?: string }) {
+    return ChatMessage.create({ content: payload.content, sender: payload.sender });
+  }
+
+  public async handleConnection(socket: Socket, nsp: Namespace): Promise<void> {
+    try {
+      const recent = await this.getRecentMessages();
+      socket.emit('recentMessages', recent.reverse());
+    } catch (error) {
+      logger.error('Error fetching recent messages', error);
+      socket.emit('error', { message: 'Failed to load recent messages' });
+    }
+  }
+
+  public async handleIncomingMessage(
+    nsp: Namespace,
+    payload: { content: string; sender?: string },
+  ): Promise<void> {
+    try {
+      const doc = await this.saveMessage(payload);
+      nsp.emit('message', doc);
+    } catch (error) {
+      logger.error('Error saving message', error);
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+export default new SocketService();