Campus Connect Backend API

Welcome to the Campus Connect Backend API repository. For detailed installation instructions, please refer to the Installation Guide.

Overview

This repository contains the backend API for the Campus Connect project. The API is built using Node.js and Express, and it connects to a MongoDB database. It also utilizes Socket.IO for real-time communication and other technologies to enhance functionality.

Technologies Used

• Node.js: JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine.
• Express: Fast, unopinionated, minimalist web framework for Node.js.
• MongoDB: NoSQL database for storing application data.
• Mongoose: Elegant MongoDB object modeling for Node.js.
• Socket.IO: Enables real-time, bidirectional and event-based communication.
• JWT (JSON Web Tokens): For secure authentication.
• dotenv: Loads environment variables from a .env file into process.env.
• bcrypt: Library to help hash passwords.
• cloudinary: Cloud-based image and video management service.
• cookie-parser: Middleware to parse cookies.
• cors: Middleware to enable Cross-Origin Resource Sharing.
• mongoose-aggregate-paginate-v2: Mongoose plugin for aggregate pagination.
• multer: Middleware for handling multipart/form-data, used for file uploads.

Installation Guide

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have met the following requirements:

• You have installed Node.js (version 14 or higher).
• You have a Git client installed.
• You have a code editor like Visual Studio Code.

Installation

To install the project, follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository:

   • Go to the repository on GitHub.
   • Click the "Fork" button at the top right of the page.

2. Clone your forked repository:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/your-forked-repository.git

3. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd your-forked-repository

4. Install dependencies:

   npm install

5. Create a .env file:

   • Copy the .env.sample file to .env:

     cp .env.sample .env

   • Open the .env file and replace the placeholder values with your actual URI and keys.
   • Example:

   PORT=3000
   MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/campus-connect
   NODE_ENV=development
   CORS_ORIGIN=http://localhost:3000
   ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET=your_access_token_secret
   ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRY=1h
   REFRESH_TOKEN_SECRET=your_refresh_token_secret
   REFRESH_TOKEN_EXPIRY=7d
   CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your_cloudinary_cloud_name
   CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your_cloudinary_api_key
   CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your_cloudinary_api_secret
   

6. Set up Cloudinary:

   • Follow the Cloudinary Node.js SDK Quick Start Guide to set up and configure Cloudinary.

7. Set up MongoDB Atlas:

   • Follow the MongoDB Atlas Getting Started Guide to create a cluster, configure network access, and connect to your database.

8. Change the database name in constants.js:

   • Open the constants.js file in your code editor.
   • Locate the line that defines the database name:

     export const DB_NAME = "campus-connect";

   • Change "campus-connect" to your desired database name:

     export const DB_NAME = "your-database-name";

Usage

To run the project, follow these steps:

1. Start the development server:

   npm run dev

2. Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:8000 if you haven't setup the PORT on .env or change the 8000 with your PORT.

API Endpoints

For detailed information on the API endpoints, please refer to the Postman Documentation

License

Mozilla Public License 2.0