PasteBox

A simple and efficient pastebin service for sharing code snippets with syntax highlighting. Built with React and Node.js.

Features

• Syntax Highlighting - Support for 25+ programming languages
• Auto-Expiration - Pastes automatically delete after 7 days (MongoDB TTL)
• Redis Caching - Fast paste retrieval with intelligent cache invalidation
• Copy Functions - One-click copy for code and shareable links
• Live Preview - See syntax highlighting as you type
• Dark Theme - Easy on the eyes with Dracula-inspired theme
• Responsive - Works on desktop and mobile devices
• Docker Ready - One command deployment with docker-compose

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Frontend	React 18, TailwindCSS 3, React Syntax Highlighter
Backend	Node.js 18+, Express 4.21
Database	MongoDB 8 with TTL indexes
Cache	Redis 7 (optional, graceful fallback)
Containerization	Docker, docker-compose
CI/CD	GitHub Actions

Quick Start

Option 1: Docker (Recommended)

# Clone and start all services
git clone https://github.com/Priyans-hu/PasteBox.git
cd PasteBox
docker-compose up -d

# App available at http://localhost:3000

Option 2: Local Development

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/Priyans-hu/PasteBox.git
cd PasteBox

# Run setup script
chmod +x scripts/setup.sh
./scripts/setup.sh

# Start MongoDB (if not running)
brew services start mongodb-community  # macOS
# or
sudo systemctl start mongod  # Linux

# Start server (terminal 1)
cd server && npm run dev

# Start client (terminal 2)
cd client && npm start

Environment Variables

Server (server/.env)

PORT=5000
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/pastebox
CLIENT_URL=http://localhost:3000

# Redis (optional - caching disabled if not set)
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379

Client (client/.env)

REACT_APP_API_URL=http://localhost:5000

API Reference

Health Check

GET /health

Response:
{
  "status": "ok",
  "timestamp": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "cache": { "enabled": true, "connected": true }
}

Create a Paste

POST /api/pastes
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "content": "console.log('Hello World');",
  "language": "javascript",
  "title": "My Snippet"
}

Response: 201 Created
{
  "_id": "paste_id",
  "title": "My Snippet",
  "content": "console.log('Hello World');",
  "language": "javascript",
  "createdAt": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "expiresAt": "2024-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
}

Get a Paste

GET /api/pastes/:id

Response: 200 OK (cached if available)
{
  "id": "paste_id",
  "title": "My Snippet",
  "content": "console.log('Hello World');",
  "language": "javascript",
  "createdAt": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "expiresAt": "2024-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
}

Delete a Paste

DELETE /api/pastes/:id

Response: 200 OK
{ "message": "Paste deleted successfully" }

Search Pastes

GET /api/pastes/search?q=query

Response: 200 OK
[{ "title": "...", "language": "...", "createdAt": "...", "expiresAt": "..." }]

Caching Strategy

Redis caching is implemented for optimal performance:

Operation	Cache Behavior
GET paste	Cache HIT returns instantly, MISS fetches from DB and caches
CREATE paste	Not cached (new pastes are fresh)
DELETE paste	Cache invalidated immediately
Cache TTL	Min(1 hour, paste expiration time)

Cache is optional - the app works without Redis, just slower.

Supported Languages

JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Java, C, C++, C#, Go, Rust, Ruby, PHP, Swift, Kotlin, SQL, HTML, CSS, SCSS, JSON, YAML, XML, Markdown, Bash, Shell, Dockerfile, and Plain Text.

Project Structure

PasteBox/
├── client/                 # React frontend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── api/           # API client
│   │   ├── constants/     # Language definitions
│   │   └── pages/         # Home, PastedCode
│   ├── Dockerfile         # Production build
│   └── nginx.conf         # Nginx config
├── server/                 # Express backend
│   ├── config/
│   │   ├── dbConnect.js   # MongoDB connection
│   │   └── redis.js       # Redis caching
│   ├── controllers/       # Request handlers
│   ├── models/            # Mongoose schemas
│   ├── routes/            # API routes
│   └── Dockerfile         # Production build
├── scripts/
│   ├── setup.sh           # Development setup
│   └── healthcheck.py     # Health check utility
├── docker-compose.yml      # Container orchestration
└── .github/workflows/      # CI/CD

Scripts

Server

npm start      # Production server
npm run dev    # Development with hot-reload
npm run lint   # Run ESLint

Client

npm start      # Development server
npm run build  # Production build
npm run lint   # Run ESLint
npm test       # Run tests

Utilities

# Setup development environment
./scripts/setup.sh

# Health check with test paste
python scripts/healthcheck.py --create-test

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feat/amazing-feature
3. Commit changes: git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'
4. Push to branch: git push origin feat/amazing-feature
5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Author

Priyanshu Garg - GitHub