Hackaholics: The Hackathon Platform

Project Overview

Hackaholics is a modern, full-stack platform designed to streamline the entire hackathon experience for both organizers and participants. It provides a secure, role-based system where experts can create and manage events, while students can register, submit projects, and track their progress.

This platform demonstrates a robust, production-level architecture and a comprehensive feature set built to handle the complexities of a real-world hackathon.

Key Features

Core Functionality

• Hackathon Creation: Experts can create detailed hackathons with titles, descriptions, rules, and crucial deadlines for registration and submissions.
• Dynamic UI: The platform automatically updates hackathon status (e.g., Registration Open, Judging, Completed) based on real-time dates and deadlines.
• Deletion & Editing: Experts have full control to edit hackathon details or delete events from a dedicated dashboard.

User Authentication & Authorization

• Multi-Role System: Secure authentication powered by Clerk, supporting distinct roles for STUDENT and EXPERT.
• Role-Based Access: All sensitive actions (e.g., creating/editing a hackathon, viewing submissions) are protected by server-side middleware that verifies the user's role and permissions.
• User Profiles: Users have personalized profiles where they can manage their information and track their activities.

Expert Management Workflow

• Expert Dashboard: A central hub for experts to view all their hosted hackathons at a glance, complete with real-time stats on registered participants and submitted projects.
• Analytics & Submissions: A detailed analytics page for each hackathon, providing a combined table of all participants, their submission status, and direct links to their projects.
• Manual Review System: Experts can review submitted projects by assigning a score (0-100) and providing detailed feedback, with a dedicated review page for each submission.

Student Participation Workflow

• Seamless Registration: Students can easily register for hackathons with a single click if the registration window is open.
• Project Submission: Registered students can submit a project URL or text, and the platform tracks their submission status.
• Submission Status Tracking: Students can view their submission status, review scores, and feedback on the hackathon detail page.

Technology Stack

• Frontend:
  • Next.js: The React framework for server-side rendering and static site generation.
  • TypeScript: For type safety and robust code.
  • Tailwind CSS: For a utility-first and responsive UI design.
  • Clerk: A comprehensive authentication solution for user management.
  • Framer Motion: For fluid and beautiful UI animations.
• Backend:
  • Express.js: A fast, unopinionated Node.js framework for the REST API.
  • Prisma: A powerful ORM for database interaction.
  • PostgreSQL: The database solution, managed by Supabase.
• Infrastructure:
  • Vercel: For seamless front-end deployment and continuous integration.
  • Render: For reliable back-end deployment.
  • Supabase: Provides the PostgreSQL database.
  • Imagekit: A global CDN and image optimization service for handling hackathon banner uploads.

Getting Started

To run this project locally, follow these steps:

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/hackaholics.git
   cd hackaholics

2. Set up environment variables:

   • Create a .env file in the backend/express directory.
   • Create a .env.local file in the frontend directory.
   • Populate them with your credentials from Clerk, Supabase, and Imagekit.

3. Install dependencies and run migrations:

   # In the backend/express directory
   npm install
   npx prisma migrate dev --name init-database
   
   # In the frontend directory
   npm install

4. Run the application:

   # In the backend/express directory
   npm run dev
   
   # In the frontend directory
   npm run dev

Planned Future Enhancements

• AI-Powered Review System: Integrate a separate microservice (e.g., with Python/Django) to analyze project submissions and provide automated scores and feedback.
• Dynamic Certificate Generation: Automatically generate professional, branded certificates for hackathon participants based on their review scores.
• Team Functionality: Add the ability for students to form teams during registration.

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