FutureTracker Backend API

Express.js backend with Clerk authentication and Supabase PostgreSQL.

Quick Start

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Copy environment template
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your actual keys

# Run development server
npm run dev

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Where to Get
PORT	Server port (default: 3001)	-
NODE_ENV	Environment (development/production)	-
CORS_ORIGIN	Frontend URL for CORS	Your frontend URL
CLERK_SECRET_KEY	Clerk secret key (starts with sk_)	Clerk Dashboard > API Keys
CLERK_JWT_PUBLIC_KEY	JWT public key for local verification (recommended for production)	Clerk Dashboard > API Keys > Show JWT Public Key
SUPABASE_URL	Supabase project URL	Supabase Dashboard > Settings > API
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY	Service role key (secret!)	Supabase Dashboard > Settings > API

CLERK_JWT_PUBLIC_KEY (Production)

Setting this variable enables local JWT verification without network calls to Clerk's JWKS endpoint. This prevents TypeError: fetch failed errors that can occur on platforms like Render or Railway.

Accepted formats:

• Multi-line PEM (if your hosting supports it)
• Single-line with \n escape sequences (most common)

The middleware automatically normalizes escaped newlines, so both formats work.

API Endpoints

Public

• GET /api/health - Health check
• GET /api/health/deps - Dependency health check (Supabase reachability)

Protected (require Bearer token)

• GET /api/me - Get current user info
• GET /api/opportunities - List all opportunities
• GET /api/opportunities/:id - Get single opportunity
• POST /api/opportunities - Create opportunity
• PUT /api/opportunities/:id - Update opportunity
• DELETE /api/opportunities/:id - Delete opportunity
• GET /api/analytics - Get analytics data

Testing with cURL

# Health check (no auth needed)
curl http://localhost:3001/api/health

# Get opportunities (requires token)
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_CLERK_TOKEN" \
  http://localhost:3001/api/opportunities

# Create opportunity
curl -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_CLERK_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title":"Test Internship","category":"internship","status":"applied"}' \
  http://localhost:3001/api/opportunities

Deploy to Render

1. Create a new Web Service on render.com
2. Connect your GitHub repo
3. Set Root Directory to backend
4. Set Build Command to npm install
5. Set Start Command to npm start
6. Add environment variables in Render dashboard
7. Update CORS_ORIGIN to your production frontend URL

Project Structure

backend/
├── src/
│   ├── server.js          # Main entry point
│   ├── lib/
│   │   └── supabase.js    # Supabase client
│   ├── middleware/
│   │   └── auth.js        # Clerk JWT verification
│   └── routes/
│       ├── opportunities.js  # CRUD routes
│       └── analytics.js      # Analytics endpoint
├── .env.example           # Environment template
└── package.json