KeyPulse

KeyPulse is a secure and elegant password manager designed to store, manage, and protect your digital credentials. Built with a modern tech stack, it offers a sleek user interface, robust AES-256 encryption, and seamless JWT-based authentication to safeguard your digital life.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Tech Stack
• Installation
• Usage
• Security
• Contributing
• License

Features

• Secure Password Storage: Save, edit, and delete passwords with AES-256-CBC encryption.
• User Authentication: Register and log in using JWT-based authentication.
• Dynamic Page Titles: Unique browser tab titles (e.g., KeyPulse - Login) for each page, powered by React Helmet Async.
• Intuitive UI: Fixed navbar with links to Home, Password Vault, About, Contact, and a static Settings placeholder.
• Non-Fixed Headers: Consistent, animated headers on Login, Register, Manager, Home, About, and Contact pages, featuring the KeyPulse logo and tagline.
• Password Vault: View, copy, and manage credentials in a responsive table with clipboard functionality.
• Toast Notifications: Real-time feedback for user actions via React Toastify.
• Responsive Design: Tailwind CSS ensures a seamless experience across devices.

Tech Stack

Frontend

• React: Component-based UI with React Router for navigation.
• Tailwind CSS: Utility-first styling for a modern, responsive design.
• Framer Motion: Smooth animations for navbar, headers, and page elements.
• React Toastify: Notification system for user feedback.
• React Helmet Async: Dynamic <title> tags for improved SEO and user experience.

Backend

• Node.js with Express: RESTful API server for handling requests.
• MongoDB Atlas: Cloud-hosted NoSQL database for storing user data and passwords.
• Bcrypt: Password hashing for secure user credential storage.
• JSON Web Tokens (JWT): Secure authentication for protected routes.
• Crypto: AES-256-CBC encryption for password security.

Other

• UUID: Generates unique identifiers for password entries.
• Express Validator: Sanitizes and validates user inputs.
• Express Rate Limit: Throttles API requests to enhance security.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js: Version 16+ (v20 LTS recommended).
• MongoDB Atlas: Account for cloud database hosting.
• Git: For version control.

Backend Setup

1. Navigate to the backend directory:

   cd backend

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Create a .env file in backend with the following configuration:

   MONGO_URI=mongodb+srv://<username>:<password>@cluster0.tskxf80.mongodb.net/keypulse?retryWrites=true&w=majority
   DB_NAME=keypulse
   PORT=3000
   JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_key_12345_change_this
   ENCRYPTION_KEY=7e8f9a0b1c2d3e4f5a6b7c8d9e0f123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef01234
   

   • Replace <username>:<password> with your MongoDB Atlas credentials.
   • Ensure ENCRYPTION_KEY is a 64-character hexadecimal string. Generate one using:

     node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('hex'))"

4. Start the backend server:

   node server.js

   • Confirm: Server running on http://localhost:3000.

Frontend Setup

1. Navigate to the frontend directory:

   cd frontend

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Start the frontend development server:

   npm run dev

   • Access the app at http://localhost:5173 (or Vite’s default port).

Usage

1. Register: Visit /register to create an account with a username and password.
2. Login: Use /login to authenticate and access the Password Vault.
3. Manage Passwords:
   • Navigate to /manager.
   • Add a password (site, username, password; each must be 4+ characters).
   • Edit or delete existing passwords.
   • Copy credentials to the clipboard with a single click.
4. Navigation:
   • Use the fixed navbar to access:
     • Home (/): Welcome page with links to login or register.
     • Password Vault (/manager): Credential management interface.
     • About (/about): Overview of the KeyPulse project.
     • Contact (/contact): Support contact information.
     • Settings: Static placeholder (non-functional).
5. Verify Page Titles:
   • Check browser tab titles for each route:
     • /: KeyPulse - Home
     • /login: KeyPulse - Login
     • /register: KeyPulse - Register
     • /manager: KeyPulse - Password Vault
     • /about: KeyPulse - About
     • /contact: KeyPulse - Contact

Security

• Encryption: Passwords are encrypted with AES-256-CBC using a 32-byte key and random initialization vectors (IVs).
• Authentication: JWTs secure API routes; bcrypt hashes user passwords for storage.
• Input Validation: Express Validator sanitizes inputs to prevent injection attacks.
• Rate Limiting: Express Rate Limit prevents brute-force attacks on API endpoints.
• Best Practices:
  • Regularly update your MongoDB Atlas password.
  • Keep the .env file secure and untracked by adding it to .gitignore.
  • Use a strong JWT_SECRET and ENCRYPTION_KEY.
  • Monitor backend logs for unauthorized access attempts.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome to enhance KeyPulse! To contribute:

1. Fork the repository at https://github.com/xenon1919/KeyPulse.
2. Create a feature branch:

   git checkout -b feature/YourFeature

3. Commit your changes:

   git commit -m 'Add YourFeature'

4. Push to the branch:

   git push origin feature/YourFeature

5. Open a Pull Request on https://github.com/xenon1919/KeyPulse.

Please follow the Code of Conduct and ensure all tests pass before submitting.

License

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

---

KeyPulse: Secure your digital life with elegance.