Workflow Approval Management System

Production-ready backend system for managing multi-level approval workflows with secure role-based access control, audit trails, and cloud deployment.

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🌍 Live Production Deployment

Base URL:
https://workflow-approval-system-production.up.railway.app

Health Check:
/actuator/health

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Overview

This system enables organizations to manage structured approval workflows instead of relying on emails or spreadsheets.

• Employees submit requests
• Managers review at Level 1
• Admins provide final approval
• Full audit tracking of every action
• Strict workflow state transition validation

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🏗 Architecture

• Layered Architecture (Controller → Service → Repository)
• DTO Pattern using MapStruct
• Stateless JWT Authentication
• PostgreSQL relational database
• Dockerized container setup
• Cloud deployment via Railway

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Core Features

• Role-Based Access Control (ADMIN, MANAGER, EMPLOYEE)
• Multi-level sequential approval workflow
• Approve / Reject / Request Changes
• Full workflow history & audit trail
• JWT authentication & authorization
• Global exception handling
• Environment-based configuration
• Docker & docker-compose support

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🛠 Tech Stack

Technology	Version
Java	17
Spring Boot	3.2.3
Spring Security	Latest
JWT (JJWT)	0.11.5
PostgreSQL	15
Maven	3.x
Docker	Latest
MapStruct	1.5.5.Final
Lombok	1.18.30

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🖥 Running Locally (Manual Setup)

Prerequisites

• Java 17
• Maven
• PostgreSQL running locally

Step 1 — Create Database

CREATE DATABASE workflow_db;

Default configuration:

Host: localhost
Port: 5432
Database: workflow_db
Username: postgres
Password: 1234

Step 2 — Build & Run

mvn clean install
mvn spring-boot:run

Application URL:

http://localhost:8080

Health Check:

http://localhost:8080/actuator/health

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🐳 Run with Docker (Recommended)

docker-compose up --build

Stop containers:

docker-compose down

Remove database volume:

docker-compose down -v

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☁ Cloud Deployment (Railway)

Deployed using Railway with managed PostgreSQL and environment-based configuration.

Required environment variables:

DATABASE_URL=
DATABASE_USERNAME=
DATABASE_PASSWORD=
JWT_SECRET=
JWT_EXPIRATION_MS=86400000
DDL_AUTO=update

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🔄 API Usage Flow

Postman collection included:

WorkflowApprovalSystem.postman_collection.json

1️⃣ Register User

POST /api/auth/register

2️⃣ Login

POST /api/auth/login

Use JWT token in header:

Authorization: Bearer <TOKEN>

3️⃣ Create Workflow

POST /api/workflows

4️⃣ Submit Workflow

POST /api/workflows/{id}/submit

5️⃣ Approve / Reject / Request Changes

POST /api/workflows/{id}/approve

Supported actions:

• APPROVE
• REJECT
• REQUEST_CHANGES

6️⃣ View Audit History

GET /api/workflows/{id}/history

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📂 Project Structure

src/main/java/com/workflow/
 ├── config/
 ├── controller/
 ├── dto/
 ├── entity/
 ├── enums/
 ├── exception/
 ├── mapper/
 ├── repository/
 ├── security/
 └── service/

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🔒 Security Implementation

• BCrypt password hashing
• JWT token validation filter
• Role-based endpoint protection
• Stateless authentication

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📈 Backend Skills Demonstrated

• Secure REST API design
• Business rule enforcement
• Database relationship modeling
• Multi-level workflow logic
• Production containerization
• Cloud deployment configuration

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📜 License

MIT License