Social Media App Backend

This is the backend for a social media application that allows users to register, login, create posts, comment on posts, like posts, and filter/search posts.

Team

• Hajri: Responsible for the entire backend development.

Features

• User registration and login
• Password recovery using OTP
• Create, update, delete posts
• Comment on posts
• Like posts
• Search and filter posts

Technologies

• Node.js
• Express.js
• PostgreSQL
• JWT for authentication
• Nodemailer for sending emails

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js
• PostgreSQL

Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/social-media-app-backend.git
   cd social-media-app-backend

2. Install NPM packages

   npm install

3. Set up your PostgreSQL database and add your connection string to a .env file

   DATABASE_URL=your-database-url
   JWT_SECRET=your-jwt-secret
   EMAIL_SERVICE=your-email-service
   EMAIL_USERNAME=your-email-username
   EMAIL_PASSWORD=your-email-password

4. Create the necessary tables

   node dbSetup.js

5. Seed the database with an admin user and sample posts

   node seed-db.js

Running the Server

Start the server

npm start

Application Architecture

The backend is organized as follows:

• Routes: Define the API endpoints and map them to corresponding controller functions.
• Controllers: Handle the business logic, processing requests, and returning responses.
• Models: Interact with the database using SQL queries and return data to the controllers.
• Middleware: Custom functions to handle tasks such as authentication, validation, and error handling.
• Utilities: Common helper functions used across the application, such as generating tokens or sending emails.
• Configuration: Setup for environment variables and database connections.

Directory Structure

/social-media-app-backend
│
├── /config               # Configuration files
│   └── db.js             # Database connection setup
│
├── /controllers          # Application logic controllers
│   ├── authController.js
│   ├── postController.js
│   └── userController.js
│
├── /middleware           # Custom middleware
│   ├── authMiddleware.js # JWT authentication middleware
│   ├── errorMiddleware.js # Global error handling
│   └── validationMiddleware.js # Validation middleware
│
├── /models               # Database interaction models
│   ├── Comment.js
│   ├── Like.js
│   ├── Post.js
│   └── User.js
│
├── /routes               # API routes
│   ├── authRoutes.js
│   ├── postRoutes.js
│   └── userRoutes.js
│
├── /utils                # Utility functions
│   ├── generateToken.js  # JWT token generation
│   └── sendEmail.js      # Email sending utility
│
├── /public               # Public assets (e.g., images)
│   └── images
│
├── .env                  # Environment variables
├── server.js             # Entry point to the application
├── dbSetup.js            # Script to create database tables
└── seed-db.js            # Script to seed the database with initial data

API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /api/auth/register

  • Description: Register a new user.
  • Body Parameters:

    {
      "email": "string",
      "password": "string"
    }

• POST /api/auth/login

  • Description: Login with email and password.
  • Body Parameters:

    {
      "email": "string",
      "password": "string"
    }

• POST /api/auth/forgotpassword

  • Description: Initiate password recovery with email.
  • Body Parameters:

    {
      "email": "string"
    }

• POST /api/auth/verify-otp

  • Description: Verify the OTP sent to the user's email.
  • Body Parameters:

    {
      "otp": "string"
    }

• PUT /api/auth/resetpassword

  • Description: Reset the user's password using a verified OTP.
  • Body Parameters:

    {
      "otp": "string",
      "newPassword": "string"
    }

Posts

• GET /api/posts

  • Description: Retrieve all posts, sorted by date or likes.
  • Query Parameters:

    sortBy=recent|likes (optional)
    page=integer (optional)
    limit=integer (optional)
    

• POST /api/posts

  • Description: Create a new post.
  • Body Parameters:

    {
      "title": "string",
      "description": "string",
      "image": "file" // optional, multipart/form-data
    }

  • Headers:

    Authorization: Bearer token (required)
    

• GET /api/posts/:id

  • Description: Retrieve a specific post by ID.
  • Path Parameters:

    id=integer
    

• PUT /api/posts/:id

  • Description: Update a specific post by ID.
  • Path Parameters:

    id=integer
    

  • Body Parameters:

    {
      "title": "string",
      "description": "string",
      "image": "file" // optional, multipart/form-data
    }

  • Headers:

    Authorization: Bearer token (required)
    

• DELETE /api/posts/:id

  • Description: Delete a specific post by ID.
  • Path Parameters:

    id=integer
    

  • Headers:

    Authorization: Bearer token (required)
    

• POST /api/posts/:id/like

  • Description: Like a specific post.
  • Path Parameters:

    id=integer
    

  • Headers:

    Authorization: Bearer token (required)
    

Comments

• POST /api/posts/:postId/comments

  • Description: Create a new comment on a specific post.
  • Path Parameters:

    postId=integer
    

  • Body Parameters:

    {
      "text": "string"
    }

  • Headers:

    Authorization: Bearer token (required)
    

• GET /api/posts/:postId/comments

  • Description: Retrieve all comments for a specific post.
  • Path Parameters:

    postId=integer
    

• DELETE /api/posts/:postId/comments/:commentId

  • Description: Delete a specific comment by ID.
  • Path Parameters:

    postId=integer
    commentId=integer
    

Database Schema

The database uses PostgreSQL and contains the following key tables:

1. Users

• id (Primary Key): Auto-incrementing integer.
• email: User's unique email address.
• password: Hashed password.
• reset_password_token: Token for password recovery.
• reset_password_expire: Expiry time for the password recovery token.
• created_at: Timestamp of user creation.

2. Posts

• id (Primary Key): Auto-incrementing integer.
• title: Title of the post.
• description: Content of the post.
• author (Foreign Key): References the users table.
• date: Timestamp when the post was created.
• image_url: URL of the image associated with the post.
• likes: Number of likes the post has received.

3. Comments

• id (Primary Key): Auto-incrementing integer.
• text: Content of the comment.
• author (Foreign Key): References the users table.
• post_id (Foreign Key): References the posts table.
• date: Timestamp when the comment was created.

4. Likes

• id (Primary Key): Auto-incrementing integer.
• user_id (Foreign Key): References the users table.
• post_id (Foreign Key): References the posts table.
• Composite Unique Constraint: Ensures a user can only like a post once.