LearnFlow BACKEND

Welcome to the LearnFlow backend repository! This Node.js/Express.js API (with TypeScript, Prisma, and MySQL) powers a dynamic learning platform. It handles user authentication, AI-driven resource recommendations, and progress tracking for self-learners.
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Table of Contents

1. About The Project
• Core Features
• Built With
2. Getting Started
• Prerequisites
• Installation and Setup
• Usage
3. API Documentation
4. Frontend Repository
5. License

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About The Project

LearnFlow is a smart, adaptive platform that helps users set and track their personal learning goals, such as “Learn Python” or “Master React.” By leveraging basic AI/NLP techniques, it recommends relevant free online resources (articles, videos, courses) to support each user’s unique learning path. Users can log their progress, maintain streaks, and receive weekly learning recommendations to stay motivated.

Core Features

1. Goal Setting and Management
   Users can create learning goals and break them down into smaller, manageable tasks.

2. AI-Driven Resource Recommendations
   The system uses libraries like compromise and natural to analyze goals and suggest relevant resources from public APIs (Wikipedia, MDN).

3. Progress Tracking
   Users can Track their progress, update streaks, and visualize learning progress.

4. User Authentication & Authorization
   Secure login and API access control via JSON Web Tokens (JWT).

5. RESTful Endpoints
   Organized routes for goals, resources, analytics, and user management.

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Built With

This backend is powered by a modern, scalable stack ensuring robust performance and maintainability:

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Getting Started

This section will guide you through setting up the LearnFlow BACKEND on your local machine.

Prerequisites

1. Node.js (v22+ recommended)
   Download & Install Node.js
2. MySQL (or a compatible SQL database)
   Download & Install MySQL
3. npm or yarn (npm comes bundled with Node.js)
   Install Yarn if you prefer Yarn
4. Postman (optional for API testing)
   Download Postman

Installation and Setup

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/gayanukabulegoda/LearnFlow-BACKEND.git

   Navigate into the project directory:

   cd LearnFlow-BACKEND

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

   or

   yarn install

3. Configure Environment Variables
   Create a .env file in the root directory and set the following variables (example):

   DATABASE_URL="mysql://<username>:<password>@localhost:3306/learnflow_db"
   JWT_SECRET="your_jwt_secret_key"
   JWT_EXPIRES_IN="in_days, hours, minutes or seconds (e.g., 7d)"
   PORT=5000
   NODE_ENV=development
   CLIENT_URL=http://localhost:3000
   CURRENT_API_VERSION=v1

   Adjust the values according to your local or production environment.

4. Database Setup with Prisma
   Initialize or migrate your database schema:

   npx prisma migrate dev

   This command will create or update your database schema according to the Prisma schema definition in prisma/schema.prisma.

Usage

1. Start the development server

   npm run dev

   or

   yarn dev

   The server should now be running at http://localhost:5000.

2. Production build and run

   npm run build
   npm start

   or

   yarn build
   yarn start

   This will compile TypeScript to JavaScript and run the production build.

3. Testing (optional)
   If you have unit or integration tests, you can run:

   npm run test

   or

   yarn test

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API Documentation

Comprehensive API documentation (including endpoints, request/response examples, and environment setups) can be found in the Postman Collection.

• Make sure the server is running locally (or remotely) before sending requests to the provided endpoints.
• The Postman documentation also includes sample payloads and environment variables for quicker testing.

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Frontend Repository

The frontend for this project is built with React. Visit the LearnFlow FRONTEND repository for more details:

• LearnFlow FRONTEND

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License

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for more information.

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© 2025 Gayanuka Bulegoda