Nexus - Student & Alumni Networking Platform

Nexus is a comprehensive social networking platform designed specifically for students and alumni of KIIT University. It provides a secure, feature-rich environment for networking, messaging, professional development, mentorship, and community building.

🚀 Features

🔐 Authentication & User Management

• Registration document-based registration (submit document URLs)
• JWT-based Authentication with domain-specific email validation (@kiit.ac.in)
• Role-based Access Control (Student, Alumni, Administrator)
• Secure Password Hashing using bcrypt
• Profile Management with skills, interests, location, and bio
• File Upload System with Google Drive integration

🤝 Connection & Networking

• Connection System - Send, accept, reject, and manage connection requests
• User Search & Discovery with advanced filtering
• Connection Suggestions based on mutual connections and interests
• Professional Networking tools for career development

💬 Real-time Communication

• WebSocket-based Messaging with Socket.IO
• Real-time Chat with typing indicators
• Message Notifications with browser notifications
• Unread Message Tracking with visual indicators
• Message History with pagination

📝 Content & Community

• Post System with likes, comments, and voting
• Sub-communities for specialized groups
• Event Management and RSVP system
• Showcase/Portfolio system for projects and achievements
• File Sharing and collaboration tools

🎓 Mentorship & Learning

• Mentorship System with mentor-mentee matching
• Mentorship Applications and request management
• Goal Setting and progress tracking
• Meeting Scheduling and management
• Feedback System for mentorship quality

🏆 Gamification & Engagement

• Badge System for achievements
• Points and Rewards for platform engagement
• Leaderboards and ranking system
• Engagement Tracking and analytics

📧 Notifications & Communication

• Email Notifications via SendGrid
• In-app Notifications system
• Real-time Updates for all platform activities
• Notification Preferences and settings

🛠️ Tech Stack

Backend Technologies

• NestJS - Progressive Node.js framework with TypeScript
• Prisma - Next-generation ORM with PostgreSQL
• PostgreSQL - Robust relational database
• Socket.IO - Real-time bidirectional communication
• JWT - Secure token-based authentication
• Bcrypt - Password hashing
• SendGrid - Email service integration
• SendGrid - Email service integration
• Google APIs - Google Drive integration
• Multer - File upload handling
• Swagger - API documentation

Frontend Technologies

• React 18 - Modern UI library with hooks
• TypeScript - Type-safe JavaScript
• Material-UI (MUI) - React component library
• Tailwind-CSS - CSS Framework
• Framer Motion - Animation library
• React Router - Client-side routing
• Axios - HTTP client for API calls
• Socket.IO Client - Real-time communication
• Vite - Fast build tool and dev server
• Date-fns - Date utility library
• JWT Decode - JWT token handling

Development Tools

• ESLint - Code linting and quality
• Prettier - Code formatting
• Jest - Testing framework
• Husky - Git hooks
• Commitlint - Commit message linting

📋 Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16 or higher)
• npm or yarn
• PostgreSQL (v12 or higher)
• Git

🚀 Quick Start

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/techySPHINX/Nexus.git
cd Nexus

2. Install Dependencies

# Install backend dependencies
cd backend
npm install

# Install frontend dependencies
cd ../frontend
npm install

3. Environment Setup

Create environment files for both backend and frontend:

# Backend environment
cd backend
cp .env.example .env

Configure backend/.env:

# Database Configuration
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://username:password@localhost:5432/nexus_db"

# JWT Configuration
JWT_SECRET="your-super-secret-and-long-string-here"
JWT_EXPIRES_IN="7d"

# Application Configuration
PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=development

# Email Configuration (SendGrid)
SENDGRID_API_KEY="SG.your-sendgrid-api-key"
SENDGRID_FROM_EMAIL="noreply@nexus.kiit.ac.in"

# Google Drive Configuration
GOOGLE_DRIVE_CLIENT_ID="your-google-client-id"
GOOGLE_DRIVE_CLIENT_SECRET="your-google-client-secret"
GOOGLE_DRIVE_REDIRECT_URI="http://localhost:3000/auth/google/callback"

4. Database Setup

# Create PostgreSQL database
createdb nexus_db

# Run Prisma migrations
cd backend
npx prisma migrate dev --name init

# Generate Prisma client
npx prisma generate

# Seed the database (optional)
npm run seed

5. Start the Application

# Start backend server (Terminal 1)
cd backend
npm run start:dev

# Start frontend application (Terminal 2)
cd frontend
npm run dev

The application will be available at:

• Frontend: http://localhost:3002
• Backend API: http://localhost:3000
• API Documentation: http://localhost:3000/api

📁 Project Structure

Nexus/
├── backend/                          # NestJS Backend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── auth/                     # Authentication module
│   │   │   ├── auth.controller.ts     # Auth endpoints
│   │   │   ├── auth.service.ts       # Auth business logic
│   │   │   ├── guards/               # JWT guards
│   │   │   ├── strategies/            # Passport strategies
│   │   │   └── dto/                  # Auth DTOs
│   │   ├── user/                     # User management
│   │   ├── connection/               # Connection system
│   │   ├── messaging/                # Real-time messaging
│   │   │   ├── messaging.controller.ts
│   │   │   ├── messaging.service.ts
│   │   │   └── messaging.gateway.improved.ts  # WebSocket gateway
│   │   ├── post/                     # Post system
│   │   ├── sub-community/            # Sub-community management
│   │   ├── mentorship/               # Mentorship system
│   │   ├── showcase/                 # Project showcase
│   │   ├── gamification/            # Badges and points
│   │   ├── notification/            # Notification system
│   │   ├── email/                    # Email service
│   │   ├── admin/                    # Admin controllers (document verification)
│   │   ├── test/                     # Test utilities and scripts
│   │   ├── files/                    # File upload/management
│   │   ├── events/                   # Event management
│   │   ├── engagement/               # Engagement tracking
│   │   ├── referral/                 # Referral system
│   │   ├── prisma/                   # Prisma service
│   │   └── common/                   # Shared utilities
│   ├── prisma/
│   │   └── schema.prisma             # Database schema
│   ├── data/                         # Seed scripts
│   └── uploads/                      # Uploaded files
├── frontend/                         # React Frontend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/               # Reusable components
│   │   │   ├── ChatBox.tsx           # Chat interface
│   │   │   ├── MessageList.tsx       # Message display
│   │   │   ├── MessageInput.tsx      # Message input
│   │   │   └── Navbar.tsx            # Navigation
│   │   ├── pages/                    # Page components
│   │   │   ├── Dashboard.tsx         # Main dashboard
│   │   │   ├── Admin/                 # Admin pages (document verification)
│   │   │   ├── ChatPage.tsx          # Chat page
│   │   │   ├── Connections.tsx       # Connections page
│   │   │   ├── Profile.tsx           # User profile
│   │   │   └── Posts/                # Post-related pages
│   │   ├── contexts/                 # React contexts
│   │   │   ├── AuthContext.tsx       # Authentication
│   │   │   ├── ThemeContext.tsx      # Theme management
│   │   │   └── NotificationContext.tsx
│   │   ├── hooks/                     # Custom hooks
│   │   │   └── useConnections.ts     # Connections logic
│   │   ├── services/                 # API services
│   │   │   ├── api.ts                # Axios configuration
│   │   │   └── websocket.improved.ts # WebSocket service
│   │   ├── types/                    # TypeScript types
│   │   ├── utils/                    # Utility functions
│   │   └── App.tsx                   # Main app component
│   └── public/                       # Static assets
└── README.md                         # This file

🔧 Development Workflow

Code Quality Tools

• Prettier - Consistent code formatting
• ESLint - Code quality and style enforcement
• Husky - Git hooks for pre-commit checks
• lint-staged - Run linters on staged files
• Commitlint - Conventional commit message enforcement

Git Workflow

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

# Make changes and commit
git add .
git commit -m "feat: add new feature"

# Push and create PR
git push origin feature/your-feature-name

Commit Message Format

Follow Conventional Commits:

• feat: - New features
• fix: - Bug fixes
• docs: - Documentation changes
• style: - Code style changes
• refactor: - Code refactoring
• test: - Test additions/changes
• chore: - Build/tooling changes

🧪 Testing

# Backend tests
cd backend
npm run test              # Unit tests
npm run test:e2e         # End-to-end tests
npm run test:cov         # Coverage report

# Frontend tests
cd frontend
npm run test             # Run tests
npm run test:coverage    # Coverage report

📊 API Documentation

The API is documented using Swagger/OpenAPI. Access the interactive documentation at:

• Development: http://localhost:3000/api
• Production: https://your-domain.com/api

Key API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /auth/login - User login
• POST /auth/register - User registration
• POST /auth/refresh - Refresh JWT token

Users

• GET /users - Get all users (paginated)
• GET /users/:id - Get user by ID
• PUT /users/:id - Update user profile
• GET /users/search - Search users

Connections

• GET /connection - Get user connections
• POST /connection/send - Send connection request
• PATCH /connection/status - Accept/reject connection
• GET /connection/suggestions - Get connection suggestions

Messaging

• GET /messages/conversations/all - Get all conversations
• GET /messages/conversation/:userId - Get conversation with user
• POST /messages - Send message
• WebSocket /ws - Real-time messaging

🔒 Security Features

• JWT Authentication with secure token handling
• Password Hashing using bcrypt with salt rounds
• Domain Validation restricting emails to @kiit.ac.in
• CORS Protection with configurable origins
• Input Validation using class-validator DTOs
• Role-based Access Control with guards and decorators
• SQL Injection Prevention via Prisma ORM
• XSS Protection with proper input sanitization

🚀 Deployment

Backend Deployment

# Build for production
cd backend
npm run build

# Start production server
npm run start:prod

Frontend Deployment

# Build for production
cd frontend
npm run build

# Serve static files
npm run preview

Environment Variables for Production

Ensure all environment variables are properly configured for production:

• Database connection strings
• JWT secrets
• Email service credentials
• Google API credentials
• CORS origins

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'feat: add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Development Guidelines

• Follow TypeScript best practices
• Write meaningful commit messages
• Add tests for new features
• Update documentation as needed
• Follow the existing code style

📝 License

This project is licensed under the UNLICENSED license - see the LICENSE file for details.

🆘 Support

• Documentation: Check this README and inline code comments
• Issues: Open an issue on GitHub for bugs or feature requests
• Discussions: Use GitHub Discussions for questions and ideas

🙏 Acknowledgments

• KIIT University for providing the platform requirements
• All contributors who have helped build this platform
• Open source libraries and frameworks used in this project

---

Built with ❤️ for the KIIT Community