Social Media App Backend

Project Overview

The Social Media App Backend serves as the core infrastructure for a social networking platform. It provides a comprehensive set of APIs and services for user management, post creation, interaction with posts, and user connections. The backend is designed to be easily deployable on various server platforms, such as Vercel or Netlify, making it accessible for integration into your own website or application.

Frontend GitHub Repository of this Project

You can access the source code and project files on the GitHub repository: Social Media App Frontend Repository

Deployment and Integration

The backend is deployable on various server platforms, including Vercel and Netlify. Once deployed, you can seamlessly integrate it into your frontend application, enabling users to register, create posts, interact with content, and establish connections on your social media platform. To get started:

Starting the Server

To start the backend server, follow these steps:

Step 1: Install Dependencies

Run npm install to install the required dependencies for the backend.

Step 2: Start the Server

Run npm start to launch the server using Nodemon, which automatically restarts the server when changes are made. If you don't have Nodemon installed, you can do so globally by running npm i -g nodemon. This will install Nodemon globally on your PC.

These two steps will initiate the backend server, allowing you to access the APIs and services provided by the Social Media App Backend. Ensure that your environment variables are correctly set to enable seamless server operation.

Environment Variables

To run and deploy the backend successfully, you need to configure the following environment variables based on your deployment environment (Development, Preview, Production): You can edit below enviroment variable in the sample .env file present in the code base.

MONGO_URI: <your MongoDB uri here> The URI to connect to your MongoDB database, for running locally you can set mongodb://localhost:27017 in production enter your MognoDB Altas uri. And if you are using docker installation then use mongodb://mongo_db:2717
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY: Your Cloudinary API key for handling image and video uploads.
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET: Your Cloudinary API secret for secure access to the Cloudinary service.
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME: Your Cloudinary cloud name, identifying your Cloudinary account.
SMTP_USER: Your email address through which you want to send emails using Nodemailer.
SMTP_PASS: This is not your Gmail password. To obtain the correct value, go to your Google Account settings, search for "App passwords," create a new app password, and use that generated password.
SMTP_SERVICE: Use "gmail" as the SMTP service provider.
SMTP_PORT: Set this to "465," which is the port number for the SMTP service.
SMTP_HOST: Use "smtp.gmail.com" as the host or server address for the SMTP service.
NODE_ENV: Set it to "Production" to indicate the production environment.
JWT_SECRET: Your secret key for generating JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) for user authentication and authorization.
PORT: The port on which the backend server will listen for incoming requests.

These environment variables are crucial for the proper functioning and security of the backend. You should set them according to your deployment environment and the services you're using.

With this backend in place and properly configured, you can build and integrate your frontend application to create a fully functional social media platform. Users will be able to register, log in, create and interact with posts, follow/unfollow other users, and more, all powered by this backend infrastructure.

If you want to setup full project in you local then you have to setup frontend. Checkout out frontend repo here - Social Media App Frontend Repository

Docker Installation

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure that you have the following prerequisites installed on your system:

Docker**: Install Docker

Docker Compose**: Install Docker Compose

Clone the Repository:

git clone https://github.com/shivang-16/Social_Media_App_Backend

Environment Configuration:

Edit the environment variable in the .env file in source code. Note- For docker installation use mongodb://mongo_db:2717 as local MONGO_URI

Build Docker Images and Start the server:

docker-compose up --build or simply docker compose up

Access the Application:

Once the containers are up and running, access the backend server at the port you have assigned in you .env file.

Stopping the Application

docker-compose down

API Documentation

For in-depth details and comprehensive documentation of the API endpoints, you can explore my Postman collection. This collection offers a well-structured and interactive guide to using the Social Media App Backend: Social Media App Backend Postman Documentation -
By visiting this documentation, you'll find examples, explanations, and the ability to interact directly with the API endpoints. It's a valuable resource for understanding and testing the capabilities of this backend.

To check Redis status

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/redis-status
Description: Shows the redis-status wheather it is connected or not.

For users

This section encompasses API endpoints related to user management and profiles. Users can register, log in, update their profiles, reset passwords, and interact with their own and other users' profiles.

POST Register

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/user/register
Description: Register a new user with the provided information.
Body: User details including name, username, email, and password.

POST OTP Verification

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/user/verify
Description: Verify the user's identity by entering the OTP received on the registered email during registration.
Body: OTP (One-Time Password) for verification.

POST Login

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/user/login
Description: Log in to the platform with your credentials.
Body: User's login identifier (username or email) and password.

GET Logout

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/user/logout
Description: Log out from the platform, ending the current user session.

POST Get User by ID

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/user/{userId}
Description: Retrieve user information by providing the user's unique ID.
Parameters: userId - The unique user id in the database.

PATCH Update User Details

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/user/update
Description: Update user profile information.
Body: Form data with fields for name, bio, date of birth, location, website link, and avatar image (all fields are optional).

GET Remove Avatar

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/user/deleteAvatar
Description: Remove the user's profile picture (avatar).

GET Get All Users with Filters and Pagination

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/user/all
Description: Retrieve a list of all users with optional filters and pagination. You can set the limit of users per page and navigate to different pages by using query parameters - page and limit. For example, http://localhost:5000/api/v1/user/all?limit=4&page=2.

GET My Profile

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/user/myProfile
Description: Fetch the profile information of the currently logged-in user.

GET My Posts

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/user/me/posts
Description: Retrieve the posts made by the currently logged-in user.

GET My Bookmarks

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/user/me/bookmarks
Description: Get a list of posts bookmarked by the currently logged-in user.

GET Get User's Posts by User ID

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/user/posts/{userId}
Description: Retrieve posts made by a specific user, identified by their unique user ID.
Parameters: userId - The unique user id in the database.

DELETE Delete User

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/user/delete
Description: Delete the user's account and associated data.

POST Forgot Password

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/user/forgetPassword
Description: Initiate the process to reset the user's password by providing their email.
Body: User's email for password reset.

POST Change Password

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/user/changePassword
Description: Change the user's password by providing an OTP and the new password.
Body: Username (associated with your account), OTP, and the newPassword.

For Posts

This section covers API endpoints related to creating, viewing, and managing posts on the platform. Users can create new posts, retrieve posts, update captions, like, comment on, and bookmark posts in this section.

POST Create Post

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/post/create
Description: Create a new post with an optional caption and image attachment.
Body: Form data with a caption and an image attachment. The caption is mandatory, and the image attachment is optional.

GET Get All Posts

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/post/all
Description: Retrieve all posts on the platform.

GET Get Post by ID

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/post/{postId}
Description: Retrieve a specific post by its unique ID.
Parameters: postId - The unique post id in the database.

GET Get Posts of Following

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/post/following
Description: Fetch posts from users that the current user is following.

DELETE Delete Post

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/post/{postId}
Description: Delete a post by providing its unique post ID.
Parameters: postId - The unique post id in the database.

PATCH Update Post

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/post/{postId}
Description: Update the caption of the post.
Body: New caption for the post.
Parameters: postId - The unique post id in the database.

GET Like-Dislike Post

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/post/likes/{postId}
Description: Like or dislike a post by providing its unique post ID.
Parameters: postId - The unique post id in the database.

POST Comments

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/post/comments/{postId}
Description: Add a comment to a specific post.
Body: Comment content.
Parameters: postId - The unique post id in the database.

GET Bookmarks

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/post/bookmark/{postId}
Description: Bookmark or unbookmark a post.
Parameters: postId - The unique post id in the database.

DELETE Delete Comment

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/post/{postId}/comments/{commentId}
Description: Delete a comment on a post by providing the comment's unique ID.
Parameters: postId - The unique post id in the database.
Parameters: commentId - The unique comment id in the database.

Followers/Following

In this section, you'll find API endpoints for managing user connections and relationships on the platform. This includes following and unfollowing other users, which affects the content users see in their feed and interactions with the posts of followed users.

GET Follow/Unfollow

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/follow/{userId}
Description: Follow or unfollow a specific user by providing their user ID.
Parameters: userId - The unique user id in the database.

Notifications

In this section, you'll find API endpoints for notifications

GET Get All Notifications

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/notification/all
Description: List all the notifications.

GET Change Status

Endpoint: http://localhost:5000/api/v1/notification/read/{notificationId}
Description: Change the unread status of the notification.
Parameters: notificationId - The unique notification id in the database.

I hope this README has provided you with the insights and information you need to get started with the Social Media App Backend.

Should you have any questions, encounter issues, or wish to contribute to this project, please don't hesitate to reach out via my GitHub repository. Your feedback and collaboration are greatly appreciated as we work towards enhancing this backend for the benefit of the developer community.