Project Collab App

A full-stack web platform that connects students to collaborate on projects. Users can create projects, post openings for specific roles, browse and apply to join other teams, and manage their profiles — all in one place.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Tech Stack
• Project Structure
• Getting Started
  • Prerequisites
  • Local Development (Docker)
  • Running Services Manually
• Environment Variables
• API Overview
• CI/CD
• Contributing

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Features

• User Authentication – Register and log in with JWT-based auth (bcrypt password hashing).
• Project Management – Create, update, and delete projects; only the project owner can modify or delete their project.
• Openings – Project owners can post role openings (e.g. "Frontend Dev", "ML Engineer") with skill requirements.
• Applications – Authenticated users can apply to project openings; owners can review and manage applications.
• Profiles – Users maintain a profile with their skills, college, and bio.
• Browse & Search – Discover projects by title, description, tags, or domain, with domain filtering.
• Dashboard – Personal dashboard showing your projects and applications at a glance.

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Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Frontend	React 18, Vite, Tailwind CSS, TypeScript
Backend	NestJS, TypeScript
Database	PostgreSQL 16
ORM	Prisma
Auth	JWT (Passport.js), bcrypt
Containerisation	Docker, Docker Compose
CI/CD	GitHub Actions

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Project Structure

project-collab-app/
├── backend/
│   ├── prisma/               # Prisma schema & migrations
│   └── pro-backend/          # NestJS application
│       └── src/
│           ├── auth/         # JWT strategy, local strategy, guards
│           ├── users/        # User module
│           ├── profiles/     # Profile module
│           ├── projects/     # Projects CRUD
│           ├── openings/     # Project openings
│           └── applications/ # Role applications
├── frontend/
│   └── pro-frontend/         # React + Vite application
│       └── src/
│           ├── pages/        # Route-level page components
│           ├── components/   # Reusable UI components
│           ├── api/          # API client functions
│           ├── context/      # React context providers
│           └── types/        # TypeScript interfaces
├── infra/
│   ├── docker-compose.yml        # Development stack
│   ├── docker-compose.prod.yml   # Production stack
│   └── .env.example              # Environment variable template
└── docs/
    ├── architecture.png
    └── roadmap.md

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• Docker & Docker Compose

Local Development (Docker)

The easiest way to run the full stack locally is with Docker Compose.

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/ManbirS07/project-collab-app.git
   cd project-collab-app

2. Create the environment file

   cp infra/.env.example infra/.env
   # Edit infra/.env and set a strong JWT_SECRET

3. Start all services

   cd infra
   docker compose up --build

   Service	URL
   Frontend	http://localhost:4173
   Backend API	http://localhost:3000
   PostgreSQL	localhost:5432

4. Stop the stack

   docker compose down

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Running Services Manually

Backend

cd backend/pro-backend

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Generate Prisma client
npx prisma generate --schema ../prisma/schema.prisma

# Run database migrations
npx prisma migrate deploy --schema ../prisma/schema.prisma

# Start in development mode (watch)
npm run start:dev

# Start in production mode
npm run start:prod

Frontend

cd frontend/pro-frontend

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start development server
npm run dev

# Build for production
npm run build

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Environment Variables

Copy infra/.env.example to infra/.env and fill in the values:

Variable	Description	Default
POSTGRES_USER	PostgreSQL username	app
POSTGRES_PASSWORD	PostgreSQL password	app
POSTGRES_DB	PostgreSQL database name	collab
JWT_SECRET	Secret key used to sign JWTs	change-me
BACKEND_IMAGE	Docker image for the backend (production)	—
FRONTEND_IMAGE	Docker image for the frontend (production)	—

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API Overview

All protected routes require a Bearer <token> header obtained from POST /auth/login.

Method	Path	Auth	Description
POST	/auth/register	Public	Register a new user
POST	/auth/login	Public	Log in and receive a JWT
GET	/projects	Public	List all projects
POST	/projects/create	JWT	Create a new project
GET	/projects/:id	JWT	Get project by ID
PATCH	/projects/:id	Owner	Update a project
DELETE	/projects/:id	Owner	Delete a project
POST	/projects/:id/openings	Owner	Add an opening to a project
GET	/projects/:id/openings	JWT	List openings for a project
GET	/projects/:id/applications	Owner	View applications for a project
GET	/projects/:id/memberships	JWT	View project members

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Contributing

1. Fork the repository and create a feature branch.
2. Make your changes with clear, descriptive commit messages.
3. Ensure linting and tests pass locally before opening a pull request.
4. Open a pull request against main and describe what you changed and why.