Personal Journal App

The Personal Journal App is a full-stack web application that allows users to create, view, edit, and delete journal entries. It features user authentication and a clean, responsive UI built with modern web technologies.

Features

• User Authentication: Secure login and registration using JWT.
• CRUD Operations: Create, read, update, and delete journal entries.
• Responsive Design: Mobile-friendly UI built with TailwindCSS.
• Backend API: RESTful API built with Express and MongoDB.
• Frontend Framework: React with Vite for fast development.

---

Tech Stack

Frontend

• React: Component-based UI library.
• Vite: Fast build tool for modern web apps.
• TailwindCSS: Utility-first CSS framework.
• React Router: For client-side routing.

Backend

• Node.js: JavaScript runtime for server-side development.
• Express: Web framework for building RESTful APIs.
• MongoDB: NoSQL database for storing user and journal data.
• Mongoose: ODM for MongoDB.
• JWT: Secure user authentication.

---

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js and npm installed.
• MongoDB instance running.
• .env file with the following variables:

  MONGODB_URI=<your-mongodb-uri>
  JWT_SECRET_KEY=<your-secret-key>
  PORT=<your-port>
  

Steps

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd personal-journal-app

2. Install dependencies for both client and server:

   cd server
   npm install
   cd ../client
   npm install

3. Start the backend server:

   cd ../server
   npm run dev

4. Start the frontend development server:

   cd ../client
   npm run dev

5. Open the app in your browser at http://localhost:5173.

---

Folder Structure

personal-journal-app/
├── client/               # Frontend code
│   ├── src/              # React components, pages, and context
│   ├── public/           # Static assets
│   ├── vite.config.js    # Vite configuration
│   └── package.json      # Frontend dependencies
├── server/               # Backend code
│   ├── models/           # Mongoose schemas
│   ├── controllers/      # API logic
│   ├── routes/           # API routes
│   ├── middleware/       # Authentication middleware
│   ├── server.js         # Entry point for the backend
│   └── package.json      # Backend dependencies
└── README.md             # Project documentation

---

API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /auth/register: Register a new user.
• POST /auth/login: Login and receive a JWT.

Journals

• GET /journals: Fetch all journals for the logged-in user.
• GET /journals/:id: Fetch a specific journal by ID.
• POST /journals: Create a new journal.
• PUT /journals/:id: Update an existing journal.
• DELETE /journals/:id: Delete a journal.

---

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.