Ghostnote: Honest Feedback, Anonymously.

Ghostnote is a modern, open-source platform designed to facilitate candid and anonymous feedback. It provides a secure space for individuals and teams to ask questions via shareable links and receive genuine responses without compromising the privacy of the person providing the feedback.

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Core Features

• Secure Google Authentication: Sign in with your Google account to manage your questions.
• Shareable Links: Every question generates a unique, shareable link.
• Anonymous by Default: Anyone with a link can provide feedback without logging in.
• Optional Identity: Logged-in users can choose to attach their identity to their feedback.
• Markdown Support: A rich text editor is provided for both questions and feedback.
• Interactive Dashboard: A clean interface to view feedback on your questions, see a history of the feedback you've given, and refresh data in real-time.
• Light & Dark Modes: A sleek, toggleable theme for a comfortable user experience.

Tech Stack

• Backend: NestJS, TypeScript, Prisma, PostgreSQL
• Frontend: React, TypeScript, Vite, Material UI
• DevOps: Docker/Podman, Docker Compose for containerized environments.

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Getting Started: First-Time Setup

These instructions will guide you through setting up the project for the first time.

Prerequisites

• Git
• Docker & Docker Compose, or Podman & podman-compose. The commands below use podman-compose but are compatible with docker-compose.

Installation

1. Clone the Repository:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/ghost-note.git
   cd ghost-note

2. Configure the Backend (.env): This file is used for the local development environment.

   cp backend/.env.development.example backend/.env

   Now, open backend/.env and fill in your JWT_SECRET, GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID, and GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET. This configuration is pre-set to connect to the local Docker database.

3. Configure the Frontend (.env.development):

   cp frontend/.env.example frontend/.env.development

   The default value VITE_APP_BASE_URL=http://localhost:5173 is correct for local development.

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How to Run the Application

This project has two distinct environments: development (for coding, with hot-reloading) and production (for building optimized, final images).

Development Environment

The development environment uses hot-reloading for both the frontend and backend, allowing you to see code changes instantly without manual restarts.

1. Build and Start Services: Use the -f flag to specify the development configuration file.

   podman-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d --build

2. Run Database Migrations (First Time Only):

   podman-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml exec backend npx prisma migrate dev

3. Access the Application:

   • Frontend: http://localhost:5173
   • Backend API: http://localhost:3000

Production Environment

The production environment builds small, optimized, and secure images ready for deployment.

1. Configure Production Environment (.env.prod): Create a production environment file. Remember to use different, more secure secrets for production.

   cp backend/.env.example backend/.env.prod

   Open backend/.env.prod and update the database credentials, JWT secret, and Google OAuth credentials for your production setup. Also, update FRONTEND_URL to your production domain (e.g., https://ghostnote.app).

2. Build and Start Services: This command uses the main docker-compose.yml file by default.

   podman-compose up -d --build

3. Run Database Migrations:

   podman-compose exec backend npx prisma migrate deploy

4. Access the Application:

   • Frontend: http://localhost:8080 (Served by Nginx)

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Common Commands

Task	Development Command	Production Command
Start Services	podman-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d	podman-compose up -d
Stop Services	podman-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml down	podman-compose down
View Logs	podman-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml logs -f	podman-compose logs -f
Restart a Service	podman-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml restart <name>	podman-compose restart <name>
Apply Config Changes	podman-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d --force-recreate	podman-compose up -d --force-recreate
Get a Shell Inside Backend	podman-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml exec backend sh	podman-compose exec backend sh
Access Prisma Studio	podman-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml exec backend npx prisma studio	podman-compose exec backend npx prisma studio

(Replace <name> with frontend, backend, or db)