🍽️ Real-Time REST API Backend with MongoDB Change Streams & Socket.IO

This project is a Node.js + Express backend that provides a REST API for managing dishes and supports real-time updates via Socket.IO and MongoDB Change Streams.

It is designed as a reference implementation for creating real-time apps where clients automatically receive updates when data changes in the database.

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✨ Features

✅ Fetch the list of dishes
✅ Toggle the published status of a dish
✅ Real-time broadcasting of updates to all connected clients
✅ MongoDB Change Streams for efficient event detection

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🛠️ Tech Stack

• Node.js
• Express.js
• MongoDB Atlas
• Mongoose
• Socket.IO

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📂 Folder Structure

📁 models/
dish.js          # Mongoose model for dishes
server.js            # Main application entry point

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📑 API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/dishes	Retrieve all dishes
PATCH	/api/dishes/:id/toggle	Toggle the published status

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⚡ Real-Time Updates

This backend uses MongoDB Change Streams to listen for changes in the dishes collection. When a dish is updated (e.g., published/unpublished), an event (dishUpdated) is emitted to all connected Socket.IO clients, who can then re-fetch data or update their UI automatically.

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🚀 Getting Started

1️⃣ Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/surefire01/rt-updates-api.git
cd rt-updates-api

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2️⃣ Install dependencies

npm install

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3️⃣ Configure environment variables

Create a .env file in the project root:

MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://<username>:<password>@cluster0.mongodb.net/your-database-name
PORT=8000

Make sure your MongoDB Atlas cluster is whitelisted for your IP.

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4️⃣ Start the server

npm run dev

or

node server.js

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✅ Server should start on http://localhost:8000.

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🖥️ Example Requests

Fetch dishes

GET /api/dishes

Toggle publish status

PATCH /api/dishes/64f3f1234abcdef12345678

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🔌 Socket.IO Events

Server emits:

Event Name	Payload	Description
dishUpdated	(none)	Indicates a dish was changed

Clients should listen for dishUpdated and re-fetch the dishes list.

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🧩 How to Use in a Frontend App

1. Connect to the backend via Socket.IO:

   const socket = io("http://localhost:8000");

2. Listen for updates:

   socket.on("dishUpdated", () => {
     // Re-fetch dishes or update UI
   });

3. Make REST calls to toggle or retrieve dishes.

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🌱 Extending This Project

This backend is a great starting point for building real-time apps. You could easily extend it to support:

• Authentication and authorization
• More granular event payloads (send changed document)
• Additional CRUD operations
• Webhook integrations
• Production deployment (e.g., Render, Heroku)

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✨ Demo

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🙌 Credits

• MongoDB Documentation
• Socket.IO Documentation

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📄 License

MIT

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