Notes Finder - Full Stack Application

A comprehensive notes sharing platform for students and teachers, built with React.js frontend and Express.js backend with MongoDB database.

🚀 Features

• User Authentication: Register, login, password reset
• Role-based Access: Student, Teacher, and Admin roles
• Notes Management: Upload, view, download, rate and comment on notes
• Subject Organization: Browse notes by subjects and categories
• File Upload: Support for multiple file formats
• Search & Filter: Advanced search with filters
• User Profiles: Personal profiles with uploaded notes
• Responsive Design: Mobile-friendly interface with Tailwind CSS

🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend

• React 18
• React Router v6
• Tailwind CSS
• React Icons
• Axios

Backend

• Node.js
• Express.js
• MongoDB with Mongoose
• JWT Authentication
• Bcrypt for password hashing
• Multer for file uploads
• Express Validator

📋 Prerequisites

Before running this application, make sure you have the following installed:

• Node.js (v16 or higher)
• MongoDB (locally or MongoDB Atlas)
• npm or yarn

⚙️ Installation & Setup

1. Clone the repository

git clone <repository-url>
cd Notes-Finder

2. Install Frontend Dependencies

cd frontend
npm install

3. Install Backend Dependencies

cd backend
npm install
cd ..

4. Environment Configuration

Create environment files from examples:

# Root environment
cp .env.example .env

# Frontend environment  
cp frontend/.env.example frontend/.env

Update the .env file with your configuration:

NODE_ENV=development
PORT=5000
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/notes_finder
JWT_SECRET=your_super_secure_jwt_secret_32_chars_minimum
JWT_EXPIRE=30d
UPLOAD_PATH=./uploads
MAX_FILE_SIZE=5000000
FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:3000
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your_cloudinary_cloud_name
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your_cloudinary_api_key
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your_cloudinary_api_secret

⚠️ Important:

• Never commit .env files to git
• Use strong, random JWT_SECRET (32+ characters)
• For production, use environment-specific values

5. Start MongoDB

Make sure MongoDB is running on your system:

# If using local MongoDB
mongod

# Or if using MongoDB as a service
sudo systemctl start mongod

6. Seed the Database (Optional)

To add sample data to your database:

cd backend
node seeder.js

This will create sample users, subjects, and notes. Login credentials:

• Teacher: john.smith@university.edu / password123
• Student: jane.doe@student.edu / password123
• Admin: admin@notesfinder.com / admin123

🏃‍♂️ Running the Application

Option 1: Run Both Frontend and Backend Together

npm run dev

Option 2: Run Separately

Backend (Terminal 1):

cd backend
npm run dev

Frontend (Terminal 2):

cd frontend
npm start

The application will be available at:

• Frontend: http://localhost:3000
• Backend API: http://localhost:5000

📁 Project Structure

Notes-Finder/
├── frontend/             # React frontend application
│   ├── public/          # Public assets
│   ├── src/             # Frontend source code
│   │   ├── components/  # React components
│   │   ├── services/    # API services
│   │   ├── App.js      # Main App component
│   │   └── index.js    # Entry point
│   ├── .env            # Frontend environment variables
│   ├── package.json    # Frontend dependencies
│   └── README.md       # Frontend documentation
├── backend/             # Express.js backend application
│   ├── controllers/    # Route controllers
│   ├── middleware/     # Custom middleware
│   ├── models/         # MongoDB models
│   ├── routes/         # API routes
│   ├── .env           # Backend environment variables
│   ├── seeder.js      # Database seeder
│   ├── server.js      # Entry point
│   └── package.json   # Backend dependencies
├── .env                # Main environment variables
└── README.md          # Main documentation

🔧 API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /api/auth/register - Register new user
• POST /api/auth/login - Login user
• GET /api/auth/me - Get current user
• PUT /api/auth/profile - Update profile
• PUT /api/auth/change-password - Change password

Notes

• GET /api/notes - Get all notes
• GET /api/notes/:id - Get single note
• POST /api/notes - Create new note
• PUT /api/notes/:id - Update note
• DELETE /api/notes/:id - Delete note
• GET /api/notes/featured - Get featured notes

Subjects

• GET /api/subjects - Get all subjects
• GET /api/subjects/:id - Get single subject
• POST /api/subjects - Create subject (Teacher/Admin)
• PUT /api/subjects/:id - Update subject (Teacher/Admin)
• GET /api/subjects/:id/notes - Get notes for subject

Users

• GET /api/users/:id - Get user profile
• GET /api/users/:id/notes - Get user's notes

🔒 Authentication & Authorization

The application uses JWT-based authentication with role-based access control:

• Public: View notes and subjects
• Students: Upload notes, comment, rate
• Teachers: All student privileges + create subjects
• Admins: All privileges + user management

📦 Database Models

User Model

• Personal information (name, email, university, course)
• Authentication (password, role)
• Profile data (bio, avatar, reputation)
• Relationships (uploaded notes, saved notes)

Subject Model

• Subject details (name, code, department)
• Academic info (credits, semester, year)
• Metadata (difficulty, tags, prerequisites)

Note Model

• Content (title, description, files)
• Academic context (subject, semester, type)
• Interactions (ratings, comments, likes)
• Metadata (views, downloads, tags)

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. MongoDB Connection Error

   • Ensure MongoDB is running
   • Check the MONGODB_URI in .env file

2. Port Already in Use

   • Change the PORT in .env file
   • Kill the process using the port: lsof -ti:5000 | xargs kill

3. Module Not Found Errors

   • Delete node_modules and package-lock.json
   • Run npm install again

Environment Variables

Make sure all required environment variables are set in your .env file:

• MONGODB_URI - MongoDB connection string
• JWT_SECRET - Secret key for JWT tokens
• PORT - Backend server port (default: 5000)

📞 Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions, please:

1. Check the troubleshooting section above
2. Search existing issues in the repository
3. Create a new issue with detailed information

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Happy Coding! 🚀