NomadPage

NomadPage is a platform designed to support digital nomads who plan to live and work from Sri Lanka. Our goal is to create a centralized hub for all the resources nomads need. This project was developed for the Innovate with Ballerina 2025 competition.

Tech Stack

Frontend: Next.js 15, Tailwind CSS, Shadcn/ui
Backend: Ballerina, PostgreSQL, AWS S3
Additional Services: Flask, BeautifulSoup4 (for news scraping)

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have installed:

• Node.js v20+ and npm
• Ballerina
• Python
• PostgreSQL (or Supabase for easier setup)
• Asgardeo Account (for authentication)
• AWS Account (for S3 file storage)

Setup Process

1. Clone the forked repository

git clone https://github.com/{username}/iwb25-075-octopipers.git
cd iwb25-075-octopipers

2. Backend Setup (Ballerina Service)

2.1 Configure PostgreSQL

1. Create a new PostgreSQL database (or Supabase project).
2. Run the schema file to create tables:

service/resources/schema.sql

2.2 Configure External Services

• AWS S3 → Create a bucket, IAM user, and note down credentials.
• Perplexity API → Get your API key from perplexity.ai.
• OpenWeather API → Get your API key from openweathermap.org.

2.3 Create Config.toml

In the service/ root directory:

[service.utils]
dbHost = "database-host"
dbUser = "database-username"
dbPassword = "database-password"
dbPort = 5432
dbName = "database-name"
accessKeyId = "aws-access-key"
secretAccessKey = "aws-secret-key"
region = "aws-region"
bucketName = "s3-bucket-name"

[service.city_guide]
perplexityApiKey = "perplexity-api-key"

[service.tools]
openWeatherApi = "openweathermap-api-key"

2.4 Run Backend

cd service
bal run

Backend available at: http://localhost:8080

3. Frontend Setup (Next.js)

3.1 Install Dependencies

cd webapp
npm install

3.2 Configure Asgardeo Authentication

1. Create a new app in Asgardeo Console.
2. Collect:
   • Client ID
   • Client Secret
   • Organization Name
   • Application Name
3. Create a .env.local file in webapp/:

AUTH_SECRET=your-secret-key

ASGARDEO_CLIENT_ID=your-client-id
ASGARDEO_CLIENT_SECRET=your-client-secret
AUTH_ASGARDEO_ISSUER="https://api.asgardeo.io/t/{yourorgname}/oauth2/token"

NEXT_PUBLIC_AUTH_ASGARDEO_LOGOUT_URL="https://api.asgardeo.io/t/{yourorgname}/oidc/logout"
NEXT_PUBLIC_AUTH_ASGARDEO_POST_LOGOUT_REDIRECT_URL="http://localhost:3000/auth/sign-out"

4. Configure Backend Authentication - In your service.bal file, update the JWT validator configuration:

auth: [
    {
        jwtValidatorConfig: {
            issuer: "https://api.asgardeo.io/t/{yourorgname}/oauth2/token",
            audience: ["your-client-id"],
            signatureConfig: {
                jwksConfig: {
                    url: "https://api.asgardeo.io/t/{yourorgname}/oauth2/jwks"
                }
            }
        }
    }
]

3.3 Run Frontend

npm run dev

Frontend available at: http://localhost:3000

4. News Scraper Setup (Flask + BeautifulSoup4)

This service scrapes latest news from newswire.lk and provides live updates.

cd newswired
python -m venv venv
# On Windows
venv\Scripts\activate
# On macOS/Linux
source venv/bin/activate

pip install -r requirements.txt
python app.py

News scraper runs at: http://localhost:5000/latest-news

---

Running the Application

• Backend (Ballerina): http://localhost:8080
• Frontend (Next.js): http://localhost:3000
• News Scraper (Flask): http://localhost:5000/latest-news
• WebSocket Services: ws://localhost:9091 (incidents), ws://localhost:9090 (chat)

Features

• City Rank - Rankings and insights for Sri Lankan cities
• Incident Report Map - Report and view local incidents
• Meetups - Connect with local groups and communities
• Find Remote Jobs - Search and apply for online opportunities
• Co-working Places - Discover work-friendly spaces
• Utility Tools - Currency conversion, time zones, weather, and latest news

Ballerina capabilities we used

• HTTP - RESTful API endpoints with resource functions
• WebSocket - Real-time bidirectional communication for chat , meetups and incidents
• PostgreSQL Connector - Database connectivity with connection pooling
• AWS S3 Connector - Cloud storage integration for file uploads
• JWT Authentication - Service-level JWT validation with WSO2 Asgardeo OIDC
• External HTTP Client - Integration with weather, currency, and AI APIs
• Modular Architecture - Organized service modules with proper separation of concerns