Lost and Found Web Application

A modern web application that helps users report lost items and post found items to reconnect people with their belongings.

✨ Features

• User Authentication

  • Secure registration and login system
  • Password hashing for security
  • Session management

• Item Management

  • Report lost items with details and images
  • Post found items with descriptions and location
  • Browse all items with search and filter capabilities
  • Pagination for efficient item browsing

• User Dashboard

  • Manage your reported items
  • Edit or delete your posts
  • View statistics and activity

• Communication System

  • Contact item posters
  • Claim items that belong to you
  • Email notifications

• Responsive Design

  • Mobile-friendly interface
  • Clean, modern UI with Tailwind CSS

📸 Screenshots

View Screenshots

Home Page

Dashboard

Report Item

🔧 Requirements

• PHP 7.4 or higher
• MySQL 5.7 or higher
• Web server (Apache or Nginx)
• Composer (optional, for future dependencies)

🚀 Installation

Option 1: Manual Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/mal0101/lost-and-found-hub.git
   cd lost-and-found-hub

2. Create the directory structure

   mkdir -p assets/css assets/js config includes/helpers includes/templates pages/auth pages/items pages/user public/uploads

3. Set permissions for uploads directory

   chmod 777 public/uploads

4. Configure the database

   • Edit config/db.php with your database credentials
   • For MAMP users, default credentials are usually:
     • Username: root
     • Password: root
   • For XAMPP users, default credentials are usually:
     • Username: root
     • Password: `` (empty)

5. Initialize the database

   • Visit http://localhost:8888/lost-and-found-hub/setup_database.php in your browser
   • You should see a success message

6. Access the application

   • Visit http://localhost:8888/lost-and-found-hub/index.php in your browser

Option 2: Using a Development Environment

If you're using a development environment like MAMP, XAMPP, or Laragon:

1. Download the project

   • Download the ZIP file and extract it to your web server's document root
     • For MAMP: /Applications/MAMP/htdocs/
     • For XAMPP: C:\xampp\htdocs\

2. Follow steps 3-6 from Option 1

📁 Project Structure

Expand Structure

/lost-and-found-hub/
├── /assets/                  # Frontend assets
│   ├── /css/                 # CSS files
│   │   └── style.css         # Custom styles
│   └── /js/                  # JavaScript files
│       └── scripts.js        # Client-side functionality
│
├── /config/                  # Configuration files
│   └── db.php                # Database connection
│
├── /includes/                # Reusable components
│   ├── /helpers/             # Helper functions
│   │   └── functions.php     # Common utility functions
│   └── /templates/           # UI components
│       ├── header.php        # Page header
│       ├── footer.php        # Page footer
│       └── navbar.php        # Navigation bar
│
├── /pages/                   # Page controllers
│   ├── /auth/                # Authentication
│   │   ├── login.php         # User login
│   │   ├── logout.php        # User logout
│   │   └── register.php      # User registration
│   ├── /items/               # Item management
│   │   ├── add_item.php      # Create new item
│   │   ├── edit_item.php     # Edit existing item
│   │   ├── item_details.php  # View item details
│   │   ├── item_list.php     # List all items
│   │   ├── report_found_item.php # Report found item
│   │   └── report_lost_item.php  # Report lost item
│   └── /user/                # User functionality
│       ├── claim_item.php    # Claim an item
│       └── dashboard.php     # User dashboard
│
├── /public/                  # Publicly accessible files
│   └── /uploads/             # Uploaded images
│
├── index.php                 # Main entry point
├── contact.php               # Contact page
├── setup_database.php        # Database setup script
└── README.md                 # Project documentation

📝 Usage Guide

1. Registration and Login

• Register with a unique email address and username
• Log in using your credentials
• Your session will persist until you log out

2. Reporting Items

• Lost Items
  • Click "Report Lost Item" in the navigation bar
  • Fill out the form with:
    • Title of the item
    • Detailed description
    • Location where it was lost
    • Optional image
  • Submit the form
• Found Items
  • Click "Report Found Item" in the navigation bar
  • Fill out similar details about the found item
  • Submit the form

3. Browsing Items

• Use the search bar to find specific items
• Filter by "Lost" or "Found" status
• Click on an item for more details

4. Managing Your Items

• Go to "My Dashboard"
• View all your posted items
• Edit or delete items as needed

5. Claiming Items

• When you find an item that belongs to you, click "Claim This Item"
• Provide identifying information to verify ownership
• The item poster will be notified and can contact you

❓ Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
"Not Found" errors	Check your file paths and MAMP/XAMPP document root settings
Database connection errors	Verify database credentials in config/db.php
Image upload issues	Ensure public/uploads directory exists with write permissions
Login not working	Check for correct email/password and verify that sessions are enabled
Blank page	Enable PHP error reporting for debugging

🔮 Future Enhancements

• Email verification for new accounts
• Password reset functionality
• Advanced search filters
• Admin dashboard for moderation
• Social media sharing
• Map integration for location-based searching

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! To contribute:

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

📄 License

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

👏 Acknowledgments

• Built with PHP
• Styled with Tailwind CSS
• Icons from Heroicons
• Inspired by various lost and found systems worldwide

Made with ❤️ by Malak M.