🧠 ThinkDSA – Think Before You Code

A modern, AI-powered platform that helps DSA learners focus on understanding, not just solving. Track, think, and reflect on problems from any platform — all in one place.

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🚀 What is ThinkDSA?

ThinkDSA is a developer-first, minimalist web platform that empowers DSA learners to:

• Organize problems by topic across different coding platforms (LeetCode, GFG, etc.)
• Practice pseudocode-first thinking to break out of the copy-paste cycle
• Get iterative, non-direct feedback using AI (Gemini API)
• Track their journey with personalized topics and self-curated problem sets

Rather than reinvent the wheel, ThinkDSA helps learners make sense of all the existing DSA platforms — with an added layer of reflection and personal progress.

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🧩 Why Build This?

There are hundreds of coding platforms, but:

• Most learners feel overwhelmed by scattered resources.
• People often forget what they’ve already done.
• Copying answers becomes a crutch, not a learning tool.
• Feedback on "how to think better" is missing.

ThinkDSA solves these by encouraging real thinking, personal tracking, and incremental learning.

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🔧 How It Works

🏠 Landing Page

• A clean, responsive introduction to ThinkDSA.
• Highlights features, how it works, and CTA to sign up.

👤 Authentication

• Firebase Auth (or Auth0) enables users to sign up/login securely.

🗂 Home Page

• Users can create custom Topics (e.g., Linked List, DP).
• Each topic contains user-added questions via URLs (LeetCode, GFG, etc.).

🔍 Explore Page

• Optional discovery of shared topic sets or trending question collections (future feature).

📘 Topic View

• List of added questions with status tracking.
• Add a question by pasting a link — metadata is scraped and stored.
• Clicking a question opens the detailed question view.

✍️ Question View (Core Page)

• Left Panel:
  • Displays original question summary.
  • Includes AI-generated variations (small tweaks to deepen thinking).
• Right Panel (Split):
  • Top: Pseudocode editor
  • Bottom: AI Feedback Box
    • “Run Feedback” triggers Gemini API
    • Gemini provides iterative suggestions (not full answers)
• Once accepted, the user unlocks a button to return to the original platform to solve.

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🎨 Design Philosophy

• 🌓 Dark & Light Themes – Theme toggle based on user/system preference
• 📏 No full-page scrolls – All content scrolls within fixed panels, not the page (except landing)
• 🧼 Minimalist Aesthetic – Inspired by developer tools like Linear, Supabase, Vercel
• 🖥️ Split-Pane Layouts – Encourages simultaneous focus on problem + thought process

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🏗️ Tech Stack

Layer	Tech
Frontend	React + Tailwind CSS
Backend	Node.js + Express (or Firebase)
Database	MongoDB (or Firestore)
Auth	Firebase Auth or Auth0
AI Feedback	Gemini API (for pseudocode review)
Deployment	Vercel / Netlify / Render

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📁 Folder Structure (Suggested)

/thinkdsa
├── /public
├── /src
│   ├── /components     # Reusable UI components
│   ├── /pages          # Landing, Home, Topic, QuestionView
│   ├── /hooks          # Custom hooks (e.g., theme, auth)
│   ├── /styles         # Tailwind/global styles
│   ├── /api            # API routes or integrations
│   └── App.jsx         # Main layout and routing
├── .env                # API keys, etc.
├── tailwind.config.js
└── README.md

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🧪 Local Setup

git clone https://github.com/your-username/thinkdsa.git
cd thinkdsa
npm install

Add your .env file with:

VITE_FIREBASE_API_KEY=...
VITE_GEMINI_API_KEY=...

Then run:

npm run dev

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✅ Preferred Conventions

• Use functional components with hooks.
• Keep logic clean and separate UI from business logic.
• Avoid large monolithic components.
• Use TailwindCSS for styling unless complex component styling is needed.
• Prefer internal scroll containers for sections (topic list, question panel).
• Feedback must always nudge user thinking — never reveal full answers.
• Every page should preserve context and avoid full reloads.

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🌱 Roadmap (Future Ideas)

• Social sharing of topics and curated lists
• Leaderboard for consistency streaks
• AI-assisted problem difficulty adjustment
• Browser extension to clip problems on the fly
• Markdown export of user's notes/pseudocode

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📜 License

MIT License

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🤝 Contributing

If you'd like to contribute:

1. Fork the repo
2. Create a branch: feature/your-feature
3. Submit a pull request

Open to ideas, feedback, and collaboration!

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🙏 Acknowledgments

Inspired by learners who think deeper, mentors who teach process, and platforms like LeetCode, GFG, and Codeforces.

Built for the coders who want to think before they code. ❤️