Brain Dump Backend

A Node.js/Express backend API for a brain dump application that allows users to store, manage, and share their content with others. Built with TypeScript, MongoDB, and JWT authentication.

🚀 Features

• User Authentication: Sign up and sign in with JWT token-based authentication
• Content Management: Create, retrieve, and delete content with titles and links
• Sharing System: Generate shareable links to share your brain dump with others
• Data Validation: Input validation using Zod schema validation
• TypeScript: Full TypeScript support for better development experience
• MongoDB: NoSQL database for flexible data storage

🛠️ Tech Stack

• Runtime: Node.js
• Framework: Express.js
• Language: TypeScript
• Database: MongoDB with Mongoose ODM
• Authentication: JWT (JSON Web Tokens)
• Validation: Zod
• Environment: dotenv
• Development: Nodemon, ESLint, Prettier

🚀 Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd brain-dump-backend

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Environment Setup Create a .env file in the root directory:

   MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
   JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_key

4. Build and Run

   # Development mode
   npm run dev
   
   # Production mode
   npm run build
   npm start

The server will start on http://localhost:3000

📚 API Documentation

Base URL

http://localhost:3000/api/v1

Authentication Endpoints

POST /signup

Create a new user account.

Request Body:

{
  "username": "string (3-13 characters)",
  "password": "string"
}

Response:

{
  "message": "user created successfully"
}

POST /signin

Authenticate user and get JWT token.

Request Body:

{
  "username": "string",
  "password": "string"
}

Response:

{
  "token": "jwt_token_here"
}

Content Management Endpoints

POST /content

Create new content (requires authentication).

Headers:

Authorization: Bearer <jwt_token>

Request Body:

{
  "title": "string",
  "link": "string"
}

Response:

{
  "message": "Content Added"
}

GET /content

Get all content for authenticated user.

Headers:

Authorization: Bearer <jwt_token>

Response:

{
  "content": [
    {
      "_id": "content_id",
      "title": "string",
      "link": "string",
      "tags": [],
      "userId": {
        "_id": "user_id",
        "username": "string"
      },
      "createdAt": "date",
      "updatedAt": "date"
    }
  ]
}

Sharing Endpoints

POST /share

Create or delete shareable link (requires authentication).

Headers:

Authorization: Bearer <jwt_token>

Request Body:

{
  "share": true // true to create, false to delete
}

Response:

{
  "createdlink": {
    "_id": "link_id",
    "hash": "random_hash_string",
    "userId": "user_id",
    "createdAt": "date",
    "updatedAt": "date"
  }
}

GET /share/:shareLink

Get shared content by hash link.

Parameters:

• shareLink: The hash string from the share link

Response:

{
  "username": "string",
  "content": [
    {
      "_id": "content_id",
      "title": "string",
      "link": "string",
      "tags": [],
      "userId": "user_id",
      "createdAt": "date",
      "updatedAt": "date"
    }
  ]
}

🗄️ Database Schema

User Model

{
  username: String (required, unique),
  password: String (required),
  createdAt: Date,
  updatedAt: Date
}

Content Model

{
  title: String (required),
  link: String (required),
  tags: [ObjectId] (references Tag model),
  userId: ObjectId (required, references User model),
  createdAt: Date,
  updatedAt: Date
}

Link Model

{
  hash: String,
  userId: ObjectId (required, references User model),
  createdAt: Date,
  updatedAt: Date
}

🔧 Project Structure

brain-dump-backend/
├── src/
│   ├── config.ts              # Database configuration
│   ├── controllers/
│   │   └── controllers.ts     # API route handlers
│   ├── middlewares/
│   │   └── middleware.ts      # JWT authentication middleware
│   ├── models/
│   │   └── model.ts          # MongoDB schemas
│   ├── routes/
│   │   └── routes.ts         # API route definitions
│   ├── utils/
│   │   └── random-string-generator.ts  # Utility functions
│   ├── validators/
│   │   └── validators.ts     # Zod validation schemas
│   └── index.ts              # Server entry point
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── README.md

🚀 Available Scripts

• npm run build - Compile TypeScript to JavaScript
• npm start - Start the production server
• npm run dev - Build and start in development mode with nodemon

🔐 Security Features

• JWT-based authentication
• Input validation using Zod
• Password hashing (implemented in user model)
• Protected routes with middleware
• Environment variable configuration

🤝 Contributing

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

📝 License

This project is licensed under the ISC License.