Knect - Social Networking Platform Backend

A modern, scalable backend for a social networking platform built with cutting-edge technologies.

🚀 Features

Core Social Features

• User Authentication & Authorization - Secure JWT-based authentication
• User Profiles - Customizable user profiles with bio, avatar, and personal information
• Posts & Content - Create, edit, delete, and share posts with media support
• Social Interactions - Like, comment, and share functionality
• Follow System - Follow/unfollow users and build your network
• Real-time Messaging - Direct messaging between users
• News Feed - Personalized feed algorithm based on connections and interests
• Notifications - Real-time notifications for interactions and updates

Advanced Features

• Media Upload - Image and video upload with cloud storage integration
• Search & Discovery - Find users, posts, and content with advanced search
• Privacy Controls - Granular privacy settings for posts and profile visibility
• Content Moderation - Automated and manual content moderation tools
• Analytics - User engagement and platform analytics
• API Rate Limiting - Protection against abuse and spam

🛠️ Tech Stack

Backend Framework

• Node.js - Runtime environment
• Express.js - Web application framework

Database

• MongoDB - Primary database for user data and posts
• Mongoose - MongoDB object modeling

Authentication & Security

• JWT - JSON Web Tokens for authentication
• bcrypt - Password hashing
• Helmet - Security middleware
• CORS - Cross-origin resource sharing

Cloud Services

• Cloudinary - Image processing and optimization

Real-time Features

• Socket.io - Real-time messaging and notifications
• WebSocket - Live updates and notifications

📋 Prerequisites

Before running this project, make sure you have:

• Node.js
• MongoDB
• npm or yarn package manager

🚀 Getting Started

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/DevDad-Main/Knect-Backend.git
cd Knect-Backend

2. Install Dependencies

npm install
# or
yarn install

3. Environment Setup

Create a .env file in the root directory:

ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRY="24h"
ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET="tokensecretgoeshere"

CORS_ORIGIN="your cors origin here"

FRONTEND_URL="your frontend url here"

IMAGEKIT_ID=""
IMAGEKIT_PRIVATE_KEY=""
IMAGEKIT_PUBLIC_KEY=""

INNGEST_EVENT_KEY=""
INNGEST_SIGNING_KEY=""

MONGODB_URL=""
PORT="5000"

REFRESH_TOKEN_EXPIRY="24h"
REFRESH_TOKEN_SECRET="tokensecretgoeshere"

SENDER_EMAIL=""
SMTP_PASS=""
SMTP_USER=""

4. Start the Development Server

npm run dev
# or
yarn dev

The server will start on http://localhost:5000

📚 API Documentation

Authentication Middleware

export const verifyJWT = async (req, _, next) => {
  const token =
    req.cookies.accessToken ||
    req.header("Authorization")?.replace("Bearer ", "");

  if (!token) {
    throw new ApiError(401, "Unauthorized");
  }

  try {
    const decodedToken = jwt.verify(token, process.env.ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET);

    const user = await User.findById(decodedToken?._id).select(
      "username refreshToken",
    );

    if (!user) {
      throw new ApiError(401, "Unauthorized");
    }

    next();
  } catch (error) {
    throw new ApiError(401, error?.message || "Invalid access token");
  }
};

User Endpoints

POST   /api/vi/user/register     - Register new user
POST   /api/v1/user/login        - User login
POST   /api/v1/user/logout       - User logout
GET    /api/v1/user/profile/:id  - Get user profile
POST   /api/v1/user/update-user  - Update user profile
POST   /api/v1/user/follow       - Follow user
POST   /api/v1/user/unfollow     - Unfollow user
POST   /api/v1/user/discover     - Discover users
GET    /api/v1/user/connections  - Get connections

Posts Endpoints

GET    /api/v1/post/feed    - Get posts feed
POST   /api/v1/post/add     - Create new post
GET    /api/v1/post/:postId       - Get post by ID
DELETE /api/v1/post/:postId       - Delete post
POST   /api/v1/post/like  - Like/unlike post

Messaging Endpoints

GET    /api/v1/message/get/:to_user_id  - Get conversation
POST   /api/v1/message/send             - Send message
GET    /api/v1/message/recent-messages  - Get conversation
PUT    /api/v1/message/mark-as-seen     - Mark as read

🏗️ Project Structure

Knect-Backend/
├── src/
│   ├── controllers/       # Route controllers
│   ├── db/                # MongoDB connection
│   ├── models/            # Database models
│   ├── routes/            # API routes
│   ├── middlewares/       # Custom middleware
│   ├── utils/             # Utility functions
├── .env.example           # Environment variables template
├── package.json
└── README.md

🚀 Deployment

Production Build

npm run build
npm start

Environment-Specific Configurations

• Development - Local development with hot reload
• Production - Optimized production deployment

📊 Performance & Monitoring

Performance Features

• Database Indexing - Optimized queries with proper indexing
• Image Optimization - Automatic image compression and resizing

🔒 Security

Security Measures

• Input Validation - Express-Validator validation for all inputs
• XSS Protection - Content sanitization
• CSRF Protection - Cross-site request forgery prevention
• Helmet.js - Security headers
• Data Encryption - Sensitive data encryption at rest

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add 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 MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

👥 Team

• DevDad-Main - Lead Developer & Project Maintainer - softwaredevdad@gmail.com

📈 Changelog

v1.0.0 (Latest)

• Initial release with core social networking features
• User authentication and profile management
• Post creation and social interactions
• Real-time messaging system
• Basic notification system