Kinlia

Kinlia is a tiny event app built for vibes. It blends a Python API and a mobile app so you can learn how the pieces of a modern stack talk to each other.

This repo is friendly on purpose: the goal is to let you poke around, make small changes and see what happens.

Why these technologies?

Piece	Why it exists
FastAPI backend	Python is easy to read and FastAPI gives you a web API with hardly any boilerplate. It also generates docs automatically so you can see and test the endpoints.
Expo + React Native frontend	One set of JavaScript files runs on both iOS and Android. Expo handles the scary native tooling so you can focus on screens and styles.
Docker Compose	Containers keep all services isolated. One command starts everything so you don't chase missing packages.
SQLite by default	For learning you just need a file‑based database. When the app grows you can switch DATABASE_URL to Postgres without touching the code.
Redis + RQ worker	Some jobs (like matching people to events) run in the background. A worker lets the API respond fast while heavy work happens elsewhere.

Architecture in plain words

Frontend (Expo/React Native) ⇄ Backend API (FastAPI) ⇄ Database (SQLite/Postgres)
                                       ↳ Background Worker (RQ + Redis)

1. The frontend asks the backend for data or sends user actions.
2. The backend reads/writes the database and sometimes kicks off a background worker task.
3. The worker can store extra data (like embeddings) and the cycle continues.

Getting started

1. Install Docker
   • Why: It bundles all dependencies. No Python or Node installs needed.
2. Copy the example environment file
   • cp .env.example .env
   • Why: Secrets and config live outside the code so you can change them without editing files.
3. Run the stack
   • make dev or docker-compose up
   • Why: Spins up the API, the mobile dev server and the worker in one go.
4. Open the app
   • Visit http://localhost:3412 in a browser or the Expo Go app.
   • The API is at http://localhost:8194.

Project layout

backend/   → FastAPI service (all the Python code)
frontend/  → Expo React Native app (all the screens)
shared/    → Placeholder for code used by both sides
Makefile   → Handy shortcuts like `make dev`
docker-compose.yml → Defines how the services run together

Where to go next

Ready to keep vibing? Check out the Next Steps & Implementation Plan.

Testing

Backend tests use pytest and live in backend/tests. Run them with:

cd backend
pytest

Contributing

Questions, ideas or feedback are welcome. Drop notes, open issues, or experiment in your own fork.