Customer Support System — API

This repository contains the backend API for the Customer Support System, built with Laravel. The API powers ticket creation, assignment, comments, attachments, and real-time notifications (Pusher + Laravel Broadcasting).

This README documents implemented features, setup instructions, important environment variables, and how to test the real-time notification flow.

Implemented Features

• Authentication with Laravel Sanctum (register/login/logout).
• Ticket lifecycle: create, view, update, delete.
• Ticket assignment to admin users with database notifications and broadcast events.
• Comments and attachments on tickets.
• Persistent notifications stored in the notifications table and real-time delivery via Pusher.
• Broadcasting channels:
  • admin-notifications (admins)
  • user.{id} (private per-user channel)
• Events implemented: TicketCreated, TicketAssigned, TicketUpdated, TicketDeleted.
• Admin-only endpoints: customers, tickets, recent tickets (latest 10), admins list for assignment.

Quick Setup (Development)

Prerequisites:

• PHP 8.2+
• Composer
• MySQL
• Node.js & npm (front-end client)

1. Install dependencies

composer install

2. Environment

Copy .env.example to .env and configure values. Important environment variables:

• APP_URL (e.g. http://127.0.0.1:8000)
• DB_CONNECTION (sqlite/mysql)
• PUSHER_APP_ID
• PUSHER_APP_KEY
• PUSHER_APP_SECRET
• PUSHER_APP_CLUSTER
• BROADCAST_CONNECTION=pusher

3. Database

If you use SQLite, point DB_CONNECTION=sqlite and create database/database.sqlite.

Run migrations and seeders:

php artisan migrate --seed

4. Run the application

php artisan serve

5. Start a queue worker (recommended for queued broadcasts/events)

php artisan queue:work

Environment (Broadcasting)

This project uses Laravel broadcasting with the Pusher driver. Make sure your .env contains the correct Pusher credentials and BROADCAST_CONNECTION=pusher.

Frontend clients must authenticate private channels by sending the Bearer token to the Laravel broadcasting auth endpoint (the client is already configured to use api/broadcasting/auth).

API Endpoints (Overview)

Authentication

• POST /api/register — register a new user (returns token)
• POST /api/login — login (returns token)
• POST /api/logout — logout (requires auth)

Tickets

• GET /api/tickets — list tickets (admins see all, customers see own)
• POST /api/tickets — create ticket (auth)
• GET /api/tickets/{ticket} — show ticket
• PUT/PATCH /api/tickets/{ticket} — update ticket (admin)
• DELETE /api/tickets/{ticket} — delete ticket (admin)
• POST /api/tickets/{ticket}/assign — assign ticket to admin (admin only)

Admin routes (prefix /api/admin)

• GET /api/admin/customers — get customers list
• GET /api/admin/tickets — list all tickets
• GET /api/admin/recent-tickets — get latest 10 tickets
• GET /api/admin/admins — list admin users (for assignment dropdown)

Notifications

• GET /api/notifications — user notifications
• PATCH /api/notifications/{id}/read — mark a notification read
• PATCH /api/notifications/mark-all-read — mark all notifications read
• GET /api/notifications/unread-count — unread count

Real-time Notifications (How it works)

1. Events (TicketCreated / TicketAssigned / TicketUpdated / TicketDeleted) create database notifications for relevant users.
2. Events also implement ShouldBroadcast and broadcast payloads on:
   • admin-notifications channel for admins
   • user.{id} private channels for specific users
3. Frontend connects to Pusher and authenticates through /api/broadcasting/auth using the Bearer token.
4. When an event is broadcast, the front-end receives the payload and displays an in-app toast and the notification is persisted in the DB.

Important: Ensure php artisan queue:work is running if your events are queued.

Example: Assigning a Ticket

Endpoint: POST /api/tickets/{ticket}/assign

Request body:

{ "assigned_to": 3 }

Notes:

• Only admin users may call this endpoint.
• The assigned user must have role = 'admin'.
• The action creates notifications for the assigned admin and other admins, and broadcasts a notification.ticket.assigned event.

Troubleshooting

• 404 on new routes: clear and re-cache routes after changes: php artisan route:clear && php artisan route:cache.
• 403 broadcasting auth: ensure the frontend sends the Bearer token to /api/broadcasting/auth and BROADCAST_CONNECTION is pusher.
• No real-time events: make sure the queue worker is running.

Next Improvements (optional)

• Add integration tests for events and notification flow.
• Add Postman collection and API documentation.
• Add pagination and filtering to admin ticket endpoints.

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If you want, I'll add a matching README for the frontend client that explains how to configure Pusher and the NotificationProvider usage.