BudgetWise AI

BudgetWise AI is a full-stack financial management application designed to help users track expenses, manage budgets, and gain insights into their financial habits. The system provides secure authentication, transaction tracking, and AI-assisted budgeting insights.

The project is structured as a modern JavaScript application with a Node.js backend and a web-based frontend.

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Features

• User authentication using JSON Web Tokens
• Secure password management
• Expense and income tracking
• Budget management
• Email notifications
• Rate limiting and API protection
• Structured logging
• MongoDB database integration
• Modular backend architecture

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Project Structure

budgetwiseai/
│
├── client/                 Frontend application
│
└── server/
    │
    ├── config/             Configuration files
    │   └── db.js
    │
    ├── controllers/        Route controllers
    │
    ├── middleware/         Express middleware
    │   ├── authMiddleware.js
    │   ├── errorMiddleware.js
    │   └── rateLimiter.js
    │
    ├── models/             Database models
    │
    ├── routes/             API routes
    │
    ├── services/           Business logic services
    │   └── emailService.js
    │
    ├── utils/              Utility modules
    │   └── logger.js
    │
    └── server.js           Application entry point

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Technology Stack

Backend

• Node.js
• Express.js
• MongoDB
• Mongoose
• JWT Authentication
• Nodemailer
• Winston logging

Frontend

• React
• Modern JavaScript tooling

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Installation

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/iamnotgoodatprogrammingplshelp/Budgetwise_Ai.git

Move into the project directory:

cd Budgetwise_Ai

Install backend dependencies:

cd budgetwiseai/server
npm install

Install frontend dependencies:

cd ../client
npm install

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Required NPM Packages

The backend requires the following packages.

Install them using:

npm install express mongoose dotenv jsonwebtoken bcryptjs cors nodemailer winston express-rate-limit express-validator morgan

Optional development dependencies:

npm install --save-dev nodemon

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Environment Variables

Create a .env file inside the server directory.

Example configuration:

PORT=5000

MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/budgetwise

JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret

EMAIL_HOST=smtp.example.com
EMAIL_PORT=587
EMAIL_USER=your_email
EMAIL_PASS=your_email_password

FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:3000

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Running the Application

Start the backend server:

npm run dev

or

node server.js

Start the frontend:

npm start

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Security Features

The backend implements several security mechanisms:

• JWT authentication
• Rate limiting
• Password hashing
• Environment-based configuration
• Centralized error handling

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Logging

The system uses Winston for structured logging. Logs are written both to the console and to log files for debugging and monitoring.

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API Architecture

The backend follows a layered architecture:

• Routes handle incoming HTTP requests
• Controllers process the request logic
• Services implement business functionality
• Models define MongoDB schemas
• Middleware handles authentication, validation, and errors

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Development

For development with automatic reload:

npm run dev

This requires nodemon.

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