Library Management API

A RESTful API built with Node.js and Express for managing books and authors, featuring secure authentication and role-based authorization.

Features

• User Authentication: Secure registration and login using JSON Web Tokens (JWT).
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Tiered permissions for admin and user roles.
• Resource Management: Full CRUD operations for books and authors.
• Database Integration: Scalable data modeling with MongoDB and Mongoose.
• Centralized Error Handling: Consistent API responses for all error types (404, 401, 500, etc.).
• Protected Routes: Middleware-based request validation using JWT.

Recommended Project Structure

Here is how your library API should be organized to match the code we've been working on: library-core-api/ ├── src/ │ ├── config/ # Database connection (db.js) │ ├── controllers/ # Logic for routes (auth.controller.js, book.controller.js) │ ├── middlewares/ # Security and logic filters (auth, roles, errors) │ ├── models/ # Mongoose schemas (User.js, Book.js) │ ├── routes/ # Route definitions (auth.routes.js, book.routes.js) │ ├── utils/ # Helper functions (generateToken.js) │ └── server.js # Application entry point ├── .env # Environment variables (Secrets) ├── .gitignore # Files to exclude from Git (node_modules, .env) ├── package.json # Dependencies and scripts └── README.md # Project documentation

Tech Stack

• Runtime: Node.js
• Framework: Express.js
• Database: MongoDB & Mongoose
• Security: JWT (jsonwebtoken) Authentication & bcryptjs
• Environment: dotenv

Setup & Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone [https://github.com/iibrahimx/library-core-api.git](https://github.com/iibrahimx/library-core-api.git)
cd library-core-api

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Configure Environment Variables: Create a .env file in the root directory and add:

# > Do not commit the `.env` file. It is excluded via `.gitignore`.
PORT=5000
MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
JWT_SECRET=your_super_secret_key
NODE_ENV=development

4. Run the application:

# Development mode (with nodemon)
npm run dev

# Production-like mode (without deployment)
npm start

API Endpoints

Authentication

Method	Endpoint	Access	Description
POST	/api/auth/register	Public	Register a new user
POST	/api/auth/login	Public	Login and receive JWT

Books

Method	Endpoint	Access	Description
GET	/api/books	Public	Get all books
POST	/api/books	Admin	Add a new book
GET	/api/books/:id	Public	Get specific book details
PUT	/api/books/:id	Admin	Update book information
DELETE	/api/books/:id	Admin	Remove a book

👨‍💻 Author

Built to demonstrate backend API design, JWT-based authentication, role-based authorization, and clean Express architecture.