Node-App - Portfolio

A simple full-stack application built with Node.js, Express.js, React.js, and MongoDB.

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Table of Contents

• About
• Features
• Architecture
• Technologies
• Getting Started
• Usage
• Environment Setup
• Available Scripts
• Configuration & Environment Variables
• Folder Structure
• Contributing
• License

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About

This repository houses node-app, a full-stack web application built using a Node.js + Express.js backend, a React.js frontend, and MongoDB as the database. The application is designed as a starting point for building RESTful services and rich user interfaces, showcasing practical integration between modern technologies.

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Features

• REST API backend built with Express.js
• Dynamic frontend using React.js, with modern UI design
• Database integration via MongoDB (with Mongoose)
• Fully configured Dockerfile and docker-compose.yml for easy deployment
• Built-in CI/CD support (e.g., via CircleCI and GitHub Actions)
• Coding standards enforced via ESLint and Prettier
• TypeScript for enhanced type safety

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Architecture

┌──────────────────┐         ┌──────────────────┐
│    Client        │ <──HTTP──> │    Server       │
│ (React.js SPA)   │          │ (Express.js API)│
└──────────────────┘         └──────────────────┘
           │                           │
           └─── Static Build / Dev ───┘
                   ↓
             ┌───────────────┐
             │   MongoDB     │
             │ (Mongoose ORM)│
             └───────────────┘

• The frontend (client directory) handles views, components, and user interactions.
• The backend (server directory) defines routes, controllers, models, and business logic.
• MongoDB stores application data, accessed via Mongoose schemas in the backend.

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Technologies

• Node.js – JavaScript runtime
• Express.js – Back-end routing and middleware
• React.js – Front-end UI library
• MongoDB – NoSQL database
• Mongoose – MongoDB object modeling for Node.js
• TypeScript – Static type checking
• Docker – Containerization
• CircleCI / GitHub Actions – Continuous integration pipelines
• ESLint & Prettier – Code formatting and linting

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (≥14.x)
• MongoDB (local or remote)
• Docker (optional, for containerized setup)

Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/lokeshg-sde/node-app.git
   cd node-app

2. Install dependencies for both backend and frontend

   cd server && npm install
   cd ../client && npm install

3. Rename .env.example to .env and populate required variables (database URI, API keys, etc.)

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Usage

Running Locally

Backend

cd server
npm run dev

Frontend

cd client
npm start

Running with Docker

To start both services via Docker:

docker-compose up --build

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Available Scripts

Server (server directory)

• npm run dev – Starts server in development mode (with hot reload)
• npm run build – Builds production server (if applicable)
• npm test – Runs backend tests (if implemented)

Client (client directory)

• npm start – Runs React development server
• npm run build – Generates optimized production build

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Configuration & Environment Variables

Copy .env.example to .env in the server directory and set:

• PORT – Backend server port
• MONGO_URI – MongoDB connection string
• Any other required API keys or secrets

You may also configure frontend environment variables under client/.env.

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Folder Structure

node-app/
├── server/                   # Express backend
│   ├── controllers/
│   ├── models/
│   ├── routes/
│   ├── config/
│   └── index.ts
├── client/                   # React frontend
│   ├── src/
│   ├── public/
│   └── ...
├── .env.example
├── Dockerfile
├── docker-compose.yml
└── README.md

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a new branch (e.g., feature/example)
3. Commit changes with descriptive messages
4. Open a Pull Request and describe your changes
5. Optionally, run linting and tests before submitting

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.