NODEWS-Social

NODEWS-Social is a social media web application built with the MERN stack, featuring user authentication using Passport.js and JWT-based tokens. It supports profile picture uploads with Multer and utilizes AJAX for dynamic updates. Secure RESTful APIs, tested via Postman, handle backend operations, API integrations, and frontend.

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🚀 Features

• User Authentication: Login and signup using Passport.js (Local and JWT strategies).
• Secure RESTful APIs: API endpoints protected with CSRF tokens and authentication.
• Profile Picture Uploads: Image handling via Multer.
• Session & Token Authentication: Supports persistent sessions and JWT-based security.
• Dynamic Frontend Updates: Real-time updates using AJAX.
• Flash Notifications: User feedback messages using connect-flash.
• Error Handling & Asynchronous Calls: Robust backend logic with centralized error handling.

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🛠 Tech Stack

Frontend:

• EJS for templating
• AJAX for dynamic updates

Backend:

• Node.js
• Express.js

Database:

• MongoDB with Mongoose ORM

Authentication:

• Passport.js (Local & JWT strategies)

Other Libraries:

• Multer for file uploads
• Nodemailer for emails
• Connect-Mongo for session storage

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📂 Folder Structure

NODEWS-Social/
├── assets/              # Static files (CSS, images, JS)
├── config/              # Configuration (Passport strategies, DB setup)
├── controllers/         # Route controllers
├── models/              # Mongoose models
├── routes/              # Application routes
├── views/               # EJS templates
├── index.js             # Application entry point
├── package.json         # Node.js dependencies
└── README.md            # Project documentation

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🔧 Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• MongoDB (local or cloud instance)

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/pranjalsinha1965/NODEWS-Social.git
   cd NODEWS-Social

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Set up environment variables:
   Create a .env file in the root directory with the following:

   PORT=7862
   SESSION_SECRET=your-session-secret
   MONGODB_URI=your-mongodb-uri
   GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your-google-client-id
   GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=your-google-client-secret
   GOOGLE_CALLBACK_URL=http://localhost:7862/users/auth/google/callback

4. Run the application:

   npm start

5. Access the application at:

   http://localhost:7862
   

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🛡 Security Features

• CSRF protection

• Secure password storage with bcrypt

• Token and session-based authentication

• Sanitized API endpoints

• Note:

** You're correct — if two-step verification is enabled for a Gmail account, NodeMailer won't work with just the standard username and password authentication **

Solution: Use an App Password

• Steps to Generate App Password for Gmail
• Go to Google Account Security.
• Under "Signing in to Google", enable Two-Step Verification if you haven't already.
• After enabling it, you'll see an option for App Passwords.
• Select App Passwords, then:
• Choose Mail as the app.
• Choose Other (custom) and give it a meaningful name, like NodeMailer.
• Google will generate a 16-character password.Copy that password.

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📋 API Testing

All backend operations are tested using Postman. The API documentation can be extended for reference if required.

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Fork the repository, create a feature branch, and submit a pull request.

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📬 Contact

• Author: Pranjal Sinha
• LinkedIn: pranjalsinha02