Corkboard MERN App

This repo and project are no longer active as of 2022

A full-stack MERN (MongoDB, Express, React, Node.js) application for managing Corkboard-style content. This app includes both client and server code.

Project presentation for class https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UgeIdNwmKTbXaaXFBDlHFwLj6Oombo95sNyzFd6lqXM/edit?usp=sharing

Table of Contents

• Prerequisites
• Installation
• Environment Variables
• Running the Application
• Project Structure

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14+)
• MongoDB

Installation

1. Clone this repository to your local machine:

2. Install dependencies for both the server and the client.

Server Setup

1. Navigate to the server directory:

   cd server

2. Install server dependencies:

   npm install

3. Ensure MongoDB is running locally or accessible through a URI.

4. Define environment variables (see below for details).

5. Start the server:

   npm start

Client Setup

1. Open a new terminal window and navigate to the client directory:

   cd client

2. Install client dependencies:

   npm install

3. Start the React development server:

   npm run start

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the server directory and add the following environment variables:

# MongoDB connection settings
CORK_MONGO_IP=localhost:27017 # replace with your MongoDB server address

# Secret for session encryption
SECRET_COOKIE_PASSWORD=your_secret_password_here

# Environment (set to 'production' for production)
NODE_ENV=development

Running the Application

To start the application:

1. Start the MongoDB server if it isn't running already. Ensure it's accessible via the IP address and port specified in your .env file.

2. Run the server by navigating to the server directory and executing:

   npm start

   The server will listen on the configured port (default is localhost:5000).

3. Run the client by navigating to the client directory and executing:

   npm start

   The client will open at localhost:3000 by default.

Project Structure

Server (server/)

• Dependencies: bcrypt, cors, dotenv, express, iron-session, mongodb, socket.io
• Scripts:
  • start: Starts the server using Nodemon, hot-reloading on changes
• Database:
  • Uses MongoDB to store Corkboard data
  • Connection is established through MongoClient and retrieved with getDb()

Client (client/)

• Dependencies: React, Material UI, Lodash, SWR, and React Router
• Scripts:
  • start: Starts the React development server
  • build: Creates a production build
  • test: Runs tests