Royal Blogs TIA - Backend

Project Overview

Royal Blogs TIA Backend is a RESTful API built using Node.js, Express, and Sequelize for managing a blogging platform. The API allows users to register, create posts, like/dislike posts, and comment on posts. It also includes routes for managing users and their authentication. The backend integrates image uploading via Cloudinary, handles authorization, and supports basic CRUD operations for blog posts, likes, dislikes, and comments.

Features

User Authentication: Register, login, and verify user accounts.
Blog Posts: Create, read, update, and delete blog posts.
Comments: Add and fetch comments on blog posts.
Likes/Dislikes: Like or dislike posts, view all likes or dislikes.
Profile Management: View and update user profiles.

Table of Contents

Installation
Environment Variables
Project Structure
API Routes
User Routes
Blog Post Routes
Comments Routes
Likes/Dislikes Routes
Models
Helper Functions
Technologies Used
License

Installation

To install and run the project locally:

Clone the repository:

git clone [email protected]:Akem-Ben/Royal_Blogs_TIA_Backend.git

Navigate into the project directory:

cd Royal_Blogs_TIA_Backend

Install dependencies:

npm install

Create a .env file in the root directory and add the necessary environment variables (see the Environment Variables section).

Build the project

npm run build

Start the development server:

npm run dev

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root directory with the following variables:

# DEVELOPMENT KEYS
DEV_PORT = YOUR DEV_PORT
DEV_DB_PORT = YOUR DEV_DB_PORT
DB_NAME = YOUR DB_NAME
DB_USERNAME = YOUR DB_USERNAME
DB_PASSWORD = YOUR DB_PASSWORD
DB_HOST = YOUR DB_HOST

# CLOUDINARY KEYS
CLOUDINARY_NAME = YOUR CLOUDINARY_NAME
API_KEY = YOUR API_KEY
API_SECRET = YOUR API_SECRET

# PRODUCTION KEYS
PROD_PORT = YOUR PROD_PORT
PROD_DB_NAME = YOUR PROD_DB_NAME
PROD_DB_USERNAME = YOUR PROD_DB_USERNAME
PROD_DB_PASSWORD = YOUR PROD_DB_PASSWORD
PROD_DB_HOST = YOUR PROD_DB_HOST
PROD_DB_PORT = YOUR PROD_DB_PORT

# GMAIL SMTP KEYS FOR MAILS
GMAIL_USER = YOUR GMAIL_USER
GMAIL_PASSWORD = YOUR GMAIL_PASSWORD
APP_BASE_URL = YOUR APP_BASE_URL

Project Structure

├── src
│   ├── configurations
│   ├── controllers
│   ├── helperFunctions
│   ├── middlewares
│   ├── models
│   ├── routes
│   ├── utilities
│   └── app.ts
├── package-lock.json
├── package.json
├── README.md
├── tsconfig.json
└── README.md

API Routes

User Routes

HTTP Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/users/signup	Register a new user (requires profile image)
POST	/users/verify/:token	Verify user email using a token
POST	/users/login	Log in a user
GET	/users/profile	Get the profile of the logged-in user (requires auth)
POST	/users/resendVerification	Resend the verification email

Blog Post Routes

HTTP Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/post/create	Create a new blog post (requires auth and image upload)
GET	/post/singlePost/:postId	Get a single blog post
DELETE	/post/deleteUserPost/:postId	Delete a blog post (requires auth)
GET	/post/allPosts	Get all blog posts

Comments Routes

HTTP Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/post/makeComment/:postId	Make a comment on a blog post (requires auth)
GET	/post/allComments/:postId	Get all comments for a post

Likes Routes

HTTP Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/post/likePost/:postId	Like a blog post (requires auth)
GET	/post/allLikes/:postId	Get all likes for a blog post

Dislikes Routes

HTTP Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/post/dislikePost/:postId	Dislike a blog post (requires auth)
GET	/post/allDislikes/:postId	Get all dislikes for a blog post

Models

• User: Stores user details such as username, email, password, and profile image.
• BlogPost: Stores blog post information like title, image, text, likes, and dislikes.
• Comment: Stores comments made on blog posts.
• Likes: Tracks users who like a post.
• Dislikes: Tracks users who dislike a post.

Helper Functions

• hashPassword: Hashes the user password using bcrypt.
• generateToken: Generates JWT tokens for authentication.
• convertToDDMMYY: Converts an ISO date to DD-MM-YY format.
• convertToISODateString: Converts a regular date string to ISO format.
• passwordTest: Validates the strength of user passwords using regex.

Technologies Used

• Node.js
• Express.js
• TypeScript
• Sequelize ORM (for PostgreSQL)
• Cloudinary (for image uploads)
• Multer (for file uploads)
• JWT (for user authentication)
• Bcrypt (for password hashing)
• Nodemailer (for sending verification emails)

License: This project is licensed under the MIT License.