connectIN

A LinkedIn-style alumni networking app with authentication, profiles, posts (images/GIFs/videos), real-time chat/notifications, mentorship matching, and basic analytics.

Tech Stack

• Client: React + Vite + Tailwind
• Server: Node.js + Express + MongoDB (Mongoose)
• Realtime: Socket.IO
• Media storage: Cloudinary

Monorepo Structure

• client/ – React frontend
• server/ – Express API + Socket.IO + MongoDB models

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ (recommended)
• MongoDB connection string (local or Atlas)
• Cloudinary account (for uploads)

Environment Variables

Create server/.env:

PORT=5000
MONGO_URI=mongodb+srv://...
JWT_SECRET=your_long_random_secret

# Google OAuth (Sign-in)
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=130574480266-4qeuib68n1ok96g822u5q8dkotuah1jf.apps.googleusercontent.com

# Cloudinary
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=...
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=...
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=...

Notes:

• JWT_SECRET must match what the client uses via the API token flow.
• Cloudinary is required for avatar/cover and post media uploads.

Create client env files (Vite):

client/.env.local (local dev):

VITE_API_BASE_URL=http://localhost:5000/api
VITE_SOCKET_URL=http://localhost:5000
VITE_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=130574480266-4qeuib68n1ok96g822u5q8dkotuah1jf.apps.googleusercontent.com

Production: set these in your hosting provider (recommended), or use client/.env.production:

VITE_API_BASE_URL=https://YOUR-RENDER-BACKEND.onrender.com/api
VITE_SOCKET_URL=https://YOUR-RENDER-BACKEND.onrender.com

Install

From the repo root:

cd server
npm install

cd ../client
npm install

Run (Development)

Start the API server:

cd server
npm run dev
# or: npm start

Start the client:

cd client
npm run dev

Default URLs:

• Client: http://localhost:5173
• Server: http://localhost:5000

Build (Production)

Client build:

cd client
npm run build

Key Features

• Auth: Register/login + protected routes
• Profiles: Avatar + cover photo (with crop UI), education/experience, mentor display
• Posts: Create/delete, likes, threaded comments/replies
• Media uploads: Images/GIFs/videos up to 50MB for posts; video playback in feed
• Mentorship: Requests and accepted mentor relationships
• Analytics (LinkedIn-style counts):
  • Profile viewers count (deduped window)
  • Post impressions count (viewport-based, deduped window)
  • Post impression counts are visible only to the post owner
• Realtime: Socket.IO for live updates (chat/notifications and owner impression updates)

API Overview (High-Level)

Base: /api/...

• auth – login/register/load user
• profile – profile CRUD + avatar/cover upload
• posts – feed + post create + impression endpoint
• chat, notifications, mentorship, connections, etc.

Common Troubleshooting

• Uploads failing (Cloudinary): verify CLOUDINARY_* env vars and file type support on your Cloudinary plan.
• Socket not connecting: ensure server is running on http://localhost:5000 and the client has a valid JWT token.
• Impressions not updating live: restart the server after changes; the owner receives post_impression_updated via Socket.IO.

Scripts

Run npm run inside client/ or server/ to see available scripts for that package.