Week-10

ShelfLife Household Inventory Tracker

Stack: MongoDB · Express · Node.js · React (MERN)

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Assignment Overview

Build a collaborative expiry tracking application for shared households. Roommates manage groceries together, receive expiration alerts, and compete to reduce waste.

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Core Requirements

1. Authentication & User Management

• User registration and login with JWT
• Protected routes middleware
• User profile with joined household display

2. Household System

• Create household with auto-generated invite code (6 characters)
• Join household using invite code
• View all household members
• Leave household functionality

3. Inventory Management

• Add items with: name, category, expiry date, quantity
• Auto-assign status: fresh, expiring-soon (≤3 days), expired
• Edit and delete items (only by creator or household admin)
• Barcode scanner integration (browser-based)

4. Dashboard & Alerts

• Visual shelf display: Fresh (green) / Expiring Soon (yellow) / Expired (red)
• Count badges for each status category
• Sort and filter by category or expiry date

5. Waste Tracking

• Mark items as used or wasted
• Calculate household waste score: (used / total) × 100
• Simple leaderboard showing top contributors

6. Automated Notifications

• Daily cron job checking expiring items
• Email digest to all household members (Nodemailer)
• List items expiring within 24 hours

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Technical Constraints

Rule	Implementation
No AI services	Use date math and database queries only
No external APIs	Except open barcode database for product names
MongoDB only	All data persistence via Mongoose
React functional components	Hooks only, no class components

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Database Schema

// User
{
  _id: ObjectId,
  name: String,           // required, 2-30 chars
  email: String,          // required, unique
  password: String,       // hashed, min 6 chars
  householdId: ObjectId,  // nullable
  createdAt: Date
}

// Household
{
  _id: ObjectId,
  name: String,           // required, 3-30 chars
  inviteCode: String,     // unique, 6 chars uppercase
  members: [ObjectId],  // user references
  wasteScore: Number,     // 0-100, default 0
  createdAt: Date
}

// Item
{
  _id: ObjectId,
  householdId: ObjectId,  // required
  addedBy: ObjectId,      // user reference
  name: String,           // required
  category: String,       // enum: produce, dairy, meat, pantry, frozen, other
  quantity: Number,       // default 1
  expiryDate: Date,       // required
  status: String,         // enum: fresh, expiring-soon, expired, used, wasted
  createdAt: Date,
  updatedAt: Date
}

API Specification

Authentication

Method	Endpoint	Body	Response
POST	/api/auth/register	{name, email, password}	{token, user}
POST	/api/auth/login	{email, password}	{token, user}

Households

Method	Endpoint	Auth	Description
POST	/api/households	Yes	Create new household
POST	/api/households/join	Yes	{inviteCode} → join existing
GET	/api/households/me	Yes	Get current user's household
GET	/api/households/:id/members	Yes	List all members

Items

Method	Endpoint	Query Params	Description
GET	/api/items	?status=&category=	List household items
POST	/api/items	—	Create new item
PUT	/api/items/:id	—	Update item details
PATCH	/api/items/:id/status	{status}	Mark used/wasted
DELETE	/api/items/:id	—	Remove item

Dashboard

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/dashboard/stats	Waste score, counts by status
GET	/api/dashboard/expiring	Items expiring in 24h

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Frontend Requirements

Routes

Path	Component	Access
/login	LoginForm	Public
/register	RegisterForm	Public
/dashboard	Dashboard	Private
/household	HouseholdManager	Private
/items	InventoryList	Private
/add	AddItemForm	Private