LearnPulse — Online Course Platform

Self-hosted course platform with admin management, PDF learning modules, multiple-choice tests, and instant results.

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Next.js 14 (App Router)                        │
│                                                 │
│  /              → Login (ID number + password)   │
│  /admin         → Admin dashboard                │
│  /learner       → Learner dashboard              │
│                                                 │
│  /api/auth      → JWT auth (cookie-based)        │
│  /api/learners  → Learner CRUD                   │
│  /api/courses   → Course CRUD                    │
│  /api/modules   → Module CRUD + PDF upload       │
│  /api/tests     → Test builder (questions+answers)│
│  /api/results   → Submit + view test results     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Prisma ORM → SQLite (swap to Postgres/Supabase) │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  PDF Storage: /public/uploads/                   │
│  Served statically by Next.js at /uploads/*.pdf  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

PDF Storage

PDFs are stored as files on the server filesystem at ./public/uploads/. Each uploaded PDF gets a UUID filename (e.g., a1b2c3d4.pdf) and is served statically by Next.js. The database stores the relative path (/uploads/a1b2c3d4.pdf) and original filename.

For production deployment:

• Vercel: Use an external storage provider (S3, Cloudflare R2, Supabase Storage) since Vercel's filesystem is ephemeral. Swap the upload handler to use the provider SDK.
• VPS / Railway / Fly.io: The filesystem persists — ./public/uploads/ works as-is. Mount a persistent volume for the uploads directory.
• Supabase Storage: Replace the file write in /api/modules/route.js with Supabase Storage SDK calls.

Quick Start

# 1. Install
npm install

# 2. Push schema + seed admin user
npx prisma db push
npm run db:seed

# 3. Run
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:3000

Default admin login: ID admin / Password admin123

Database

Uses SQLite by default (zero config). To switch to Postgres:

1. Update prisma/schema.prisma:

   datasource db {
     provider = "postgresql"
     url      = env("DATABASE_URL")
   }

2. Update .env:

   DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/learnpulse"
   

3. Run npx prisma db push

Data Model

Table	Purpose
User	Learners + admin. ID number as username.
Course	Course container with title/description.
Module	Learning unit within a course. Has PDF path.
Test	One test per module.
Question	MCQ with 4 options (A–D) and correct answer.
Result	Learner test submission with score/percentage.

Features

Admin

• Create/delete courses
• Add modules with PDF upload
• Build multiple-choice tests with correct answer marking
• Manage learners (add, delete, reset password)
• View all test results with scores and timestamps

Learner

• Browse courses and modules
• View PDF learning material inline
• Take multiple-choice tests
• Instant score feedback
• Track progress with completion indicators
• View personal results history

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
DATABASE_URL	file:./dev.db	Prisma database URL
JWT_SECRET	(change in prod!)	JWT signing secret
UPLOAD_DIR	./public/uploads	PDF upload directory

Production Deployment

npm run build    # generates Prisma client + pushes schema + builds Next.js
npm start        # starts production server

Remember to:

1. Set a strong JWT_SECRET
2. Configure persistent storage for /public/uploads/
3. Switch to Postgres for multi-instance deployments