FS-Java-MiniProject

ResearchHub is a collaborative research paper management system with version control, activity tracking, and secure file storage.

Core features

• Create and manage research repositories
• Upload papers and maintain version history per paper
• Preview PDFs and Office documents in-browser
• Stream/download specific versions and track repository activity
• Ownership-based access control (JWT-secured endpoints)

Tech stack

• Backend: Spring Boot (Java 21), MongoDB, Cloudinary for file storage, JWT authentication
• Frontend: React (Vite), Tailwind CSS

Quick start

Prerequisites:

• Java 21
• Maven
• Node.js and npm (for frontend)
• MongoDB (or MongoDB Atlas account)
• Cloudinary account (for file storage)

1. Backend

• Copy backend/.env.example to backend/.env (or set environment variables) and fill in MongoDB / Cloudinary credentials.
• From the backend folder:

# build and run
./mvnw clean package
./mvnw spring-boot:run

The backend runs on http://localhost:8080 by default.

2. Frontend

• From the Frontend folder:

npm install
npm run dev

The frontend runs with Vite (typically on http://localhost:5173).

Environment variables

Backend (backend/.env or system env):

MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
MONGODB_DATABASE=your_database_name
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=xxx
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=xxx
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=xxx
JWT_SECRET=some-secret

Frontend (Frontend/.env):

VITE_API_BASE=http://localhost:8080

API overview (selected)

• POST /auth/login - login, sets JWT cookie
• POST /auth/logout - logout
• GET /auth/me - current user
• GET /repos/global - list public repos
• GET /repos/my - list user repos
• POST /repos - create repo
• DELETE /repos/{id} - delete repo (owner only)
• POST /papers/upload - upload new paper
• POST /papers/{paperId}/update - upload new version
• GET /papers/by-repo/{repoId} - list papers in repo
• GET /papers/{paperId}/download?inline=true - preview latest
• GET /papers/{paperId}/download - download
• DELETE /papers/{paperId} - delete paper (owner only)

Development notes

• .env is loaded by dotenv-java in BackendApplication.java.
• Cloudinary is used for file storage; backend can stream files for preview/download.
• Frontend components live in Frontend/src/Components and pages in Frontend/src/Pages.

Contributing

• Open an issue or PR. Keep changes small and focused. Add tests when feasible.

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If you want, I can also add backend/.env.example and Frontend/.env.example with placeholders. Just say the word and I'll add them.

FS-Java-MiniProject