BeeBot Backend — Express API

The BeeBot backend is a Node.js/Express API that handles authentication, bot configuration, chat routing, knowledge management, and conversation storage for the BeeBot SaaS platform.

Live URL: https://beebot-backend.onrender.com

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Architecture

HTTP Request
     │
     ▼
Express Router (routes/)
     │
     ▼
Middleware (auth, rate-limit, CORS)
     │
     ▼
Controller Logic (inside routes)
     │
     ├──► MongoDB (via Mongoose models)
     │
     └──► Python AI Service (POST /chat forwarded to FastAPI)

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Environment Variables

Variable	Description
MONGO_URI	MongoDB connection string (Atlas or self-hosted)
JWT_SECRET	Secret key for signing JWT tokens
PYTHON_SERVICE_URL	URL of the FastAPI AI service
FRONTEND_URL	Frontend origin for CORS (e.g. https://beebot-ai.vercel.app)
ALLOWED_ORIGINS	Comma-separated list of allowed CORS origins
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID	Google OAuth client ID for social login
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET	Google OAuth client secret
NODE_ENV	development or production
PORT	Server port (default: 5000)

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Local Setup

# 1. Install dependencies
cd backend
npm install

# 2. Configure environment
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your values

# 3. Start development server
npm run dev

The server starts at http://localhost:5000.

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API Route Groups

Route Prefix	Purpose
GET /	Root health check — returns service status, version, uptime JSON
GET /health	Simple health ping
/api/auth	Register, login, logout, Google OAuth, token refresh
/api/business	Create/update business profile (onboarding step 1)
/api/chatbot	CRUD for chatbot config (name, tone, primary_color, etc.)
/api/chat	Public widget chat endpoint — rate-limited, proxies to AI service
/api/knowledge	Upload files/URLs to the knowledge base
/api/conversations	Retrieve conversation history in the dashboard

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MongoDB Models

Model	Purpose
User	Authenticated users (email/password or Google OAuth)
Business	Business profile linked to a user
Chatbot	Bot config: name, tone, primary_color, welcome message, starters
ApiKey	API keys for widget authentication via x-api-key header
KnowledgeSource	Uploaded files and URLs in the knowledge base
Conversation	Chat conversation sessions grouped by visitor ID
Message	Individual messages within a conversation

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Deployment on Render.com

1. Connect your GitHub repo to Render.
2. Create a new Web Service pointing to the backend/ directory.
3. Set Build Command: npm install
4. Set Start Command: node src/server.js
5. Add all environment variables in the Render dashboard.
6. Deploy — Render auto-deploys on every push to main.