Job Portal - Full Stack App

Tech Stack

• Backend: Node.js, Express, MongoDB, JWT, Cloudinary, Multer
• Frontend: React, Vite, Redux Toolkit, Tailwind CSS, Radix UI

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js (18+)
• MongoDB Atlas account (free): https://mongodb.com/atlas
• Cloudinary account (free): https://cloudinary.com

1. Backend Setup

cd backend
npm install
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env: Add MongoDB Atlas URI, JWT_SECRET, Cloudinary creds
npm run dev

Expected: Server running at port 3000 + mongodb connected successfully

2. Frontend Setup

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev

Expected: App opens at http://localhost:5173 (auto-proxy to backend)

▲ Deploy to Vercel (Frontend and Backend Separately)

Deploy as two different Vercel projects:

• backend/ → API project
• frontend/ → web app project

1) Deploy Backend (backend/)

1. In Vercel, click Add New Project and import the same repo.
2. Set Root Directory to backend.
3. Add backend environment variables:
   • MONGO_URI
   • JWT_SECRET
   • CLOUD_NAME
   • API_KEY
   • API_SECRET
   • CLIENT_URLS (set this after frontend is deployed; you can use localhost first)
   • RATE_LIMIT_MAX (optional)
4. Deploy and copy the backend URL (example: https://jobforge-api.vercel.app).

Backend routing is configured by backend/vercel.json, and requests are served by backend/api/index.js.

2) Deploy Frontend (frontend/)

1. Create another Vercel project from the same repo.
2. Set Root Directory to frontend.
3. Add frontend environment variable:
   • VITE_API_BASE_URL = your backend URL (example: https://jobforge-api.vercel.app)
4. Deploy the frontend project.

SPA routing fallback is configured by frontend/vercel.json.

3) Final CORS Update

After frontend deploys, go back to backend project env vars and set:

• CLIENT_URLS=https://your-frontend.vercel.app

Then redeploy backend once.

4) Verify

• Frontend loads from frontend URL.
• Frontend network requests hit backend URL + /api/v1/*.
• Test API directly: https://your-backend.vercel.app/api/v1/job/get