Collaborative Research Management Platform (CRMP) - Backend

This is the backend API for the Collaborative Research Management Platform. It provides a robust, secure, and real-time backend infrastructure to support collaborative research projects, real-time document editing, task management, and research outputs.

Tech Stack

• Framework: Node.js + Express.js (v5)
• Language: TypeScript
• Database: PostgreSQL (via Neon)
• ORM: Prisma Client + Prisma Adapter PG
• Authentication: JWT (JSON Web Tokens) & bcrypt for password hashing
• Real-time Engine: Socket.IO for live collaborative document editing and notifications
• File Storage: Cloudinary (via Multer)
• Email Service: Brevo API
• API Documentation: Swagger UI & Swagger JSDoc
• Validation: Zod

Key Features

• User Authentication: Secure registration, login, and JWT-based session management.
• Project Management: Create projects, manage visibility (public/private), and handle research lifecycle stages.
• Role-based Access Control (RBAC): Fine-grained permissions for Principal Investigators (PI), Co-Investigators, Research Assistants, and Reviewers.
• Real-time Collaboration: WebSocket integration for live document editing with cursor tracking.
• Task Management: Assign, track, and complete project tasks.
• Email Notifications: Automated notifications for task assignments, project completion, and collaboration requests.
• File Uploads: Direct integration with Cloudinary for research output attachments and resources.

Setup & Installation

1. Install dependencies:

   npm install

2. Environment Variables: Create a .env file in the root directory and add the necessary variables:

   PORT=3000
   DATABASE_URL="your-postgresql-connection-string"
   JWT_SECRET="your-jwt-secret-key"
   BREVO_API_KEY="your-brevo-api-key"
   CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME="your-cloud-name"
   CLOUDINARY_API_KEY="your-api-key"
   CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET="your-api-secret"
   FRONTEND_URL="https://res-crmp.justinch.dev"

3. Database Migration & Seeding:

   npx prisma generate
   npx prisma db push

4. Running the Application:

   • Development: npm run dev (runs with nodemon)
   • Production Build: npm run build
   • Start Production Server: npm run start

API Documentation

Once the server is running, you can view the complete interactive API documentation via Swagger by navigating to: http://localhost:3000/api-docs