Chirpy

A Go HTTP server serving static files, providing a Chirp API, and tracking usage metrics.

Chirpy Server

A Go HTTP server serving static files, providing a Chirp API, and tracking usage metrics.

Overview

Chirpy Server is a backend application built with Go. It serves static web content, offers a comprehensive API for managing "chirps" (short messages) and users, handles user authentication via JWTs, and includes administrative features like metrics tracking and database reset for development.

Features

• Static File Serving: Serves static files (HTML, CSS, JS) from the project's root directory via the /app/* endpoint.
• Comprehensive Chirp API:
  • User Management: Create new users (POST /api/users), and update existing authenticated users' information (PUT /api/users).
  • Chirp Management: Create new chirps (POST /api/chirps), list all chirps (GET /api/chirps), retrieve a single chirp by its ID (GET /api/chirps/{chirpID}), and delete chirps (DELETE /api/chirps/{chirpID}). Deletion requires the authenticated user to be the author of the chirp.
• User Authentication: Secure, token-based authentication using JSON Web Tokens (JWT). Includes endpoints for user login (POST /api/login), access token refreshing (POST /api/refresh), and refresh token revocation (POST /api/revoke).
• "Chirpy Red" Status: A field is_chirpy_red in the users table indicates a premium user status.
• Webhook Integration Example: Includes a mock webhook endpoint (POST /api/polka/webhooks) for demonstration purposes, simulating integration with an external service like "Polka." This endpoint is secured using an API key (POLKA_KEY).
• Health Check & Metrics: Provides a health check endpoint (GET /api/healthz) to confirm the server is running and an admin endpoint (GET /admin/metrics) to view request counts for the static file server.
• Database Management: Utilizes goose for managing database schema migrations, which are applied automatically on server startup.
• Development Utilities: Offers a database reset functionality (POST /admin/reset) for development environments (when PLATFORM=dev), which clears the database and resets metrics.

Technologies Used

• Backend: Go (utilizing the standard net/http library).
• Database: PostgreSQL.
• Database Tools:
  • sqlc: Used for generating type-safe Go code from SQL queries, facilitating database interactions.
  • goose: Employed for managing database schema migrations.
• Authentication: JSON Web Tokens (JWT) for secure API authentication.
• Configuration: Primarily through environment variables, typically managed with a .env file.

API Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Description	Authentication Required
GET /api/healthz	GET	Health check endpoint; returns "OK" when the server is running.	None
POST /api/users	POST	Creates a new user account.	None