VentArc

Event management platform (frontend + backend), including the CertVault certificate hosting/verification feature and the Ultron event tooling. Fully standalone — no GradeX dependency.

Location

• ~/Desktop/Code PlayGround/VentArc — this repo (frontend + API + server)
• ~/Desktop/Code PlayGround/GradeX — separate app; no VentArc code

Stack

• Frontend: React + Vite (port 5174)
• Backend: Node + Express (port 3001), serves /api/certvault and static build
• DB: Convex (backend and data; run npx convex dev to create/link project and get CONVEX_URL)
• PDFs: Cloudinary (certificate PDF hosting)
• PDF generation: Optional separate service (certgen) at CERTGEN_SERVICE_URL (e.g. Flask on 5050)

Env

Copy .env.example to .env and set:

• CONVEX_URL — required; run npx convex dev to create a Convex project and get the URL
• CLOUDINARY_* — for PDF hosting
• CERTGEN_SERVICE_URL — for generating PDFs (e.g. http://localhost:5050); omit if you only create records without PDFs
• ALLOWED_ORIGINS — comma-separated origins for CORS (e.g. http://localhost:5174)
• PUBLIC_URL — optional; when set (e.g. https://your-app.up.railway.app), this origin is allowed for CORS. On Railway, RAILWAY_PUBLIC_DOMAIN is used automatically if set.

Deploy on Railway

1. Create a new project at railway.app and connect this repo (GitHub/GitLab or deploy from CLI).

2. Configure build & start (optional — repo includes railway.toml):

   • Build: npm ci && npm run build
   • Start: node server.js
     Railway sets PORT; the app listens on 0.0.0.0.

3. Set environment variables in the Railway service:

   • Required: CONVEX_URL — run npx convex dev locally to create a Convex project and get the URL; for production use npx convex deploy and set the production URL. See RAILWAY.md.
   • For PDF hosting: CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME, CLOUDINARY_API_KEY, CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET
   • Optional: PUBLIC_URL — set to your Railway app URL if CORS blocks requests; Railway may also set RAILWAY_PUBLIC_DOMAIN.
   • Optional: CERTGEN_SERVICE_URL — only if you run a separate PDF generator service.

4. Generate a domain in Railway (Settings → Networking → Generate Domain). Use this URL as PUBLIC_URL if needed.

5. Convex: Ensure npx convex dev (or npx convex deploy for prod) has been run from this repo so your Convex project has the schema and functions. No separate DB migrations — Convex schema is in convex/schema.js.

After deploy, the app serves the frontend and /api/certvault from the same origin. Sign up, create events, and add certificates; PDF generation works only if CERTGEN_SERVICE_URL points to a running certgen service.

Run locally

Frontend + backend together:

npm install
npm run dev:all

• Frontend: http://localhost:5174 (Vite proxies /api to backend)
• Backend: http://localhost:3001

Or separately:

npm run server    # backend on 3001
npm run dev       # frontend on 5174 (set Vite proxy to 3001)

Build and run production:

npm run build
PORT=3001 node server.js

Serves the built app and API from port 3001.

Convex (database)

Schema and functions are in convex/. Run npx convex dev to create/link a project and push the schema. No separate migrations — Convex syncs the schema from convex/schema.js.

CertGen (PDF generation)

For generating certificate PDFs from templates, you need the certgen service (e.g. the Flask app in GradeX’s certgen-service/). Run it separately and set CERTGEN_SERVICE_URL in .env. If you don’t need PDF generation, you can leave it unset and only create certificate records.

Routes (frontend)

Path	Page
/	Home
/how-it-works	How it works
/for-clubs	For clubs
/verify	Verify certificate
/login	Club login
/dashboard	Club dashboard
/design	Certificate design
/:eventSlug	Public download