Taatom - Travel & Location-Based Social Platform

A comprehensive React Native + Express.js social media platform focused on travel, location sharing, and community building. Built with modern best practices, security-first architecture, and scalable infrastructure.

🏗️ Project Structure

TeamTaatom/
├── frontend/          # React Native (Expo) app
│   ├── app/          # Expo Router pages
│   ├── components/   # Reusable components
│   ├── services/     # API services
│   ├── utils/        # Utilities & config
│   └── .env         # Environment variables
├── backend/           # Express.js API server
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── controllers/  # Route handlers
│   │   ├── models/       # Mongoose schemas
│   │   ├── routes/       # API routes (v1)
│   │   ├── middleware/   # Auth, validation, security
│   │   ├── jobs/         # Background job processors
│   │   └── utils/        # Utilities
│   ├── migrations/   # Database migrations
│   └── .env         # Environment variables
├── superAdmin/       # Admin dashboard (React)
└── Tool/Notes/      # Documentation & guides

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

Node.js 16+
MongoDB Atlas account
Cloudinary account
Gmail with App Password
Redis (optional - for background jobs, currently disabled)
Expo CLI (npm install -g @expo/cli)

1. Backend Setup

cd backend
npm install
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your credentials (see Environment Variables section)
npm run dev

The backend will start on http://localhost:3000 (or PORT from .env)

2. Frontend Setup

cd frontend
npm install
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your API URLs and credentials
npm run update-config  # Syncs .env to app.json
npm start
# Press 'i' for iOS, 'a' for Android, or 'w' for web

3. Database Migrations (Optional)

cd backend
npm run migrate:up  # Run database migrations

📱 Features

Authentication & Security

✅ Email/Password signup with OTP verification
✅ Google OAuth integration
✅ Secure JWT-based authentication with httpOnly cookies (web)
✅ Password reset via email
✅ CSRF protection
✅ XSS input sanitization
✅ Rate limiting (granular per endpoint)
✅ Password strength enforcement
✅ Security headers (Helmet.js)

Content Sharing

✅ Photo/Video upload with Cloudinary optimization
✅ Short-form video posts (Shorts)
✅ Add captions, hashtags, and location data
✅ Automatic location detection
✅ Image optimization and caching
✅ Share to external platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter)
✅ Custom share cards with deep linking

Social Features

✅ Real-time feed with pagination
✅ Like, comment, and bookmark posts
✅ Follow/unfollow users with private account support
✅ User profiles with stats and posts
✅ Real-time notifications
✅ Chat with typing indicators and read receipts
✅ Block/unblock users
✅ Mute notifications per chat

Hashtag System

✅ Automatic hashtag extraction from captions
✅ Hashtag search and trending hashtags
✅ Hashtag detail pages with related posts
✅ Auto-suggest hashtags while typing
✅ Clickable hashtags in posts

Location Features

✅ Location tagging on posts
✅ TripScore tracking (continents, countries, locations)
✅ Interactive world map visualization
✅ Location-based post discovery
✅ Travel statistics and milestones

UI/UX Enhancements

✅ iOS-style dark/light mode theme
✅ Responsive web design
✅ Onboarding flow (welcome, interests, suggested users)
✅ Empty states with actionable CTAs
✅ Loading skeletons for better perceived performance
✅ Optimistic updates for instant feedback
✅ Error messages with retry mechanisms
✅ Pull-to-refresh and infinite scroll

Analytics & Tracking

✅ Post views tracking
✅ Engagement rate analytics
✅ User retention metrics
✅ Feature usage tracking
✅ Drop-off point analysis
✅ Crash reporting service

Backend Infrastructure

✅ API versioning (/api/v1)
✅ Request validation with express-validator
✅ Database migrations (migrate-mongo)
✅ Background jobs (currently disabled - Redis not configured)
- Email sending
- Image processing
- Analytics aggregation
- Cleanup tasks
✅ Comprehensive logging system
✅ Error handling middleware
✅ Database indexing for performance

🔧 Technical Stack

Frontend

React Native (Expo) - Cross-platform mobile framework
TypeScript - Type safety
Expo Router - File-based navigation
Formik + Yup - Form handling and validation
Axios - HTTP client with interceptors
Socket.IO Client - Real-time communication
AsyncStorage - Local storage (mobile)
httpOnly Cookies - Secure token storage (web)
React Native Web - Web compatibility

Backend

Express.js - Web framework
MongoDB + Mongoose - Database with migrations
JWT - Authentication tokens
Cloudinary - Image/video storage & optimization
Nodemailer - Email service
bcryptjs - Password hashing
Socket.IO - Real-time WebSocket server
Background Jobs - Queue system (currently disabled - Redis not configured)
Helmet.js - Security headers
express-rate-limit - Rate limiting
xss - Input sanitization
express-validator - Request validation

📊 API Endpoints

All endpoints are versioned under /api/v1:

Authentication (`/api/v1/auth`)

POST   /auth/signup          - Register user
POST   /auth/verify-otp      - Verify email OTP
POST   /auth/signin          - Login user
POST   /auth/google          - Google OAuth login
GET    /auth/me              - Get current user
POST   /auth/refresh         - Refresh JWT token
POST   /auth/logout          - Logout user
POST   /auth/forgot-password - Request password reset
POST   /auth/reset-password  - Reset password

Posts (`/api/v1/posts`)

GET    /posts                - Get all posts (paginated)
POST   /posts                - Create new post
GET    /posts/:id            - Get post by ID
PUT    /posts/:id            - Update post
DELETE /posts/:id            - Delete post
POST   /posts/:id/like       - Like/unlike post
POST   /posts/:id/comments   - Add comment
DELETE /posts/:id/comments/:commentId - Delete comment
POST   /posts/:id/save       - Save/unsave post

Shorts (`/api/v1/shorts`)

GET    /shorts               - Get all shorts
POST   /shorts                - Create short video
GET    /shorts/:id           - Get short by ID

Hashtags (`/api/v1/hashtags`)

GET    /hashtags/search      - Search hashtags
GET    /hashtags/trending    - Get trending hashtags
GET    /hashtags/:hashtag    - Get hashtag details
GET    /hashtags/:hashtag/posts - Get posts by hashtag

Profile (`/api/v1/profile`)

GET    /profile/:id           - Get user profile
PUT    /profile/:id          - Update profile
POST   /profile/:id/follow   - Follow/unfollow user
GET    /profile/:id/posts    - Get user posts
GET    /profile/:id/followers - Get followers
GET    /profile/:id/following - Get following

Chat (`/api/v1/chat`)

GET    /chats                - Get user chats
GET    /chats/:chatId        - Get chat details
POST   /chats                - Create chat
POST   /chats/:chatId/messages - Send message
PUT    /chats/:chatId/mute   - Mute/unmute chat
POST   /chats/:chatId/block  - Block/unblock user
DELETE /chats/:chatId        - Clear chat

Analytics (`/api/v1/analytics`)

POST   /analytics/events     - Track analytics event
POST   /analytics/errors     - Log error/crash

🔑 Environment Variables

Frontend (`frontend/.env`)

All frontend variables must start with EXPO_PUBLIC_:

# API Configuration
EXPO_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL=http://192.168.1.9:3000
EXPO_PUBLIC_WEB_SHARE_URL=http://192.168.1.9:3000

# Logo Image URL
EXPO_PUBLIC_LOGO_IMAGE=https://res.cloudinary.com/.../logo.png

# Google OAuth
EXPO_PUBLIC_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your_google_client_id
EXPO_PUBLIC_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID_IOS=your_ios_client_id
EXPO_PUBLIC_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID_ANDROID=your_android_client_id
EXPO_PUBLIC_GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret
EXPO_PUBLIC_GOOGLE_REDIRECT_URI=your_redirect_uri

# Google Maps
EXPO_PUBLIC_GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY=your_maps_api_key

Note: After updating .env, run npm run update-config to sync with app.json.

Backend (`backend/.env`)

# Server
PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=development

# Database
MONGO_URL=mongodb+srv://username:password@cluster.mongodb.net/Taatom?retryWrites=true&w=majority
JWT_SECRET=your_super_secret_jwt_key_here_make_it_long_and_random

# Cloudinary
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your_cloud_name
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your_api_key
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your_api_secret

# Logo
LOGO_IMAGE=https://res.cloudinary.com/.../logo.png

# Email (SMTP)
SMTP_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_USER=your_email@gmail.com
SMTP_PASS=your_app_password
SMTP_FROM=your_email@gmail.com

# URLs & CORS
FRONTEND_URL=http://192.168.1.9:8081
API_BASE_URL=http://192.168.1.9:3000
SUPERADMIN_URL=http://localhost:5001

# Background Jobs (currently disabled - Redis not configured)
# To enable background jobs in the future, configure Redis and set:
# REDIS_HOST=localhost
# REDIS_PORT=6379
# REDIS_PASSWORD=
ENABLE_BACKGROUND_JOBS=false

# Google OAuth
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your_google_client_id
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret
GOOGLE_REDIRECT_URI=your_redirect_uri

# WebSocket
WS_ALLOWED_ORIGIN=http://localhost:19006
WS_PATH=/socket.io

🗄️ Database Schema

Users

{
  fullName: String,
  email: String (unique, indexed),
  username: String (unique, indexed),
  password: String (hashed),
  profilePic: String,
  bio: String,
  followers: [ObjectId],
  following: [ObjectId],
  blockedUsers: [ObjectId],
  totalLikes: Number,
  isVerified: Boolean,
  isPrivate: Boolean,
  googleId: String (indexed),
  location: {
    address: String,
    coordinates: { latitude: Number, longitude: Number }
  }
}

Posts

{
  user: ObjectId (indexed),
  caption: String,
  imageUrl: String,
  images: [String],
  location: {
    address: String,
    coordinates: { latitude: Number, longitude: Number }
  },
  tags: [String] (indexed),
  likes: [ObjectId] (indexed),
  comments: [{ user: ObjectId, text: String, createdAt: Date }],
  type: String (indexed), // 'photo', 'video', 'short'
  isActive: Boolean (indexed),
  isHidden: Boolean (indexed),
  createdAt: Date (indexed)
}

Hashtags

{
  name: String (unique, indexed),
  postCount: Number,
  posts: [ObjectId],
  lastUsed: Date
}

Chats

{
  participants: [ObjectId],
  messages: [{
    sender: ObjectId,
    text: String,
    timestamp: Date,
    read: Boolean
  }],
  lastMessage: Date,
  mutedBy: [ObjectId]
}

🧪 Testing

Backend

cd backend
npm test
# Or test with curl/Postman
curl http://localhost:3000/api/v1/health

Frontend

cd frontend
# Test on iOS simulator
npm run ios
# Test on Android emulator  
npm run android
# Test on web
npm run web

🚀 Deployment

Backend (Railway/Heroku/Render)

# Set environment variables in dashboard
# Background jobs are currently disabled (Redis not configured)
# Deploy from GitHub repository

Frontend (EAS Build)

cd frontend
npm install -g eas-cli
eas login
eas build:configure
eas build --platform ios
eas build --platform android

🔒 Security Features

✅ CSRF Protection - Token-based CSRF protection for web
✅ XSS Prevention - Input sanitization on all user inputs
✅ Rate Limiting - Granular rate limits per endpoint
✅ Password Security - Strength requirements + bcrypt hashing
✅ JWT Security - httpOnly cookies for web, secure storage for mobile
✅ Security Headers - Helmet.js configuration
✅ Input Validation - express-validator on all endpoints
✅ CORS Configuration - Strict origin validation

📈 Recent Improvements (January 2025)

✅ Completed Features

Hashtag System
- Automatic extraction from captions
- Search and trending hashtags
- Hashtag detail pages
- Auto-suggest while typing
Social Sharing
- Share to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter
- Custom share cards
- Deep linking support
API Versioning
- All routes under /api/v1
- Backward compatibility maintained
Security Enhancements
- CSRF protection
- XSS sanitization
- Enhanced rate limiting
- Password strength enforcement
- Security headers
Backend Infrastructure
- Database migrations
- Background jobs (BullMQ)
- Background jobs (currently disabled)
- Comprehensive logging
Analytics & Tracking
- Post views tracking
- Engagement analytics
- User retention metrics
- Crash reporting
UX Improvements
- Onboarding flow
- Empty states
- Loading skeletons
- Error handling
Dynamic Configuration
- Environment-based config
- Centralized config utility
- Easy environment switching

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Backend not starting
- Check MongoDB connection string
- Verify all environment variables
- Ensure port 3000 is available
- Background jobs are currently disabled
Frontend API errors
- Verify backend is running
- Check EXPO_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL in frontend .env
- Run npm run update-config after changing .env
- Test API endpoints with curl
Image upload failing
- Verify Cloudinary credentials
- Check image size limits (10MB max)
- Ensure proper file permissions
OTP emails not sending
- Use Gmail App Password (not regular password)
- Enable 2FA on Gmail account
- Check SMTP credentials in backend .env
Background jobs not working
- Background jobs are currently disabled (Redis not configured)
- To enable: Configure Redis and set ENABLE_BACKGROUND_JOBS=true in .env
CSRF token errors (web)
- Clear browser cookies
- Ensure backend CORS is configured correctly
- Check that cookies are enabled

Debug Commands

# Clear Metro cache
npx expo start -c

# Reset iOS simulator
npx expo run:ios --device

# Check backend logs
cd backend && npm run dev

# Background jobs are currently disabled (Redis not configured)
# To enable: Install Redis and configure REDIS_HOST, REDIS_PORT in .env

# Run database migrations
cd backend && npm run migrate:up

# Update frontend config
cd frontend && npm run update-config

📚 Documentation

Frontend README - Detailed frontend documentation
Frontend Environment Guide - Environment variables guide
Backend README - API documentation
Business Documentation - Business context
Development Guide - Technical guide
Codebase Analysis - Analysis & recommendations

🤝 Contributing

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Make your changes
Test thoroughly (frontend + backend)
Update documentation if needed
Submit a pull request

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

📞 Support

For issues and questions:

Open a GitHub issue
Check documentation in Tool/Notes/
Review troubleshooting section above

Built with ❤️ using React Native, Express.js, MongoDB, and modern best practices.

Last Updated: November 2025
Version: 1.4.0

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 675 Commits
.github		.github
.idea		.idea
SuperAdmin		SuperAdmin
Tool		Tool
backend		backend
frontend		frontend
web		web
.DS_Store		.DS_Store
.gitignore		.gitignore
README.md		README.md
package-lock.json		package-lock.json

Folders and files

Latest commit

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Taatom - Travel & Location-Based Social Platform

🏗️ Project Structure

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

1. Backend Setup

2. Frontend Setup

3. Database Migrations (Optional)

📱 Features

Authentication & Security

Content Sharing

Social Features

Hashtag System

Location Features

UI/UX Enhancements

Analytics & Tracking

Backend Infrastructure

🔧 Technical Stack

Frontend

Backend

📊 API Endpoints

Authentication (/api/v1/auth)

Posts (/api/v1/posts)

Shorts (/api/v1/shorts)

Hashtags (/api/v1/hashtags)

Profile (/api/v1/profile)

Chat (/api/v1/chat)

Analytics (/api/v1/analytics)

🔑 Environment Variables

Frontend (frontend/.env)

Backend (backend/.env)

🗄️ Database Schema

Users

Posts

Hashtags

Chats

🧪 Testing

Backend

Frontend

🚀 Deployment

Backend (Railway/Heroku/Render)

Frontend (EAS Build)

🔒 Security Features

📈 Recent Improvements (January 2025)

✅ Completed Features

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Debug Commands

📚 Documentation

🤝 Contributing

📄 License

📞 Support

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Languages

Authentication (`/api/v1/auth`)

Posts (`/api/v1/posts`)

Shorts (`/api/v1/shorts`)

Hashtags (`/api/v1/hashtags`)

Profile (`/api/v1/profile`)

Chat (`/api/v1/chat`)

Analytics (`/api/v1/analytics`)

Frontend (`frontend/.env`)

Backend (`backend/.env`)

Packages