DevInterview

A community-driven hub for publishing and discovering real interview journeys. DevInterview couples a TypeScript/Express API with a modern React client so candidates can share rich, structured stories while reviewers moderate and surface the most helpful insights.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Tech Stack
• Project Structure
• Prerequisites
• Environment Variables
• Getting Started
  • Backend
  • Frontend
• Available Scripts
• API Surface
• Development Tips

Features

• Core sharing workflow for creating, updating, and deleting detailed interview experiences with round-by-round drill downs.
• AI-powered "fuzzy" ingestion route that converts unstructured narratives into database-ready JSON using OpenAI while enforcing strict validation.
• JWT-backed authentication with protected routes, password hashing, and role-aware middleware.
• Community engagement with experience upvotes, threaded comments, and personal dashboards showing contributions.
• Admin console endpoints for reviewing pending submissions, changing approval status, and moderating community content.

Tech Stack

Layer	Technologies
Backend	Node.js, Express 5, TypeScript, Prisma ORM, PostgreSQL
Security	JSON Web Tokens, bcryptjs
AI Assistance	OpenAI API (gpt-4o-mini) for experience parsing
Frontend	React 18, Vite, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui, React Query, Zustand
Tooling	tsx, ESLint, Bun or npm, Vercel-ready build configuration

Project Structure

backend-dev-interview/
  prisma/            # Prisma schema and migration history
  src/
    config/          # Database client bootstrap
    controllers/     # Route handlers and business logic
    middleware/      # Auth and role guards
    routes/          # Express routers grouped by domain
    utils/           # Shared helpers (JWT helpers, etc.)
    generated/       # Prisma generated client (do not edit)

exp-decoder/
  src/
    components/      # UI primitives and feature components
    pages/           # React Router route views
    lib/             # API helpers, auth utilities, global stores
    hooks/           # Reusable hooks (e.g., toast, mobile layout)

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ (or Bun 1.0+ if preferred for the frontend)
• PostgreSQL 14+ with a database provisioned for DevInterview data
• An OpenAI API key with access to gpt-4o-mini (or compatible) for fuzzy ingestion workflows

Environment Variables

Create .env files in each project root with the values below.

backend-dev-interview/.env

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://USER:PASSWORD@HOST:PORT/DATABASE?schema=public"
JWT_SECRET="super-secret-jwt-key"
OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."
PORT=4000                 # optional override

exp-decoder/.env

VITE_BACKEND_URL="http://localhost:4000"

Getting Started

Clone the repository, install dependencies, run migrations, and launch both services.

Backend

1. Install dependencies
   • npm install
2. Generate the Prisma client
   • npx prisma generate
3. Apply database schema (choose one)
   • npx prisma migrate deploy (production-like) or
   • npx prisma migrate dev --name init (local dev with drift detection)
4. Start the API server
   • npm run dev
5. The API will default to http://localhost:4000.

Frontend

1. Install dependencies (choose a package manager)
   • bun install (recommended to stay in sync with bun.lockb)
   • or npm install
2. Start the Vite dev server
   • bun run dev or npm run dev
3. Access the client at http://localhost:5173 (default Vite port). Ensure VITE_BACKEND_URL points to your API.

Available Scripts

Location	Script	Description
backend-dev-interview	npm run dev	Starts Express with tsx for hot TypeScript reload
	npx prisma studio	Visualize and edit Prisma models in your browser
	npx prisma migrate dev	Create and apply a new migration in development
exp-decoder	bun run dev / npm run dev	Launches the React/Vite development server
	bun run build / npm run build	Produces a production build
	bun run lint / npm run lint	Runs eslint across the frontend source

API Surface

Base URL: http://localhost:4000

• POST /auth/register – Register a new user
• POST /auth/login – Authenticate and receive a JWT
• GET /api/experiences – Public feed of approved experiences
• GET /api/experiences/:id – Fetch a single experience (owners can view drafts)
• POST /api/experiences – Create a structured experience (auth required)
• POST /api/experiences/fuzzy – Submit free-form text for AI parsing (auth required)
• GET /api/experiences/mine – View experiences created by the logged-in user
• POST /api/comments/:id – Add a comment to an experience
• POST /api/upvotes/:id – Toggle an upvote on an experience
• GET /api/experiences/admin/pending – Admin queue of pending submissions
• PUT /api/experiences/admin/:id/status – Approve or reject experiences