CodeUnity

CodeUnity is a full-stack web platform that connects students with developers for learning, Q&A, private messaging, paid bookings, and optional video calls.

Overview

Students can browse verified developers, start conversations, place orders (including free tiers for junior developers), and pay securely. Developers manage orders, messages, and their profile. The app includes a discussion forum, real-time notifications (Pusher), Stripe payments and CodeUnity Pro subscriptions, and ZegoCloud-based video rooms.

Features

• Authentication — Email/password flow with JWT; OTP and password reset; Google, GitHub, and LinkedIn OAuth (Passport).
• Role-based experience — Separate flows for students, developers, and admin areas.
• Discussion forum — Ask questions, browse by topic, sort (newest, oldest, most upvoted, most commented), replies and voting.
• Messaging — Conversations with lazy-loaded UI; Pusher-backed realtime where configured.
• Developer marketplace — List developers, book by hours, create offers, Stripe Checkout for paid orders, direct booking for free services.
• CodeUnity Pro — Subscription checkout, status, and 20% discount on eligible paid orders at checkout.
• Orders — Student and developer order views, order detail pages, feedback flows.
• Video calls — Room links and in-app ZegoCloud UIKit rooms (/room/:roomId).
• Support — FAQ and complaint submission.
• Resilience — Global error boundary on the client.

Tech Stack

Layer	Technologies
Frontend	React 18, Vite, React Router, TanStack React Query, Redux Toolkit, Axios, Bootstrap / MUI, Tailwind-related utilities
Backend	Node.js, Express, MongoDB (Mongoose), Passport, JWT, Multer, Nodemailer
Payments	Stripe (checkout sessions, webhooks for subscriptions)
Realtime	Pusher (auth via /pusher/auth)
Video	ZegoCloud UIKit Prebuilt

Repository Layout

├── src/                 # React SPA (pages, components, redux, utils)
├── public/              # Static assets
├── backend/             # Express API (routes, controllers, models, config)
└── README.md

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ recommended
• MongoDB (Atlas or local)
• Accounts for Stripe, Pusher, ZegoCloud, and OAuth apps (Google/GitHub/LinkedIn) as needed

Quick Start

1. Clone and install

git clone <your-repo-url>
cd CodeUnity1

# Frontend
npm install

# Backend
cd backend
npm install
cd ..

2. Environment variables

Create backend/.env (never commit this file) with at least:

Variable	Purpose
MONGO_URI	MongoDB connection string
JWT_SECRET	Sign JWT access tokens
JWT_EXPIRES_IN	Optional; default e.g. 7d
SESSION_SECRET	Express session encryption
FRONTEND_URL	CORS + Stripe redirect base (e.g. http://localhost:5173)
FRONTEND_BASE_URL	OAuth redirect return URL (align with Vite dev port if used)
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY	Stripe server secret
STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET	Stripe webhook signing secret (subscriptions)
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID / GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET	Google OAuth
GITHUB_CLIENT_ID / GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET	GitHub OAuth
LINKEDIN_CLIENT_ID / LINKEDIN_CLIENT_SECRET	LinkedIn OAuth
EMAIL_USER / EMAIL_PASS	Nodemailer (OTP / notifications)

Create .env in the project root for Vite:

Variable	Purpose
VITE_BACKEND_URL	API base URL (e.g. http://localhost:5000)
VITE_ZEGOCLOUD_APPID	ZegoCloud app ID (numeric)
VITE_ZEGOCLOUD_SECRET	ZegoCloud server secret (for test token generation in dev)
VITE_CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME	If using Cloudinary uploads from the client

Security: Rotate any keys that were ever committed or shared. Prefer moving Pusher credentials from code into process.env and using the same keys only in server-side config where possible.

3. Run locally

Terminal A — API

cd backend
npm run dev
# Default: http://localhost:5000

Terminal B — Frontend

npm run dev
# Vite default is often http://localhost:5173 — match FRONTEND_URL / CORS

4. Production build

npm run build
npm run preview   # optional local preview of the build

API Surface (high level)

REST routes are mounted under prefixes such as /api/users, /api/discussion, /api/conversations, /api/developers, /api/students, /api/orders, /api/payments, /api/notifications, /api/subscription, /api/admin, /api/complaints, /api/badges, plus /auth/* for OAuth.

Scripts

Location	Command	Description
Root	npm run dev	Vite dev server
Root	npm run build	Production bundle
Root	npm run lint	ESLint
backend/	npm run dev	Nodemon API
backend/	npm start	Node API

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Keep secrets out of git; use .env files and document new variables in this README.

License

ISC (backend package.json). Confirm license for the whole monorepo if you publish publicly.

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CodeUnity — connect, learn, and build with developers in one place.