🍽️ GreenPlate

The GreenPlate application utilizes a serverless AWS architecture where a static frontend hosted on S3 and delivered via CloudFront interacts with a Python-based backend API on Lambda and API Gateway, which persists data in DynamoDB tables and is monitored by CloudWatch.

🔗Check it out!

📋 Table of Contents

• About
• Architecture
• Features
• App UI
• Tech Stack
• Prerequisites
• Local Development Setup
• Deployment (AWS)
• API Endpoints

☁️ Architecture

GreenPlate is built on a fully serverless AWS architecture, ensuring scalability and cost-efficiency.

• Frontend: Hosted on AWS S3 and distributed globally via Amazon CloudFront for low latency and HTTPS security.
• Backend: A Python Flask API running on AWS Lambda, managed by Amazon API Gateway.
• Database: Amazon DynamoDB (NoSQL) for storing users, recipes, and saved collections.
• Infrastructure as Code: All resources are provisioned using Terraform.
• CI/CD: Automated testing and deployment pipelines via GitHub Actions.

✨ Features

• Recipe Discovery: Browse and search for recipes with cost breakdowns.
• User Accounts: Secure registration and login (JWT Authentication).
• Personalization: Save favorite recipes and "like" meals.
• Budget Focus: See the total cost and individual ingredient prices (in Rands).
• Dynamic Content: AI-style recipe generation (Mock).

📸 App UI

• Version 1

🛠️ Tech Stack

• Frontend: HTML5, CSS3 (Tailwind CSS), Vanilla JavaScript
• Backend: Python 3.11, Flask, Boto3
• Cloud (AWS): Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB, S3, CloudFront, IAM, CloudWatch
• DevOps: Terraform, GitHub Actions, AWS CLI

✅ Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

• Node.js & npm (for testing/tools)
• Python 3.11+
• Terraform
• AWS CLI (configured with your credentials)

💻 Local Development Setup

To run the application locally on your machine:

1. Clone the Repository

   git clone [https://github.com/your-username/greenplate.git](https://github.com/your-username/greenplate.git)
   cd greenplate

2. Set up the Backend The local backend connects to your AWS DynamoDB tables (Dev environment), so ensure your AWS CLI is configured.

   cd backend
   python -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
   pip install -r requirements.txt
   
   # Run the Flask app
   python app.py

   The backend will start at http://localhost:5000

3. Set up the Frontend Open a new terminal.

   cd frontend
   # Create a local config to point to your local backend
   echo "window.config = { apiUrl: 'http://localhost:5000' };" > config.js

   Open index.html in your browser or use an extension like "Live Server" in VS Code.

🚀 Deployment (AWS)

This project uses GitHub Actions for fully automated deployment. You do not need to manually run Terraform or upload files.

1. Configure GitHub Secrets

Go to your repository Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions and add:

• AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: Your AWS Access Key.
• AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: Your AWS Secret Key.

2. Trigger Deployment

Simply push to the main branch. The pipeline will:

1. Package the Python backend.
2. Deploy the infrastructure (Terraform).
3. Update the Lambda function code.
4. Inject the dynamic API URL into the frontend configuration.
5. Upload the frontend to S3 and invalidate the CloudFront cache.

3. Access the App

Once the pipeline completes, check the "Deployment Summary" in the GitHub Actions logs for your live URL: https://[distribution-id].cloudfront.net

🔌 API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/health	Check API and Database status
GET	/api/recipes	Get all recipes
GET	/api/recipes/search?q={query}	Search recipes by name
POST	/api/auth/register	Create a new user account
POST	/api/auth/login	Log in and receive JWT
POST	/api/user/saved	Save a recipe (Requires Auth)

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Built with 💚 by Luyanda Zuma