Task Manager

A full-stack task manager built with React + Vite on the frontend and Node.js + Express + MongoDB on the backend.

Highlights

• User signup and login with JWT auth
• Protected task routes
• Create, read, update, and delete tasks
• Tailwind CSS UI
• Docker Compose support for MongoDB

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React, Vite, React Router, Axios, Tailwind CSS
• Backend: Node.js, Express, Mongoose, JWT, bcryptjs
• Database: MongoDB

Project Structure

task-manager/
  client/              # React frontend
  server/              # Express API + MongoDB models/routes
  docker-compose.yml   # MongoDB container (optional for local dev)

Quick Start

1) Install dependencies

cd server
npm install

cd ../client
npm install

2) Configure environment variables

Create server/.env:

MONGO_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/task-manager
JWT_SECRET=your_super_secret_key
PORT=5000

Create client/.env:

VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:5000/api

3) Start MongoDB

Choose one option:

1. Local MongoDB installation, or
2. Docker Compose from project root:

docker compose up -d

Note: The included docker-compose.yml uses MongoDB root credentials. Update it before using in shared environments.

4) Run the app

Terminal 1 (backend):

cd server
npm run dev

Terminal 2 (frontend):

cd client
npm run dev

Frontend runs on Vite default URL (typically http://localhost:5173).

Scripts

Server (/server)

• npm run dev - start API server (server.js)
• npm test - placeholder test script

Client (/client)

• npm run dev - start Vite dev server
• npm run build - create production build
• npm run preview - preview production build
• npm run lint - run ESLint

API Overview

Base URL: http://localhost:5000/api

Auth Routes

• POST /auth/signup
• POST /auth/login

Task Routes (Protected)

• POST /tasks
• GET /tasks
• PUT /tasks/:id
• DELETE /tasks/:id

Auth header format:

Authorization: <jwt_token>

Deployment Notes

• The frontend includes client/vercel.json rewrite support for SPA routing.
• The backend requires MONGO_URI and JWT_SECRET at runtime.
• server.js validates required env vars on startup and exits if missing.

Known Limitations

• Signup currently returns the created user document.
• PUT /tasks/:id and DELETE /tasks/:id do not enforce task ownership checks.
• Auth and task routes do not yet include comprehensive validation/error handling.

Suggested Next Improvements

• Add request validation (zod, joi, or express-validator)
• Enforce task ownership in update/delete operations
• Add centralized error middleware
• Add backend tests for auth and task routes
• Add frontend loading/error states and notifications