SkillSwap

Overview

SkillSwap is a modern web platform where users can exchange skills and knowledge with others using a virtual currency called SkillPoints. The platform enables skill sharing, scheduling of learning sessions, direct messaging between users, and video content sharing.

Features

• User Authentication: Secure registration and login system
• Skill Marketplace: Browse, search, and filter skills by category and experience level
• Real-time Chat: Direct messaging between users
• Video Tutorials: Upload and share instructional videos
• Session Scheduling: Book and manage skill exchange sessions
• SkillPoints Economy: Virtual currency for the skill exchange marketplace
• Job Board: Post and find job opportunities matching your skills
• User Feedback System: Rate and review learning experiences

Technology Stack

Frontend

• Framework: Vue.js 3
• State Management: Vuex
• Routing: Vue Router
• UI: Custom design system with responsive components
• Icons: Font Awesome
• Testing: Jest

Backend

• Language: Go (Golang)
• Web Framework: Gin
• Database ORM: GORM
• Authentication: JWT
• API Documentation: Swagger
• Testing: Go testing package

Database

• PostgreSQL

DevOps

• Docker
• Docker Compose

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose
• Node.js (for local frontend development)
• Go (for local backend development)

Running with Docker

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/mplaczek99/SkillSwap.git
   cd SkillSwap
   

2. Start the application

   docker-compose up --build
   

3. Access the application:

   • Frontend: http://localhost:8081
   • Backend API: http://localhost:8080
   • API Documentation: http://localhost:8080/swagger/index.html

Default Test User

The system automatically creates a test user:

• Email: test@example.com
• Password: somepassword

Local Development

Frontend Development

cd frontend
npm install
npm run serve

Backend Development

cd backend
go mod download
go run cmd/main.go

Project Structure

SkillSwap/
├── frontend/           # Vue.js frontend
│   ├── src/            # Source code
│   │   ├── components/ # Vue components
│   │   ├── store/      # Vuex store
│   │   ├── router/     # Vue Router
│   │   ├── models/     # Data models
│   │   ├── services/   # API services
│   │   └── assets/     # Static assets
│   ├── tests/          # Frontend tests
│   └── public/         # Public assets
├── backend/            # Go backend
│   ├── cmd/            # Entry point
│   ├── config/         # Configuration
│   ├── controllers/    # HTTP handlers
│   ├── middleware/     # HTTP middleware
│   ├── models/         # Data models
│   ├── repositories/   # Data access
│   ├── routes/         # API routes
│   ├── services/       # Business logic
│   └── utils/          # Utilities
└── docker-compose.yml  # Docker configuration

Key Components

Frontend Components

• Dashboard: Main user interface with activity feed and skill showcases
• Profile: User profiles with skills and ratings
• Search: Advanced search with filters for finding skills and users
• Chat: Real-time messaging system
• Schedule: Calendar for booking skill exchange sessions
• VideoUpload: Interface for uploading tutorial videos
• Transactions: SkillPoints transaction history
• JobPostings: Job board with posting and application features

Backend API Endpoints

• Auth: /api/auth/register, /api/auth/login
• Search: /api/search
• Schedule: /api/schedule
• Videos: /api/videos/upload, /api/videos
• Protected routes require JWT Authentication
• Admin routes require Admin role

Configuration

The application can be configured using environment variables in a .env file:

# Database Configuration
DB_DRIVER=postgres
DB_SOURCE=host=db port=5432 user=techie password=techiestrongpassword dbname=skillswap_db sslmode=disable

# Backend Configuration
JWT_SECRET=your_secret_key_should_be_long_and_secure_in_production
SERVER_PORT=8080

# Frontend Configuration
VUE_APP_API_URL=http://backend:8080

Security Considerations

CORS Configuration

The application uses CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) to control which domains can access the API. For security:

• In production environments (APP_ENV=production), CORS_ALLOW_ALL is always set to false regardless of configuration.
• When deploying to production, configure CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS with a comma-separated list of specific allowed domains.
• Example secure configuration:

  APP_ENV=production
  CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=https://your-production-domain.com,https://admin.your-production-domain.com
  CORS_ALLOW_ALL=false
  

JWT Security

• Always use a strong, randomly generated JWT_SECRET in production.
• JWT tokens have a 24-hour expiration time.

Code Quality

Formatting

Frontend

The frontend uses Prettier for code formatting. To format your code:

cd frontend
npm run format

Backend

The backend uses gofmt for code formatting. To format your Go code:

cd backend
go fmt ./...

Linting

Frontend

ESLint is used for linting the Vue.js code. To run the linter:

cd frontend
npm run lint

Backend

For the Go backend, you can use:

cd backend
go vet ./...

Testing

Frontend

cd frontend
npm test

Backend

cd backend
go test ./...