Life Lessons Backend

Overview

The Life Lessons backend provides a RESTful API for managing users, lessons, and subscriptions. It handles authentication, authorization, data persistence, and payment integration.

Tech Stack

• Node.js (v20)
• Express – lightweight web framework
• Prisma – type‑safe ORM for PostgreSQL
• Passport / JWT – authentication with email/password and Google OAuth (Better Auth)
• Stripe – subscription and payment handling
• dotenv – environment configuration
• Jest & Supertest – unit & integration testing

Key Features

• User Management – register, login, profile updates
• Lesson CRUD – create, read, update, delete lessons; public/private visibility
• Favorites – bookmark lessons for quick access
• Subscription – free vs premium tier enforcement via Stripe webhooks
• Role‑Based Access Control – admin, premium, and regular user permissions
• Rate Limiting & Validation – secure endpoints with express-rate-limit and joi

Getting Started

1. Install dependencies

   cd backend
   npm install

2. Configure environment – copy .env.example to .env and fill in values:
   • DATABASE_URL
   • JWT_SECRET
   • STRIPE_SECRET_KEY
   • GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID / GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET
3. Database migration

   npx prisma migrate dev --name init

4. Run the server

   npm run dev

   The API will be available at http://localhost:4000/api.

Testing

npm test

Runs the Jest test suite with coverage reports.

Deployment

• Build Docker image:

  FROM node:20-alpine
  WORKDIR /app
  COPY . .
  RUN npm ci --omit=dev
  CMD ["node", "dist/index.js"]

• Push to your container registry and deploy to your cloud provider (e.g., Railway, Render, or Azure App Service).

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Submit a pull request with clear description and tests

License

MIT © Life Lessons Team