📈 StockSim – A Micro-Investment Simulator for Beginners

StockSim is a web-based stock market simulator designed for beginners to practice investing using virtual money. The app helps users learn core investment principles like diversification, long-term thinking, and risk assessment — all without the fear of losing real money.

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🚀 Features

• 💰 Start with $10,000 in virtual cash
• 📈 Buy/Sell stocks using mock real-time data
• 📰 Explore stock news (mock data)
• 📊 Analyze your portfolio with graphs & tables
• ⭐ Track watchlist assets
• 🔄 Reset portfolio via referral-based gamified flow
• 🌗 Dark/Light theme switch
• 🧠 Tutorials for investment basics
• 🏆 Leaderboard for engagement

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Youtube Demo link:

https://youtu.be/QUenLNMEdts

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📁 Scripts

• scripts/stock_data_fetcher.py – Simulates stock price data using Python
• scripts/server.js – Node.js backend to serve API routes
• scripts/historical_data_fetcher.py – Fetches historical data using Python

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🛠️ How to Run the Project

Make sure you have Python 3, Node.js, and npm installed on your system.

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✅ Step-by-Step Instructions

Open three separate terminals and run the following commands:

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🐍 Terminal 1 – Start Python Stock Data Fetcher

cd scripts
python ./stock_data_fetcher.py

🖥️ Terminal 2 – Start Backend Server (Node.js)

node ./scripts/server.js

🌐 Terminal 3 – Start Frontend (React App)

npm install   # (Run this once if dependencies are not installed)
npm run dev