DevTracker Backend API

Express.js REST API for the DevTracker application, deployed as a Vercel serverless function with MongoDB Atlas.

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Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Runtime	Node.js ≥ 18
Framework	Express.js 4
Database	MongoDB Atlas (Mongoose ODM)
Auth	JWT (jsonwebtoken + bcryptjs)
Deployment	Vercel Serverless Functions
File Upload	Multer (memory storage)

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Folder Structure

backend-dev-tracker/
├── api/
│   └── index.js                  # Vercel serverless entry point
├── src/
│   ├── app.js                    # Express app setup (middleware, routes)
│   ├── config/
│   │   └── db.js                 # MongoDB connection (cached for serverless)
│   ├── controllers/
│   │   ├── authController.js     # Register, Login, Profile
│   │   ├── projectController.js  # Project CRUD + step management
│   │   ├── studyMaterialController.js  # Study material CRUD + upload
│   │   └── achievementController.js    # Achievement CRUD
│   ├── middleware/
│   │   ├── auth.js               # JWT verification middleware
│   │   ├── errorHandler.js       # Global error handler
│   │   └── validate.js           # Request body validation
│   ├── models/
│   │   ├── User.js               # User schema (bcrypt hashing)
│   │   ├── Project.js            # Project + Steps schema
│   │   ├── StudyMaterial.js      # Study material schema
│   │   └── Achievement.js        # Achievement schema
│   ├── routes/
│   │   ├── authRoutes.js
│   │   ├── projectRoutes.js
│   │   ├── studyMaterialRoutes.js
│   │   └── achievementRoutes.js
│   └── utils/
│       ├── ApiError.js           # Custom error class with HTTP codes
│       └── asyncHandler.js       # Async error wrapper
├── .env.example
├── .gitignore
├── COMMIT_CONVENTION.md
├── package.json
├── README.md
└── vercel.json

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Getting Started

1. Clone & Install

cd backend-dev-tracker
npm install

2. Configure Environment

cp .env.example .env

Fill in your values:

Variable	Description
MONGODB_URI	MongoDB Atlas connection string
JWT_SECRET	Secret key for signing JWTs
JWT_EXPIRES_IN	Token expiry (default: 7d)
CLIENT_URL	Frontend URL for CORS
PORT	Local dev port (default: 5000)

3. Run Locally

npm run dev

Server starts at http://localhost:5000.

4. Deploy to Vercel

# Install Vercel CLI
npm i -g vercel

# Deploy
vercel

# Set environment variables on Vercel dashboard:
# MONGODB_URI, JWT_SECRET, JWT_EXPIRES_IN, CLIENT_URL, NODE_ENV=production

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API Endpoints

Auth (/api/auth)

Method	Endpoint	Auth	Description
POST	/register	No	Create a new account
POST	/login	No	Log in, get JWT
GET	/profile	Yes	Get current user
PUT	/profile	Yes	Update profile

Projects (/api/projects)

Method	Endpoint	Auth	Description
GET	/	Yes	List projects (filterable)
GET	/stats	Yes	Get project statistics
GET	/:id	Yes	Get single project
POST	/	Yes	Create project
PUT	/:id	Yes	Update project
DELETE	/:id	Yes	Delete project
PATCH	/:id/steps/:stepId	Yes	Update a project step

Query Params: ?status=, ?category=, ?search=

Study Materials (/api/study-materials)

Method	Endpoint	Auth	Description
GET	/	Yes	List materials (filterable)
GET	/stats	Yes	Get material statistics
GET	/:id	Yes	Get single material
POST	/	Yes	Create material
PUT	/:id	Yes	Update material
DELETE	/:id	Yes	Delete material
POST	/upload	Yes	Upload a file

Query Params: ?type=, ?category=, ?search=

Achievements (/api/achievements)

Method	Endpoint	Auth	Description
GET	/	Yes	List achievements (filterable)
GET	/:id	Yes	Get single achievement
POST	/	Yes	Create achievement
PUT	/:id	Yes	Update achievement
DELETE	/:id	Yes	Delete achievement

Query Params: ?category=, ?search=

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Error Response Format

All errors follow a consistent format:

{
  "success": false,
  "message": "Human-readable error message",
  "stack": "..."   // only in development
}

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License

MIT