MindScribe

MindScribe is a blog application where users can share their thoughts via blog posts. Built using Node.js, Express.js, MongoDB, and EJS, it supports user authentication, session management, and blog operations.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Technologies
• Installation
• Usage
• API Endpoints
• Environment Variables
• Contributing
• License

Features

• User Authentication: Register, log in, and log out functionality.
• Blog Management: Create, update, delete, and view blogs.
• Public Access: Blogs are publicly accessible without login.
• Profile Management: Users can update their profiles and settings.
• Reading List: Authenticated users can manage a reading list.
• Image Uploads: Cloudinary is used to manage images for blogs.
• Session Management: Sessions are managed using connect-mongo for persistent storage.
• Dashboard: Authenticated users can access their personalized dashboard.

Technologies

• Node.js: Backend runtime environment.
• Express.js: Framework for routing and middleware handling.
• MongoDB: Database for user and blog data.
• Mongoose: ODM for MongoDB.
• EJS: Templating engine.
• Cloudinary: For managing image uploads.
• connect-mongo: Session store for managing sessions.
• express-session: Session store for managing sessions.

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/mhistiak3/MindScribe.git
   cd MindScribe

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Create a .env file in the root directory with the following values:

   MONGO_CONNECTION_URL=<your-mongodb-connection-url>
   CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=<your-cloudinary-cloud-name>
   CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=<your-cloudinary-api-key>
   CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=<your-cloudinary-api-secret>
   SESSION_SECRET=<your-session-secret>
   SESSION_MAX_AGE=86400000 # Session expiry in ms
   APP_PORT=3000

4. Start the application:

   npm start

   The app will be accessible at http://localhost:3000.

Usage

• Public: Users can view blogs without registering.
• Registered Users: Can create, update, and delete their blogs.
• Profile Settings: Users can manage their profile and settings.

API Endpoints

Public Routes

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/	Home page - View all blogs
GET	/blogs/:id	View blog details by ID
GET	/register	Register form
POST	/register	Register a new user
GET	/login	Login form
POST	/login	Log in a user
GET	/profile	View and manage profile

Authenticated Routes (require login)

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/logout	Log out a user
GET	/createblog	Show blog creation form
POST	/createblog	Create a new blog
GET	/readinglist	View reading list
GET	/dashboard	Access user dashboard
GET	/settings	View and update user settings
PUT	/blogs/:id	Update a blog by ID
DELETE	/blogs/:id	Delete a blog by ID

Environment Variables

Ensure to set the following environment variables:

• MONGO_CONNECTION_URL: MongoDB connection string.
• CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME: Cloudinary cloud name.
• CLOUDINARY_API_KEY: Cloudinary API key.
• CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET: Cloudinary API secret.
• SESSION_SECRET: Secret for session signing.
• SESSION_MAX_AGE: Session expiration time in milliseconds.
• APP_PORT: The port on which the app will run.

Dependencies

The project uses the following packages:

• bcrypt: ^5.1.1 - For hashing passwords.
• cloudinary: ^2.4.0 - To handle image uploads.
• compression: ^1.7.4 - For compressing the response bodies.
• connect-mongo: ^5.1.0 - To store session data in MongoDB.
• dotenv: ^16.4.5 - To load environment variables.
• ejs: ^3.1.10 - For rendering views.
• express: ^4.19.2 - Node.js web framework.
• express-session: ^1.18.0 - Session middleware for Express.
• highlight.js: ^11.10.0 - Syntax highlighting for code in Markdown.
• markdown-it: ^14.1.0 - Markdown parser.
• mongoose: ^8.5.2 - MongoDB ODM.

Contributing

Feel free to contribute by opening issues or creating pull requests.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

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Developed by Istiak Ahammad.