NorthLing - Migration to Node.js + MongoDB

This project has been migrated from Supabase to a custom Node.js + MongoDB backend.

Project Structure

NorthLing/
├── backend/              # Node.js + Express + MongoDB backend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── config/      # Database configuration
│   │   ├── models/      # Mongoose models
│   │   ├── routes/      # API routes
│   │   ├── middleware/  # Auth middleware
│   │   └── server.ts    # Main server file
│   ├── package.json
│   └── tsconfig.json
├── src/                  # React frontend
│   ├── lib/
│   │   └── api-client.ts # API client (replaces Supabase)
│   ├── pages/
│   ├── components/
│   └── ...
└── package.json

Setup Instructions

1. Install MongoDB

Option A: Local MongoDB

• Download and install MongoDB Community Server from https://www.mongodb.com/try/download/community
• Start MongoDB service:

  # Windows
  net start MongoDB
  
  # macOS/Linux
  sudo systemctl start mongod

Option B: MongoDB Atlas (Cloud)

• Create a free account at https://www.mongodb.com/cloud/atlas
• Create a cluster and get your connection string
• Update MONGODB_URI in backend/.env

2. Setup Backend

# Navigate to backend directory
cd backend

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Create .env file
copy .env.example .env

# Update .env with your MongoDB connection string
# MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/northling
# or
# MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://username:password@cluster.mongodb.net/northling

# Start development server
npm run dev

The backend will run on http://https://northling-backend.onrender.com/

3. Setup Frontend

# Navigate to root directory
cd ..

# Install dependencies (removes Supabase packages)
npm install

# Create .env file
copy .env.example .env

# Start development server
npm run dev

The frontend will run on http://https://northling.vercel.app//

Environment Variables

Backend (.env)

PORT=2000
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/northling
JWT_SECRET=your-super-secret-jwt-key-change-this-in-production
NODE_ENV=development
CORS_ORIGIN=http://https://northling.vercel.app//

Frontend (.env)

VITE_API_URL=http://https://northling-backend.onrender.com//api

API Endpoints

All endpoints are prefixed with /api

Authentication

• POST /api/auth/signup - Register new user
• POST /api/auth/signin - Login user
• GET /api/auth/me - Get current user (requires auth)
• PATCH /api/auth/profile - Update user profile (requires auth)
• POST /api/auth/signout - Logout user

User Preferences

• GET /api/preferences - Get user preferences (requires auth)
• PATCH /api/preferences - Update preferences (requires auth)

User Progress

• GET /api/progress - Get user progress (requires auth)
• PATCH /api/progress - Update progress (requires auth)
• GET /api/progress/leaderboard - Get leaderboard

Activities

• GET /api/activities - Get user activities (requires auth)
• POST /api/activities - Create activity (requires auth)
• GET /api/activities/all - Get all activities (admin)

Migration Changes

Removed

• ✅ Supabase client and all related files
• ✅ @supabase/supabase-js package
• ✅ /supabase directory
• ✅ /src/integrations/supabase directory

Added

• ✅ Node.js + Express backend
• ✅ MongoDB with Mongoose ODM
• ✅ JWT authentication
• ✅ API client for frontend
• ✅ User, UserPreferences, UserProgress, Activity models

Updated

• ✅ AuthPage to use new API client
• ✅ All authentication flows
• ✅ Package.json (removed Supabase)

Development

Backend Development

cd backend
npm run dev    # Start with hot reload
npm run build  # Build for production
npm start      # Start production server

Frontend Development

npm run dev    # Start Vite dev server
npm run build  # Build for production

Production Deployment

Backend

1. Set environment variables on your hosting platform
2. Ensure MongoDB is accessible (use MongoDB Atlas for cloud)
3. Build and deploy:

   cd backend
   npm run build
   npm start

Frontend

1. Update VITE_API_URL to your production backend URL
2. Build and deploy:

   npm run build

Tech Stack

Backend

• Runtime: Node.js
• Framework: Express.js
• Database: MongoDB
• ODM: Mongoose
• Authentication: JWT (jsonwebtoken)
• Security: Helmet, bcryptjs
• Validation: express-validator
• Language: TypeScript

Frontend

• Framework: React + Vite
• UI: Shadcn/ui + Tailwind CSS
• Routing: React Router
• State: React Query
• Language: TypeScript

Troubleshooting

Backend won't start

• Check if MongoDB is running
• Verify MONGODB_URI in .env
• Check if port 2000 is available

Frontend can't connect to backend

• Verify backend is running on port 2000
• Check VITE_API_URL in frontend .env
• Check CORS settings in backend

Authentication issues

• Clear browser localStorage
• Check JWT_SECRET is set in backend .env
• Verify token is being sent in Authorization header