ABC Journal

A web application for tracking and analyzing ABC (Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence) data for children. This tool helps parents and guardians log behavioral patterns, identify trends, and export data for professional review.

Features

• Multi-User Support: Secure authentication allowing multiple families to use the same instance
• Child Profiles: Manage multiple children per family
• ABC Data Logging: Record detailed information about:
  • Antecedent (what happened before)
  • Behavior (what the child did)
  • Consequence (what happened after)
  • Additional context: duration, intensity, location, notes
• Analytics Dashboard: View trends and patterns including:
  • Most common behaviors and triggers
  • Intensity distribution
  • Timeline trends
• Data Export: Export entries to CSV format for external analysis
• Responsive Design: Works on desktop and mobile devices

Technology Stack

• Frontend: React with Vite
• Backend: Node.js with Express
• Database: SQLite with better-sqlite3
• Authentication: JWT with bcrypt

Getting Started

Option 1: Docker (Recommended for Production)

Prerequisites

• Docker Engine 20.10+
• Docker Compose 2.0+

Quick Start

# Clone the repository
git clone <your-repo-url>
cd abc-journal

# Create environment file
cp .env.example .env

# Generate a secure JWT secret
openssl rand -base64 32

# Edit .env and add the JWT secret
nano .env

# Create data directory
mkdir -p data

# Start the application
docker-compose up -d

# Access at http://localhost:3100

See DEPLOYMENT.md for complete deployment documentation.

Option 2: Local Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16 or higher)
• npm

Installation

1. Install dependencies:

npm install

2. Initialize the database:

npm run db:migrate

3. Start the development server:

npm run dev

This will start both the backend server (port 3100) and the frontend development server (port 3000).

4. Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:3000

Production Build

To build the frontend for production:

npm run build

To preview the production build:

npm run preview

Docker Commands

# Production
docker-compose up -d              # Start in background
docker-compose logs -f            # View logs
docker-compose down               # Stop
docker-compose restart            # Restart

# Development (with hot reload)
docker-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up

# Backup database
cp data/abc-journal.db data/backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).db

Development Commands

• npm run dev - Start both frontend and backend in development mode
• npm run server:dev - Start only the backend server
• npm run client:dev - Start only the frontend development server
• npm run build - Build the frontend for production
• npm run lint - Run ESLint
• npm test - Run tests
• npm run db:migrate - Initialize or update the database schema

Project Structure

abc-journal/
├── client/               # React frontend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/  # Reusable components
│   │   ├── pages/       # Page components
│   │   ├── styles/      # CSS files
│   │   └── utils/       # Utility functions (API client)
│   └── index.html
├── server/              # Node.js backend
│   ├── db/             # Database configuration and migrations
│   ├── middleware/     # Express middleware (auth)
│   └── routes/         # API routes
└── package.json

Usage

1. Register: Create an account with email and password
2. Add Children: Navigate to "Manage Children" to add child profiles
3. Log Entries: Click "New Entry" to record ABC data
4. View Analytics: Select a child and click "View Analytics" to see trends
5. Export Data: Use "Export CSV" to download data for external analysis

Security Notes

• JWT Secret: Always set a strong JWT_SECRET in production environments
  • Generate with: openssl rand -base64 32
  • Configure in .env file
• Data is stored locally in a SQLite database
• Passwords are hashed using bcrypt (10 rounds)
• All API endpoints (except auth) require authentication

Deployment

For production deployment with Docker, reverse proxy setup, monitoring, and troubleshooting, see DEPLOYMENT.md.

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Submit a pull request

License

MIT