Neo Forum Backend

A robust, secure, and efficient backend API for a web-based text forum, designed to demonstrate best practices in modern C# backend development using Clean Architecture and CQRS.
Technology Stack: ASP.NET Core, Dapper, MediatR, xUnit, FluentValidation, SQL Server.

Introduction

This project implements the backend API for a web text forum, supporting a small number of users. The system enforces strong business rules, such as no editing/deleting posts and restricted liking behavior, while supporting features such as post creation, comments, moderation, and filtering.
The stack leverages modern .NET best practices:

ASP.NET Core Web API for HTTP services
Dapper for high-performance data access
MediatR for CQRS and application flow
FluentValidation for robust input validation
xUnit for comprehensive automated testing
SQL Server for relational storage, with extensive use of stored procedures for data operations.

Technology Stack

.NET 8 (ASP.NET Core)
Dapper (micro-ORM for DB access)
MediatR (CQRS, orchestration)
FluentValidation (input validation)
SQL Server (primary DB; supports stored procedures)
xUnit (unit, functional, and integration testing)
JWT Auth (local password-based, no external provider)
Postman (API documentation & manual testing)

Architecture Overview

Clean Architecture

The solution is organized using Clean (Onion) Architecture principles:

Domain: Core business logic and entities, independent of frameworks.
Application: CQRS handlers, validation, DTOs, interfaces.
Infrastructure: Data access (Dapper), repository implementations, external integrations.
API: Controllers, dependency injection, application wiring.

This separation ensures high maintainability, testability, and independence of frameworks/tech.

CQRS with MediatR

Command/Query Responsibility Segregation (CQRS):
All write operations (commands) and read operations (queries) are handled by their respective request handlers, mediated by MediatR.
MediatR orchestrates requests, enabling clear separation and single-responsibility of each handler.

Input Validation (FluentValidation)

All user input (DTOs) is validated using FluentValidation before it reaches business logic.
Validation failures result in structured, user-friendly errors.

Database Setup

1. Requirements

SQL Server (local or Docker)
Two databases:
- Neo (main)
- Neotest (test, used for automated integration tests)

2. Creating the Databases

You can use either SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or a SQL command-line tool:

CREATE DATABASE Neo;
CREATE DATABASE Neotest;

3. Create Tables

You can use either SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or a SQL command-line tool, Make sure you run these both on the databases created above:

CREATE TABLE [dbo].[Comments](
	[Id] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
	[PostId] [int] NOT NULL,
	[UserId] [int] NOT NULL,
	[Content] [varchar](max) NOT NULL,
	[CreatedAt] [datetime] NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED ([Id] ASC)
) ON [PRIMARY] TEXTIMAGE_ON [PRIMARY]
GO

CREATE TABLE [dbo].[PostLikes](
	[Id] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
	[PostId] [int] NOT NULL,
	[UserId] [int] NOT NULL,
	[CreatedAt] [datetime] NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED ([Id] ASC),
 CONSTRAINT [UC_PostLike] UNIQUE NONCLUSTERED ([PostId] ASC, [UserId] ASC)
) ON [PRIMARY]
GO

CREATE TABLE [dbo].[Posts](
	[Id] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
	[UserId] [int] NOT NULL,
	  NOT NULL,
	[Content] [varchar](max) NOT NULL,
	[CreatedAt] [datetime] NOT NULL,
	[IsFlagged] [bit] NOT NULL,
	  NULL,
PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED ([Id] ASC)
) ON [PRIMARY] TEXTIMAGE_ON [PRIMARY]
GO

CREATE TABLE [dbo].[PostTags](
	[PostId] [int] NOT NULL,
	[TagId] [int] NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED ([PostId] ASC, [TagId] ASC)
) ON [PRIMARY]
GO

CREATE TABLE [dbo].[Tags](
	[Id] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
	  NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED ([Id] ASC),
UNIQUE NONCLUSTERED ([Name] ASC)
) ON [PRIMARY]
GO

CREATE TABLE [dbo].[Users](
	[Id] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
	  NOT NULL,
	  NOT NULL,
	  NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED ([Id] ASC),
UNIQUE NONCLUSTERED ([Username] ASC)
) ON [PRIMARY]
GO

ALTER TABLE [dbo].[Comments] ADD  DEFAULT (getdate()) FOR [CreatedAt]
GO
ALTER TABLE [dbo].[PostLikes] ADD  DEFAULT (getdate()) FOR [CreatedAt]
GO
ALTER TABLE [dbo].[Posts] ADD  DEFAULT (getdate()) FOR [CreatedAt]
GO
ALTER TABLE [dbo].[Posts] ADD  DEFAULT ((0)) FOR [IsFlagged]
GO

ALTER TABLE [dbo].[Comments]  WITH CHECK ADD FOREIGN KEY([PostId]) REFERENCES [dbo].[Posts] ([Id])
GO
ALTER TABLE [dbo].[Comments]  WITH CHECK ADD FOREIGN KEY([UserId]) REFERENCES [dbo].[Users] ([Id])
GO
ALTER TABLE [dbo].[PostLikes]  WITH CHECK ADD FOREIGN KEY([PostId]) REFERENCES [dbo].[Posts] ([Id])
GO
ALTER TABLE [dbo].[PostLikes]  WITH CHECK ADD FOREIGN KEY([UserId]) REFERENCES [dbo].[Users] ([Id])
GO
ALTER TABLE [dbo].[Posts]  WITH CHECK ADD FOREIGN KEY([UserId]) REFERENCES [dbo].[Users] ([Id])
GO
ALTER TABLE [dbo].[PostTags]  WITH CHECK ADD FOREIGN KEY([PostId]) REFERENCES [dbo].[Posts] ([Id])
GO
ALTER TABLE [dbo].[PostTags]  WITH CHECK ADD FOREIGN KEY([TagId]) REFERENCES [dbo].[Tags] ([Id])
GO

4. Create Stored Procedures

You can use either SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or a SQL command-line tool, Make sure you run these both on the databases created above:

/*
    Author: Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spComment_Create
    Description: Adds a new comment to a post.
    Usage:
        DECLARE @Id INT;
        EXEC spComment_Create 1, 2, 'Nice post!', GETUTCDATE(), @Id OUTPUT;
*/
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[spComment_Create]
    @PostId INT,
    @UserId INT,
    @Content VARCHAR(MAX),
    @CreatedAt DATETIME,
    @NewId INT OUTPUT
AS
BEGIN
    SET NOCOUNT ON;
    BEGIN TRY
        BEGIN TRAN
            INSERT INTO Comments (PostId, UserId, Content, CreatedAt)
            VALUES (@PostId, @UserId, @Content, @CreatedAt);

            SET @NewId = SCOPE_IDENTITY();
        COMMIT TRAN
    END TRY
    BEGIN CATCH
        IF @@TRANCOUNT > 0 ROLLBACK TRAN;
        THROW;
    END CATCH
END
GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spComment_GetById]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
    Author: Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spComment_GetById
    Description: Fetches a comment by its Id.
*/
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[spComment_GetById]
    @Id INT
AS
BEGIN
    SELECT * FROM Comments WHERE Id = @Id;
END
GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spComment_GetByPostId]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
 Author: Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spComment_GetByPostId
    Description: Fetches all comments for a given post.
*/
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[spComment_GetByPostId]
    @PostId INT
AS
BEGIN
    SELECT * FROM Comments WHERE PostId = @PostId ORDER BY CreatedAt ASC;
END
GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spPost_AddTag]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
    Author: Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spPost_AddTag
    Description: Adds a tag to a post (creates tag if not exists).
*/
CREATE   PROCEDURE [dbo].[spPost_AddTag]
    @PostId INT,
    @TagName VARCHAR(50)
AS
BEGIN
    SET NOCOUNT ON;
    DECLARE @TagId INT

    -- Create tag if it doesn't exist
    IF NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM Tags WHERE Name = @TagName)
    BEGIN
        INSERT INTO Tags (Name) VALUES (@TagName)
        SET @TagId = SCOPE_IDENTITY()
    END
    ELSE
        SELECT @TagId = Id FROM Tags WHERE Name = @TagName

    -- Insert PostTag relation if not exists
    IF NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM PostTags WHERE PostId = @PostId AND TagId = @TagId)
        INSERT INTO PostTags (PostId, TagId) VALUES (@PostId, @TagId)
END
GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spPost_Create]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
    Author: Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spPost_Create
    Description: Creates a new post.
    Parameters:
        @UserId INT
        @Title NVARCHAR(200)
        @Content NVARCHAR(MAX)
        @CreatedAt DATETIME
        @NewId INT OUTPUT
*/
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[spPost_Create]
    @UserId INT,
    @Title VARCHAR(200),
    @Content VARCHAR(MAX),
    @CreatedAt DATETIME,
    @NewId INT OUTPUT
AS
BEGIN
    SET NOCOUNT ON;
    BEGIN TRY
        BEGIN TRAN
            INSERT INTO Posts (UserId, Title, Content, CreatedAt)
            VALUES (@UserId, @Title, @Content, @CreatedAt);

            SET @NewId = SCOPE_IDENTITY();
        COMMIT TRAN
    END TRY
    BEGIN CATCH
        IF @@TRANCOUNT > 0 ROLLBACK TRAN;
        THROW;
    END CATCH
END
GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spPost_Flag]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
    Author: Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spPost_Flag
    Description: Flags a post as misleading or false, sets reason.
*/
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[spPost_Flag]
    @PostId INT,
    @ModeratorId INT,
    @Reason VARCHAR(200)
AS
BEGIN
    SET NOCOUNT ON;
    UPDATE Posts
    SET IsFlagged = 1, FlagReason = @Reason
    WHERE Id = @PostId
END
GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spPost_GetById]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
    Author: Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spPost_GetById
    Description: Fetches a post by its Id.
*/
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[spPost_GetById]
    @Id INT
AS
BEGIN
    SELECT * FROM Posts WHERE Id = @Id;
END
GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spPost_GetLikeCount]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
    Author: Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spPost_GetLikeCount
    Description: Returns the like count for a post.
*/
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[spPost_GetLikeCount]
    @PostId INT
AS
BEGIN
    SELECT COUNT(*) FROM PostLikes WHERE PostId = @PostId;
END
GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spPost_GetPaged]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
    Name: spPost_GetPaged
    Description: Returns paged, filtered, and sorted list of posts with optional author/date/tag.
*/
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[spPost_GetPaged]
    @Page INT,
    @PageSize INT,
    @AuthorId INT = NULL,
    @Start DATETIME = NULL,
    @End DATETIME = NULL,
    @Tag NVARCHAR(50) = NULL,
    @SortBy NVARCHAR(50) = NULL,
    @Descending BIT = 0
AS
BEGIN
    SET NOCOUNT ON;

    SELECT p.Id, p.UserId, p.Title, p.Content, p.CreatedAt, p.IsFlagged, p.FlagReason, t.Name AS TagName
    FROM Posts p
    LEFT JOIN PostTags pt ON p.Id = pt.PostId
    LEFT JOIN Tags t ON pt.TagId = t.Id
    WHERE (@AuthorId IS NULL OR p.UserId = @AuthorId)
      AND (@Start IS NULL OR p.CreatedAt >= @Start)
      AND (@End IS NULL OR p.CreatedAt <= @End)
      AND (@Tag IS NULL OR t.Name = @Tag)
    ORDER BY
        CASE WHEN @SortBy = 'CreatedAt' AND @Descending = 0 THEN p.CreatedAt END ASC,
        CASE WHEN @SortBy = 'CreatedAt' AND @Descending = 1 THEN p.CreatedAt END DESC,
        CASE WHEN @SortBy = 'Title' AND @Descending = 0 THEN p.Title END ASC,
        CASE WHEN @SortBy = 'Title' AND @Descending = 1 THEN p.Title END DESC,
        p.Id
    OFFSET (@Page - 1) * @PageSize ROWS
    FETCH NEXT @PageSize ROWS ONLY;

END
GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spPostLike_Add]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
    Author: Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spPostLike_Add
    Description: Adds a like to a post by a user.
    Usage:
        DECLARE @Id INT;
        EXEC spPostLike_Add 1, 2, @Id OUTPUT;
*/
Create   PROCEDURE [dbo].[spPostLike_Add]
    @PostId INT,
    @UserId INT,
    @NewId INT OUTPUT
AS
BEGIN
    SET NOCOUNT ON;
    BEGIN TRY
        BEGIN TRAN

            -- Case 1: User cannot like their own post
            IF EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM Posts WHERE Id = @PostId AND UserId = @UserId)
            BEGIN
                SET @NewId = -2;  -- -2: Cannot like own post
                ROLLBACK TRAN;
                RETURN;
            END

            -- Case 2: Prevent duplicate like
            IF EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM PostLikes WHERE PostId = @PostId AND UserId = @UserId)
            BEGIN
                SET @NewId = -1;  -- -1: Already liked
                ROLLBACK TRAN;
                RETURN;
            END

            -- Insert like
            INSERT INTO PostLikes (PostId, UserId, CreatedAt)
            VALUES (@PostId, @UserId, GETUTCDATE());

            SET @NewId = SCOPE_IDENTITY();

        COMMIT TRAN
    END TRY
    BEGIN CATCH
        IF @@TRANCOUNT > 0 ROLLBACK TRAN;
        THROW;
    END CATCH
END

GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spPostLike_GetByPostId]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
    Author: Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spPostLike_GetByPostId
    Description: Returns a list of user likes.
    Returns: A list of likes per user 
*/
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[spPostLike_GetByPostId]
    @PostId INT
AS
BEGIN
    SELECT
        pl.Id,
        pl.PostId,
        pl.UserId,
        u.UserName,         -- Join to get user name
        pl.CreatedAt
    FROM PostLikes pl
    INNER JOIN Users u ON pl.UserId = u.Id
    WHERE pl.PostId = @PostId
    ORDER BY pl.CreatedAt ASC
END

GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spPostLike_HasUserLiked]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
    Author: Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spPostLike_HasUserLiked
    Description: Checks if a user has already liked a post.
*/
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[spPostLike_HasUserLiked]
    @PostId INT,
    @UserId INT
AS
BEGIN
    SELECT COUNT(*) FROM PostLikes WHERE PostId = @PostId AND UserId = @UserId;
END
GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spPostLike_Remove]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
    Author: Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spPostLike_Remove
    Description: Removes a like from a post by a user.
    Returns:
      1  = Success (like removed)
     -1 = You have not liked this post
*/
CREATE   PROCEDURE [dbo].[spPostLike_Remove]
    @PostId INT,
    @UserId INT
AS
BEGIN
    SET NOCOUNT ON;

    IF NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM PostLikes WHERE PostId = @PostId AND UserId = @UserId)
    BEGIN
        SELECT -1 AS Result; -- You have not liked this post
        RETURN;
    END

    DELETE FROM PostLikes WHERE PostId = @PostId AND UserId = @UserId;
    SELECT 1 AS Result; -- Success
END
GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spTag_Create]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
    Author : Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spTag_Create
    Description: Creates a tag if not exists and returns the Id.
*/
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[spTag_Create]
    @Name NVARCHAR(50),
    @NewId INT OUTPUT
AS
BEGIN
    SET NOCOUNT ON;
    BEGIN TRY
        BEGIN TRAN
            IF NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM Tags WHERE Name = @Name)
                INSERT INTO Tags (Name) VALUES (@Name);

            SELECT @NewId = Id FROM Tags WHERE Name = @Name;
        COMMIT TRAN
    END TRY
    BEGIN CATCH
        IF @@TRANCOUNT > 0 ROLLBACK TRAN;
        THROW;
    END CATCH
END
GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spTag_GetAll]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
    Author: Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spTag_GetAll
    Description: Fetches all tags.
*/
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[spTag_GetAll]
AS
BEGIN
    SELECT * FROM Tags ORDER BY Name;
END
GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spTag_GetById]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
    Author: Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spTag_GetById
    Description: Fetches a tag by its Id.
*/
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[spTag_GetById]
    @Id INT
AS
BEGIN
    SELECT * FROM Tags WHERE Id = @Id;
END
GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spTag_GetByName]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
    Author: Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spTag_GetByName
    Description: Fetches a tag by its name.
*/
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[spTag_GetByName]
    @Name NVARCHAR(50)
AS
BEGIN
    SELECT * FROM Tags WHERE Name = @Name;
END
GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spTag_GetTagsByPostId]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
    Author: Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spTag_GetTagsByPostId
    Description: Fetches all tags assigned to a specific post.
*/
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[spTag_GetTagsByPostId]
    @PostId INT
AS
BEGIN
    SELECT t.* FROM Tags t
    INNER JOIN PostTags pt ON t.Id = pt.TagId
    WHERE pt.PostId = @PostId;
END
GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spUser_Create]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
    Author: Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spUser_Create
    Description: Creates a new user in the Users table.
    Parameters:
        @Username NVARCHAR(50): The user's username.
        @PasswordHash NVARCHAR(200): The hashed password.
        @Role NVARCHAR(20): The user's role.
        @NewId INT OUTPUT: The new user's ID.
    Usage:
        DECLARE @Id INT;
        EXEC spUser_Create 'jdoe', 'HASH', 'User', @Id OUTPUT;
*/
CREATE   PROCEDURE  [dbo].[spUser_Create]
    @Username VARCHAR(50),
    @PasswordHash VARCHAR(200),
    @Role VARCHAR(20),
    @NewId INT OUTPUT
AS
BEGIN
    SET NOCOUNT ON;
    BEGIN TRY
        BEGIN TRAN
            INSERT INTO Users (Username, PasswordHash, Role)
            VALUES (@Username, @PasswordHash, @Role);

            SET @NewId = SCOPE_IDENTITY();
        COMMIT TRAN
    END TRY
    BEGIN CATCH
        IF @@TRANCOUNT > 0 ROLLBACK TRAN;
        THROW;
    END CATCH
END
GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spUser_GetById]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
    Author: Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spUser_GetById
    Description: Fetches a user by their Id.
*/
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[spUser_GetById]
    @Id INT
AS
BEGIN
    SELECT TOP 1 Id, Username, PasswordHash, Role FROM Users WHERE Id = @Id;
END
GO
/****** Object:  StoredProcedure [dbo].[spUser_GetByUsername]    Script Date: 2025/07/01 21:10:15 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
/*
    Author: Goldin Baloyi
    Name: spUser_GetByUsername
    Description: Fetches a user by their username.
*/
CREATE   PROCEDURE [dbo].[spUser_GetByUsername]
    @Username VARCHAR(50)
AS
BEGIN
    SELECT TOP 1 Id, Username, PasswordHash, Role FROM Users WHERE Username = @Username;
END
GO

How to Run the Project

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/Goldin123/Neo.git
cd Neo

Configure connection strings:
Open appsettings.Development.json (and/or appsettings.json) in the root or API project directory.
Replace the default connection strings with your actual SQL Server instance details for both Neo and Neotest databases. For example:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=localhost;Database=Neo;User Id=your_user;Password=your_password;TrustServerCertificate=True;",
    "TestConnection": "Server=localhost;Database=Neotest;User Id=your_user;Password=your_password;TrustServerCertificate=True;"
  }
}

Restore dependencies & build: Open a terminal in the project root and run:
```
dotnet restore
dotnet build
```
Run the API:
```
dotnet run --project Neo.Api
```

Testing Strategy

Testing is implemented with xUnit and covers:

Unit Tests

Isolated tests for business logic and validation (e.g., MediatR handlers, validators).
Mocked repositories to avoid DB dependencies.

Functional Tests

Test the HTTP API surface with an in-memory or local DB, using the real MediatR handlers and pipeline.

Integration Tests

Spin up the full stack against the Neotest database.
Validate end-to-end flows, including actual data persistence, auth, and business rules.

Run all tests:

dotnet test

Key Business Rules

Users must be registered first before posting any post via the Auth endpoints and login for a token.
Posts cannot be edited or deleted once created (enforced at both API and database level).
Users can like a post only once, and cannot like their own post.
Anonymous users may view posts, but must log in to create posts, comments, or like posts.
User roles:
- Regular users: Can post, comment, and like.
- Moderators: Have all user permissions and can additionally tag posts as "misleading or false information".
Posts and comments can be retrieved with pagination, filters (date, author, tags), and sorted by date/like count.
All input is validated for required fields, data type, and length before processing.

API Documentation & Postman Collection

A full Postman collection is included in the repository at [solution root]/NeoForum.postman_collection.json with preconfigured requests for:
- User registration and login (JWT-based)
- Creating posts and comments
- Liking and unliking posts
- Moderator flagging/tagging
- Paging, filtering, and sorting posts and comments

Refer to the Postman documentation tab for request/response examples and usage instructions.

For any issues, please open a GitHub Issue or PR.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 68 Commits
.github		.github
Neo.Api		Neo.Api
Neo.Application		Neo.Application
Neo.Database		Neo.Database
Neo.Domain		Neo.Domain
Neo.Infrastructure		Neo.Infrastructure
Neo.Tests		Neo.Tests
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md		CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
LICENSE.txt		LICENSE.txt
Neo.sln		Neo.sln
NeoForum.postman_collection.json		NeoForum.postman_collection.json
README.md		README.md
SECURITY.md		SECURITY.md

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Neo Forum Backend

Table of Contents

Introduction

Technology Stack

Architecture Overview

Clean Architecture

CQRS with MediatR

Input Validation (FluentValidation)

Database Setup

1. Requirements

2. Creating the Databases

3. Create Tables

4. Create Stored Procedures

How to Run the Project

Testing Strategy

Unit Tests

Functional Tests

Integration Tests

Key Business Rules

API Documentation & Postman Collection

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Neo Forum Backend

Table of Contents

Introduction

Technology Stack

Architecture Overview

Clean Architecture

CQRS with MediatR

Input Validation (FluentValidation)

Database Setup

1. Requirements

2. Creating the Databases

3. Create Tables

4. Create Stored Procedures

How to Run the Project

Testing Strategy

Unit Tests

Functional Tests

Integration Tests

Key Business Rules

API Documentation & Postman Collection

About

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