🔒 CodeSafe - Secure Note & File Storage Platform

A zero-knowledge, end-to-end encrypted platform for secure note and file storage

Features • Demo • Installation • Usage • Security • Tech Stack

📖 About

CodeSafe is a privacy-first web application that allows users to securely store notes and files using unique access codes. Built with a zero-knowledge architecture, the platform ensures that only users with the correct code (and optional PIN) can access their data. No user accounts required, no personal information tracked.

✨ Key Highlights

🔐 Zero-Knowledge Architecture - Your data is encrypted; we can't access it
🚫 No User Accounts - Access everything with just a code
🔒 Optional PIN Protection - Add an extra layer of security
📁 Multi-Format Support - Store documents, images, videos, and more
☁️ Cloud Storage - Files stored securely on Cloudinary
🎨 Modern UI - Beautiful dark glassmorphism design
🛡️ Server-Side Security - PIN enforcement at the server level

🎯 Features

🔑 Code-Based Access System

Unique Access Codes: Each note/storage space is accessed via a custom code (e.g., mysecret123)
No Registration Required: Instant access without creating accounts
Code Privacy: Codes are never exposed or logged

🔒 Advanced Security

PIN Protection

Set optional PIN for additional security
Server-side PIN verification (no client-side bypass)
Session-based authentication (30-minute timeout)
PIN update and removal features
Protected Operations:
- View dashboard
- Save notes
- Upload files
- Download files
- Delete files
- Modify content

Security Features

✅ End-to-end encryption for PINs
✅ Server-side authorization checks
✅ URL manipulation prevention
✅ Session-based access control
✅ Secure cookie handling (HttpOnly, Secure)
✅ HTTPS enforcement

📝 Note Management

Rich Text Notes: Store and edit text content
Character Counter: Real-time character count
Auto-Save: Save notes with a single click
Encrypted Storage: All notes are stored securely

📁 File Upload & Management

Supported File Types

📄 Documents

PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, RTF, ODT, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, CSV, MD, JSON, XML, YAML

🖼️ Images

JPG, JPEG, PNG, WEBP, GIF, BMP, TIFF, SVG, ICO, HEIC

🎬 Videos

MP4, MOV, MKV, WEBM, AVI, WMV, FLV, M4V, 3GP

📦 Others

ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, GZ, PSD, AI, Figma, Blend, OBJ, STL, LOG, DAT

File Features

Automatic Type Detection: Files are automatically categorized
50MB File Size Limit: Supports large files
Cloud Storage: Files stored on Cloudinary CDN
Organized Categories: Separate tabs for documents, photos, videos, and others
Download Protection: PIN verification required for downloads
Bulk Management: Load and manage files by type

Security Restrictions

🚫 Forbidden File Types (for security):

.exe, .bat, .cmd, .sh, .ps1, .js, .vbs, .jar, .php, .py, .rb

🎨 User Interface

Dark Glassmorphism Design: Modern, elegant UI
Responsive Layout: Works on desktop, tablet, and mobile
Tab-Based Navigation: Easy access to different sections
Animated Transitions: Smooth user experience
Real-Time Feedback: Success/error messages
Loading Indicators: Upload progress feedback

🗂️ Dashboard Features

Organized Tabs

📝 Notes - Write and save encrypted notes
📄 Documents - Upload and manage documents
🖼️ Photos - Store and organize images
🎬 Videos - Upload video files
📦 Others - Miscellaneous files
🔒 Security - PIN management and security settings

File Operations

Upload: Drag-and-drop or click to upload
Download: Secure direct download links
Delete: Remove individual files
Load: View files by category

🛡️ Data Protection

Encrypted PINs: PINs are encrypted using .NET Data Protection
Secure Sessions: Server-side session storage
No Data Tracking: Zero knowledge of user content
Self-Destruct: Permanently delete notes and all files
Privacy First: No logs, no tracking, no monitoring

💻 Tech Stack

Backend

Framework: ASP.NET Core 8.0
Architecture: Razor Pages
Database: SQL Server
ORM: Entity Framework Core
Cloud Storage: Cloudinary

Frontend

UI Framework: Razor Pages
Styling: Custom CSS (Glassmorphism)
JavaScript: Vanilla JS (minimal)
Icons: Unicode Emojis

Security

Encryption: .NET Data Protection API
Sessions: ASP.NET Core Session Middleware
Authentication: Custom authorization helper
Storage: Server-side session state

Infrastructure

File Storage: Cloudinary CDN
Database: SQL Server
Deployment: Azure (or any ASP.NET host)

📦 Installation

Prerequisites

.NET 8.0 SDK
SQL Server (or SQL Server Express)
Cloudinary Account (free tier available)

Step 1: Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/VigneshGazula/InstantNoteCrypt.git
cd InstantNoteCrypt/ShareItems_WebApp

Step 2: Configure Cloudinary

Sign up for a free Cloudinary account at cloudinary.com
Get your Cloud Name, API Key, and API Secret
Update appsettings.json:

{
  "CloudinarySettings": {
    "CloudName": "your-cloud-name",
    "ApiKey": "your-api-key",
    "ApiSecret": "your-api-secret"
  }
}

Step 3: Configure Database

Update the connection string in appsettings.json:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnectionString": "Server=(localdb)\\mssqllocaldb;Database=CodeSafeDb;Trusted_Connection=True;MultipleActiveResultSets=true"
  }
}

Or set environment variable:

# Windows
set DB_CONNECTION="Your-Connection-String"

# Linux/Mac
export DB_CONNECTION="Your-Connection-String"

Step 4: Run Migrations

dotnet ef database update

Step 5: Run the Application

dotnet run

The application will be available at https://localhost:5001

🎮 Usage

Creating a Note

Visit the Home Page
Enter a Unique Code (e.g., mysecret123)
Click "Unlock Note"
Start adding content!

Setting Up PIN Protection

Navigate to 🔒 Security tab
Click Set PIN Protection
Enter a PIN (minimum 4 characters)
Confirm the PIN
Click Lock Note

Uploading Files

Go to the appropriate tab:
- 📄 Documents for PDFs, Word files, etc.
- 🖼️ Photos for images
- 🎬 Videos for video files
- 📦 Others for archives and other files
Click Choose File or drag-and-drop
Click Upload
File is automatically categorized and uploaded to cloud storage

Downloading Files

Click Load Files in the appropriate tab
Click the ⬇️ Download icon next to any file
If PIN is set, you'll be prompted to verify it

Managing Security

Update PIN

Go to 🔒 Security tab
Enter current PIN
Enter new PIN
Confirm new PIN
Click Update PIN

Remove PIN

Go to 🔒 Security tab
Enter current PIN
Click Unlock Note

Destroy Note

⚠️ Warning: This action is permanent!

Go to 🔒 Security tab
Scroll to Danger Zone
Enter PIN (if set)
Click Destroy Note
All notes and files will be permanently deleted

🔒 Security

Server-Side PIN Enforcement

CodeSafe implements enterprise-grade server-side security:

✅ Every route is protected - No client-side bypass possible
✅ Session-based verification - Stored server-side only
✅ URL manipulation blocked - Direct access redirects to PIN page
✅ Download protection - Files require PIN verification
✅ Secure sessions - HttpOnly, Secure cookies with 30-min timeout

Security Architecture

User Request
    ↓
Authorization Helper (Server-Side)
    ↓
PIN Required?
    ↓
Session Verified? → YES → Access Granted
    ↓
    NO
    ↓
Redirect to PIN Verification

Data Encryption

PINs: Encrypted using .NET Data Protection API
Storage: Secure encryption at rest
Transport: HTTPS enforced
Sessions: Server-side only, never client-side

Privacy Guarantees

🚫 No user accounts - Anonymous access
🚫 No tracking - Zero analytics or monitoring
🚫 No logs - Content never logged
🚫 No backdoors - True zero-knowledge architecture

🏗️ Architecture

Project Structure

ShareItems_WebApp/
├── Controllers/          # API controllers (if any)
├── Entities/            # Database models
│   ├── Note.cs
│   ├── NoteFile.cs
│   └── UserContext.cs
├── Helpers/             # Utility helpers
│   ├── FileValidationHelper.cs
│   └── NoteAuthorizationHelper.cs
├── Migrations/          # EF Core migrations
├── Pages/               # Razor Pages
│   ├── Dashboard.cshtml
│   ├── Dashboard.cshtml.cs
│   ├── Index.cshtml
│   ├── Index.cshtml.cs
│   ├── VerifyPin.cshtml
│   ├── VerifyPin.cshtml.cs
│   └── Shared/
│       ├── _Layout.cshtml
│       └── _FilesList.cshtml
├── Services/            # Business logic services
│   ├── INoteService.cs
│   ├── NoteService.cs
│   ├── IFileStorageService.cs
│   ├── FileStorageService.cs
│   ├── ICloudinaryService.cs
│   ├── CloudinaryService.cs
│   └── IEncryptionService.cs
├── Settings/            # Configuration classes
│   └── CloudinarySettings.cs
├── wwwroot/             # Static files
│   ├── global-theme.css
│   └── site.css
├── appsettings.json     # Configuration
└── Program.cs           # Application entry point

Database Schema

Notes Table

CREATE TABLE Notes (
    Id INT PRIMARY KEY IDENTITY,
    Code NVARCHAR(255) UNIQUE NOT NULL,
    Content NVARCHAR(MAX),
    Pin NVARCHAR(255),  -- Encrypted
    CreatedAt DATETIME2 NOT NULL,
    UpdatedAt DATETIME2 NOT NULL
)

NoteFiles Table

CREATE TABLE NoteFiles (
    Id INT PRIMARY KEY IDENTITY,
    NoteId INT FOREIGN KEY REFERENCES Notes(Id),
    FileName NVARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    FileType NVARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,  -- document/image/video/others
    FileSize BIGINT NOT NULL,
    FileUrl NVARCHAR(MAX) NOT NULL,  -- Cloudinary URL
    CloudinaryPublicId NVARCHAR(255),
    UploadedAt DATETIME2 NOT NULL
)

🔧 Configuration

Environment Variables

# Database Connection (optional, overrides appsettings.json)
DB_CONNECTION="Server=...;Database=...;..."

# Cloudinary (configured in appsettings.json)

appsettings.json

{
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information",
      "Microsoft.AspNetCore": "Warning"
    }
  },
  "AllowedHosts": "*",
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnectionString": "Your-SQL-Server-Connection-String"
  },
  "CloudinarySettings": {
    "CloudName": "your-cloudinary-cloud-name",
    "ApiKey": "your-cloudinary-api-key",
    "ApiSecret": "your-cloudinary-api-secret"
  }
}

Session Configuration

Sessions are configured in Program.cs:

builder.Services.AddSession(options =>
{
    options.IdleTimeout = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(30);  // 30-minute timeout
    options.Cookie.HttpOnly = true;                  // Prevent JavaScript access
    options.Cookie.IsEssential = true;               // GDPR compliance
    options.Cookie.SecurePolicy = CookieSecurePolicy.Always; // HTTPS only
});

🧪 Testing

Manual Testing Checklist

Security Testing

Attempt direct dashboard access without PIN
Try URL manipulation to bypass PIN
Test file download without verification
Verify session timeout (30 min)
Test forbidden file type upload
Verify file size limits

📊 Performance

File Upload: Up to 50MB per file
Session Timeout: 30 minutes of inactivity
Storage: Unlimited notes (database dependent)
CDN: Cloudinary global CDN for fast file delivery
Scalability: Horizontal scaling supported

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these steps:

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
Open a Pull Request

Development Guidelines

Follow C# coding conventions
Add XML documentation for public methods
Update README if adding new features
Test thoroughly before submitting PR
Maintain security best practices

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

👨‍💻 Author

Vignesh Gazula

GitHub: @VigneshGazula
Repository: CodeSafe

🙏 Acknowledgments

ASP.NET Core - Web framework
Entity Framework Core - ORM
Cloudinary - Cloud storage
SQL Server - Database

📞 Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions:

Check the Issues page
Create a new issue with detailed information
Provide error logs and steps to reproduce

🗺️ Roadmap

Planned Features

⚠️ Disclaimer

User Responsibility Notice:

Users are solely responsible for the content they upload or store on this platform
The developers do not access, monitor, or control user data
Not responsible for any data loss or information leaks caused by user actions
Users are strongly advised to enable PIN protection for sensitive content
Do not upload illegal, harmful, or confidential data you are not authorized to store

📸 Screenshots

🏠 Home Page

Clean, modern interface with code entry

📊 Dashboard

Organized tabs for different content types

🔐 PIN Protection

Secure access control

📁 File Management

Easy upload and download with automatic categorization

Built with ❤️ using ASP.NET Core 8.0

⭐ Star this repository if you find it helpful! ⭐

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 46 Commits
ShareItems_WebApp		ShareItems_WebApp
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
README.md		README.md
run-app.bat		run-app.bat
run-app.ps1		run-app.ps1

VigneshGazula/CodeSafe

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