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Getting Started

This guide explains how to set up and run Readr in two modes:

  1. Current Vanilla Version (v1.0) — lightweight, browser-only.
  2. Future MERN Version (v2.x) — React frontend with Node/Express and MongoDB backend.

✅ Vanilla Setup (v1.0)

Requirements

Installation

  1. Clone the repository: 
    git clone https://github.com/USERNAME/reading-log-app.git
cd reading-log-app
  2. Open index.html in your browser. No build tools, no server — just open and use.

Usage

  • Add book → Log a new book.
  • Import → Load a .json file into your reading log.
  • Export → Sace your current reading log as a .json file.
  • Data is stored in your browser's localstorage.

🚀 MERN Setup (v2.x, In Progress)

When the project evolves into a full-stack app, setup will include separate client and server steps

Requirements

  • Node.js (LTS version recommended)
  • npm or yarn
  • MongoDB Atlas account (free tier)

🔧 Configuration

Before running the MERN stack, configure your enviornment:

  1. Copy the example enviornment file:
cp .env.example .env
  1. Open .env and replace placeholder values:
  • MONGODB_URI → your MongoDB Atlas connection string.
  • JWT_SECRET → a long, random secret string.
  • CLIENT_URL → your frontend dev URL (default: http://localhost:5173).
  • PORT → port for the Express server (default: 4000). ⚠️ Important: Never commit your .env file. Keep it private.

Frontend (React)

  1. Navigate to the React app folder:
cd app
npm install
npm run dev
  1. Open the development server (default: http://localhost:5173).

Backend (Express + MongoDB)

  1. Navigate to the server folder:
cd server
npm install
npm run dev
  1. The API will run at http://localhost:4000/api/books.

📖 Documentation