📚 BookConnect

A social networking platform for book lovers to connect, share, and discuss their literary passions

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🎯 Problem Statement

Book readers often struggle to find like-minded individuals to discuss their favorite books, share recommendations, and engage in meaningful literary conversations. Traditional social media platforms lack the focused environment needed for book discussions, and local book clubs may not always be accessible or match personal preferences.

BookConnect bridges this gap by connecting book enthusiasts based on their reading interests, allowing them to discover fellow readers and engage in real-time discussions about their literary journeys.

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✨ Key Features

🔐 Authentication & Authorization

• Secure user registration and login
• JWT-based session management
• Protected routes with authentication guards

👤 Profile Management

• Create and customize user profiles
• Add reading preferences and favorite books
• Update bio and personal information
• Manage book lists (add/remove favorites)

🔍 User Discovery & Pagination

• Browse book readers through a paginated feed
• Efficient loading with 10 users per page
• Smooth navigation between pages

🤝 Connection System

• Send interest/ignore requests to other readers
• Accept or reject incoming connection requests
• View all established connections
• Manage pending requests

💬 Real-time Chat

• Instant messaging with connected users
• Socket.io powered real-time communication
• Chat history persistence

🔎 Search & Filter System

• Search users by name
• Filter by favorite books and genres
• Sort results by relevance or alphabetically

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🏗️ System Architecture

┌─────────────┐      ┌─────────────┐      ┌─────────────┐
│   Frontend  │ ───► │   Backend   │ ───► │  Database   │
│  (React.js) │ ◄─── │ (Express.js)│ ◄─── │  (MongoDB)  │
└─────────────┘      └─────────────┘      └─────────────┘
       │                     │
       │                     │
       └──────Socket.io──────┘
         (Real-time Chat)

Components

• Frontend: React.js with React Router for navigation
• Backend: Node.js + Express.js REST API
• Database: MongoDB (NoSQL)
• Real-time: Socket.io for instant messaging
• Authentication: JWT-based secure authentication

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🛠️ Tech Stack

Layer	Technologies
Frontend	React.js, React Router, Redux Toolkit, Axios
Styling	Tailwind CSS, DaisyUI
Backend	Node.js, Express.js, Socket.io
Database	MongoDB with Mongoose ODM
Authentication	JWT (JSON Web Tokens)
Real-time	Socket.io for instant messaging
Deployment	Vercel (Frontend), Render (Backend), MongoDB Atlas

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🚀 Deployment

Service	Platform	URL
Frontend	Vercel	book-connect-frontend.vercel.app
Backend	Render	bookconnect-backend.onrender.com
Database	MongoDB Atlas	Cloud-hosted

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📡 API Overview

Public Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Description
/signup	POST	Register new book reader
/login	POST	Authenticate user

Protected Endpoints (Require Authentication)

Profile Management

Endpoint	Method	Description
/profile/view	GET	Get current user profile
/profile/edit	PATCH	Update user profile
/profile/genres	PATCH	Update favorite genres
/profile/books/add	POST	Add a book to favorites
/profile/books/remove	DELETE	Remove a book from favorites
/profile/delete	DELETE	Permanently delete user account

Connection System

Endpoint	Method	Description
/request/send/:status/:toUserId	POST	Send connection request (interested/ignored)
/request/review/:status/:requestId	POST	Accept/reject connection request
/user/requests/received	GET	Get pending connection requests
/user/connections	GET	Get all accepted connections

Feed & Discovery

Endpoint	Method	Description
/feed	GET	Get paginated feed with search, sort & filter

Chat

Endpoint	Method	Description
/chat/:targetUserId	GET	Get chat history with specific user
/logout	POST	End user session

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🎨 Features Showcase

• ✅ Secure Authentication - JWT-based with httpOnly cookies
• ✅ Real-time Messaging - Instant chat with Socket.io
• ✅ Responsive Design - Works seamlessly on all devices
• ✅ State Management - Redux Toolkit for efficient state handling
• ✅ Protected Routes - Authentication guards for secure pages
• ✅ Persistent Sessions - User data persists across page refreshes
• ✅ Search & Filter - Find readers by name, books, and genres
• ✅ Connection Management - Send, accept, reject requests
• ✅ Profile Customization - Personalize your reading profile
• ✅ Modern UI/UX - Glassmorphism design with smooth animations

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🚦 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• MongoDB
• npm or yarn

Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/bookconnect-frontend.git
cd bookconnect-frontend

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Configure environment

• Update src/utils/constants.js with your backend URL

4. Run development server

npm run dev

5. Build for production

npm run build

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📂 Project Structure

bookconnect-frontend/
├── src/
│   ├── Components/
│   │   ├── Body.jsx
│   │   ├── Chat.jsx
│   │   ├── Connections.jsx
│   │   ├── EditProfile.jsx
│   │   ├── Feed.jsx
│   │   ├── Footer.jsx
│   │   ├── Login.jsx
│   │   ├── Navbar.jsx
│   │   ├── Profile.jsx
│   │   ├── ProtectedRoute.jsx
│   │   ├── Requests.jsx
│   │   └── UserCard.jsx
│   ├── utils/
│   │   ├── appStore.js
│   │   ├── axiosConfig.js
│   │   ├── conectionSlice.js
│   │   ├── constants.js
│   │   ├── feedSlice.js
│   │   ├── requestSlice.js
│   │   ├── socket.js
│   │   └── userSlice.js
│   ├── App.jsx
│   └── main.jsx
├── public/
├── index.html
├── vercel.json
└── package.json

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to open issues or submit pull requests.

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📝 License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

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👨‍💻 Author

Built with ❤️ by book lovers, for book lovers

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🔗 Links

• Live Demo: https://book-connect-frontend.vercel.app
• Backend Repository: https://github.com/mayank-pillai-99/BookConnect-backend
• Frontend Repository: https://github.com/mayank-pillai-99/BookConnect-frontend

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⭐ Star this repo if you find it helpful!

Made with React, Redux, and lots of ☕