QUICKSTART.md

Quick Start Guide

Get your Social Media Backend API up and running in 5 minutes!

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14 or higher) - Download here
• PostgreSQL (v12 or higher) - Setup guide
• Git - Download here

Step 1: Clone the Repository

git clone <your-repository-url>
cd express-postgres-api

Step 2: Install Dependencies

npm install

This will install all required packages:

• Express.js (web framework)
• Sequelize (ORM)
• PostgreSQL driver
• JWT for authentication
• bcrypt for password hashing
• And more...

Step 3: Set Up PostgreSQL Database

Option A: Using PostgreSQL (Windows)

# Connect to PostgreSQL
psql -U postgres

# Create database
CREATE DATABASE social_media_db;

# Exit
\q

Option B: Using Docker (All Platforms)

docker run --name postgres-social-media \
  -e POSTGRES_DB=social_media_db \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres \
  -p 5432:5432 \
  -d postgres:15-alpine

📖 Need help? See DATABASE_SETUP.md

Step 4: Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root directory:

# Copy the example file
cp .env.example .env

Update the values in .env:

# Server
PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=development

# Database
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_PORT=5432
DB_NAME=social_media_db
DB_USER=postgres
DB_PASSWORD=your_password_here

# JWT
JWT_SECRET=your_super_secret_key_change_this
JWT_EXPIRE=7d

# Rate Limiting
RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_MS=900000
RATE_LIMIT_MAX_REQUESTS=100

⚠️ Important: Change JWT_SECRET to a strong random string!

# Generate a random secret (Node.js)
node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('hex'))"

Step 5: Start the Server

# Development mode (with auto-restart)
npm run dev

# Production mode
npm start

You should see:

✅ Database connection established successfully.
✅ Database synchronized successfully.
🚀 ============================================
🚀 Server is running on port 3000
🚀 Environment: development
🚀 API URL: http://localhost:3000
🚀 ============================================

Step 6: Test the API

Health Check

curl http://localhost:3000

Expected response:

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Social Media API is running",
  "version": "1.0.0"
}

Register a User

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/auth/register \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{
    \"username\": \"testuser\",
    \"email\": \"test@example.com\",
    \"password\": \"Test123!\",
    \"fullName\": \"Test User\"
  }"

You'll receive a JWT token in the response. Copy it for the next steps!

Create a Post

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/posts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN_HERE" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{
    \"title\": \"My First Post\",
    \"content\": \"This is my first post on the social media platform!\"
  }"

Get All Posts

curl http://localhost:3000/api/posts

What's Next?

🎯 Learn the API

• 📚 API Documentation
• 🧪 API Testing Guide
• 📖 Complete README

🚀 Deploy Your API

Ready to deploy? Check out:

• Deployment Guide

🛠 Development Tips

1. Use a REST Client

   • Install Thunder Client (VS Code extension)
   • Or use Postman

2. View Database

   • Install pgAdmin
   • Or use DBeaver

3. Monitor Logs

   # Watch logs in development
   npm run dev
   
   # Or use nodemon directly
   npx nodemon src/server.js

Common Issues

Port Already in Use

# Windows
netstat -ano | findstr :3000
taskkill /PID <PID> /F

# macOS/Linux
lsof -ti:3000 | xargs kill -9

Database Connection Error

1. Check if PostgreSQL is running
2. Verify credentials in .env
3. Ensure database exists
4. Check firewall settings

Cannot Find Module Error

# Reinstall dependencies
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
npm install

Quick Reference

API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/api/auth/register	Register user
POST	/api/auth/login	Login user
GET	/api/auth/me	Get current user
GET	/api/posts	Get all posts
POST	/api/posts	Create post (auth)
GET	/api/posts/:id	Get single post
PUT	/api/posts/:id	Update post (auth)
DELETE	/api/posts/:id	Delete post (auth)
GET	/api/comments/post/:postId	Get comments
POST	/api/comments/post/:postId	Add comment (auth)
POST	/api/likes/post/:postId	Like post (auth)
DELETE	/api/likes/post/:postId	Unlike post (auth)

Scripts

npm start          # Start production server
npm run dev        # Start development server (auto-reload)
npm test           # Run tests (when implemented)

Need Help?

• 📖 Check the full README
• 🔍 Search GitHub Issues
• 💬 Ask for help in discussions

Success! 🎉

You're now running a complete social media backend with:

• ✅ User authentication (JWT)
• ✅ Post management (CRUD)
• ✅ Comments system
• ✅ Likes functionality
• ✅ Input validation
• ✅ Error handling
• ✅ Security features
• ✅ Rate limiting

Happy coding! 🚀