Threadline — Social Media Platform

A mini social media app built for CodeAlpha's Full Stack Development Internship — Task 2.

Features:

• User registration & login (JWT auth, hashed passwords), with an editable bio
• Post short text updates (500 char limit)
• Like / unlike posts
• Comment threads on posts
• Follow / unfollow other users
• Feed with "Everyone" and "Following" tabs
• Profile pages showing bio, follower/following counts, and that user's posts
• People directory to search for and follow other users

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Frontend	HTML, CSS, vanilla JavaScript
Backend	Node.js, Express.js
Auth	JWT (jsonwebtoken) + bcryptjs password hashing
Database	JSON file store (backend/data/db.json)

Same lightweight, zero-external-services approach as the other CodeAlpha tasks in this series — no MongoDB/Postgres to install.

Project Structure

CodeAlpha_SocialMediaPlatform/
├── backend/
│   ├── data/db.json
│   ├── middleware/auth.js
│   ├── routes/
│   │   ├── auth.js       # register, login, bio update
│   │   ├── users.js      # profiles, search, follow/unfollow
│   │   ├── posts.js      # feed, create/delete, like/unlike
│   │   └── comments.js   # post comment threads
│   ├── db.js
│   ├── seed.js
│   ├── server.js
│   └── package.json
└── frontend/
    ├── index.html         # feed + compose
    ├── profile.html        # user profile + posts
    ├── people.html          # search & follow users
    ├── login.html / register.html
    ├── css/styles.css
    └── js/                  # api.js, auth.js, feed.js, profile.js, people.js

Running Locally

1. Backend

cd backend
npm install
cp .env.example .env   # then edit JWT_SECRET to any long random string
npm start

API runs at http://localhost:5002. Health check: GET /api/health.

2. Frontend

Static, no build step:

cd frontend
npx serve .

Visit the printed local URL. The frontend calls the API at http://localhost:5002/api (set in frontend/js/api.js — update API_BASE if you deploy the backend elsewhere).

Trying It Out

Register two or more accounts, follow each other from the People page, post something, and switch to the Following tab on the feed to see posts filtered to just the people you follow. Try liking a post and leaving a comment too.

API Reference

Method	Route	Auth	Description
POST	/api/auth/register	—	Create an account
POST	/api/auth/login	—	Log in, returns a JWT
PATCH	/api/auth/profile	✅	Update your bio
GET	/api/users?search=	✅	Search/list users
GET	/api/users/:id	✅	View a profile (with follower counts)
POST	/api/users/:id/follow	✅	Follow a user
DELETE	/api/users/:id/follow	✅	Unfollow a user
GET	/api/posts?filter=following	✅	Feed (all posts, or just those you follow)
GET	/api/posts/user/:userId	✅	A specific user's posts
POST	/api/posts	✅	Create a post { content }
DELETE	/api/posts/:id	✅	Delete your own post
POST	/api/posts/:id/like	✅	Like a post
DELETE	/api/posts/:id/like	✅	Unlike a post
GET	/api/comments?postId=	✅	List comments on a post
POST	/api/comments	✅	Add a comment { postId, text }

Authenticated routes expect Authorization: Bearer <token>.

Resetting Sample Data

cd backend
npm run seed

Notes for Submission

• Push this folder to a GitHub repo named CodeAlpha_SocialMediaPlatform.
• .env is gitignored — don't commit real secrets.