BrainStack

A full‑stack knowledge hub for organizing and sharing notes, links and collections.
Frontend is a Vite + React + TypeScript app (BrainStack UI). Backend is an Express + TypeScript API with MongoDB (Mongoose).

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Demo / Purpose

This project provides:

• Personal knowledge management (notes, links, tags)
• User auth (signup / signin / verify)
• Simple content creation modal (title, optional link, description)
• Role for both local MongoDB and MongoDB Atlas

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Quickstart

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• pnpm recommended (npm/yarn ok)
• MongoDB (local mongod or MongoDB Atlas)

Clone

git clone <repo-url> mind-stack
cd mind-stack

Backend (dev)

cd backend
cp .env.example .env     # then edit .env
pnpm install             # or npm install
pnpm run dev             # or npm run dev

Frontend (dev)

cd frontend
cp .env.example .env     # if present
pnpm install             # or npm install
pnpm run dev             # or npm run dev
# open http://localhost:5173 (Vite default)

Build (production)

# frontend
cd frontend
pnpm run build

# backend (if build script exists)
cd backend
pnpm run build

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Environment variables

Backend expects a .env inside backend/:

• PORT - server port (e.g. 5001)
• JWT_SECRET - JWT signing secret
• MONGO_URI - MongoDB connection string (Atlas or local)
• FRONTEND_URL - allowed frontend origin (CORS)

Example (backend/.env)

PORT=5001
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret
MONGO_URI=
FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:5173

Notes:

• If using Atlas, allow your IP in Network Access.
• URL‑encode special characters in passwords (use encodeURIComponent).

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Scripts (top-level folders)

Backend (backend/package.json)

• dev — starts nodemon + ts-node for local dev
• build, start — may be configured

Frontend (frontend/package.json)

• dev — vite dev server
• build — build static assets
• preview — preview production build

Run scripts via pnpm or npm.

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Project structure (important parts)

• backend/

  • api/
    • controllers/ # auth and user controllers
    • routes/ # auth.routes.ts, user.routes.ts
    • db/ # mongoose connection
    • middleware/ # auth middleware
    • models/ # mongoose models (user, content, tags)
    • types/
  • .env, package.json, tsconfig.json

• frontend/

  • src/
    • components/ # UI components, CreateContentModal.tsx
    • pages/ # signin, signup, dashboard
    • lib/ # axios wrapper
    • hooks/ # useContent, etc.
  • package.json, vite.config.ts

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Contributing

• Open an issue or PR.
• Keep changes small and focused.
• Add tests for new behavior where applicable.

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