DriveFlow-CRM-API

REST API for the DriveFlow Customer Relationship Management System

Overview

DriveFlow-CRM-API is a robust .NET 8.0 web API project designed to provide backend services for the DriveFlow Customer Relationship Management system. It leverages Entity Framework Core for data access and is built with a clean, maintainable architecture.

Features

• RESTful API endpoints for managing customer data
• Secure authentication and authorization
• Database migrations and seeding
• Comprehensive error handling
• Swagger/OpenAPI documentation
• Heroku deployment support
• JawsDB MySQL integration

Prerequisites

• .NET SDK 8.0.407
• Git
• IDE options:
  • Visual Studio
  • Visual Studio Code
  • Cursor
• JawsDB MySQL account (for database hosting)

Installation Guide

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/DriveFlow-CRM/DriveFlow-CRM-API.git
cd DriveFlow-CRM-API

2. Install .NET SDK 8.0.407

Windows

winget install Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.8 --version 8.0.407

Or download and run the installer from the .NET download page.

macOS

# Using Homebrew
brew install --cask dotnet-sdk

# Or download the installer from the .NET download page

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

# Add Microsoft package repository
wget https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/$(lsb_release -rs)/packages-microsoft-prod.deb -O packages-microsoft-prod.deb
sudo dpkg -i packages-microsoft-prod.deb
rm packages-microsoft-prod.deb

# Install .NET SDK
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y dotnet-sdk-8.0

3. Install Entity Framework Core Tools

Run this command in your terminal or command prompt:

dotnet tool install --global dotnet-ef

4. Environment Setup

For production and deployment, use environment variables to store sensitive configuration:

# Production environment variables
export ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Production
export JAWSDB_URL=mysql://<username>:<password>@<host>:<port>/<database>
export JWT_KEY=your_super_secret_key_at_least_32_chars_long
export INVOICE_SERVICE_URL=<your-secure-invoice-service-url>

For local development, you can use .NET's User Secrets instead of storing sensitive data in files:

# Initialize user secrets (run once)
dotnet user-secrets init --project DriveFlow-CRM-API

# Set your secrets
dotnet user-secrets set "InvoiceService:Url" "<your-secure-invoice-service-url>" --project DriveFlow-CRM-API
dotnet user-secrets set "Jwt:Key" "<your-jwt-key>" --project DriveFlow-CRM-API

This keeps sensitive values out of your source code and repositories.

5. Restore Dependencies

dotnet restore

6. Apply Database Migrations

dotnet ef database update

7. Run the Application

dotnet run

The API will be available at http://localhost:5000.

API Documentation

Comprehensive API documentation is available in the API_DOCS.yaml file, which follows the OpenAPI 3.0 specification.

To view the documentation in a user-friendly format:

1. Visit Swagger Editor
2. Import the API_DOCS.yaml file

Or access the Swagger UI by running the application and navigating to:

http://localhost:5000/swagger

Database Schema

The application uses JawsDB MySQL as its database provider. The schema is managed through Entity Framework Core migrations.

Project Structure

├── Controllers/           # API Controllers
├── Models/                # Data models and DTOs
├── Services/              # Business logic
├── Middleware/            # Custom middleware
├── Data/                  # Data access layer
├── Migrations/            # EF Core migrations
├── docs/                  # Documentation
└── Properties/            # Project properties

Deployment

The application is configured for deployment to Heroku with JawsDB MySQL add-on.

Environment Variables in CI/CD

When deploying with CI/CD pipelines, set these sensitive environment variables in your pipeline configuration:

GitHub Actions

env:
  INVOICE_SERVICE_URL: ${{ secrets.INVOICE_SERVICE_URL }}
  JWT_KEY: ${{ secrets.JWT_KEY }}

Heroku

# Set config vars
heroku config:set INVOICE_SERVICE_URL=<your-secure-invoice-service-url> --app your-app-name
heroku config:set JWT_KEY=<your-jwt-key> --app your-app-name

Never commit real service URLs, API keys, or credentials to your repository.

Development Workflow

Branching Strategy

• main: Production-ready code
• develop: Integration branch for feature development
• feature/*: Feature branches
• bugfix/*: Bug fix branches

Pull Request Process

1. Create a branch from develop
2. Make your changes
3. Submit a pull request to develop
4. Ensure tests pass
5. Obtain code review approval
6. Merge into develop

Dependencies

• Entity Framework Core: Version 8.0.0
• Pomelo.EntityFrameworkCore.MySql: Version 8.0.0
• DotNetEnv: Version 3.1.1
• Swashbuckle.AspNetCore: Version 6.6.2

Contributing

Please read CONTRIBUTING.md for details on our code of conduct and the process for submitting pull requests.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Contact

For questions or support, please open an issue on GitHub or contact the project maintainers.