MConnect

Summary

MConnect is a working social media platform made for professionals using vanilla JavaScript.

Teammates

• @Pandazelf
• @plebaotrn

Installed Packages

• express (^5.1.0) – Serves the API and static files
• sqlite3 (^5.1.7) – Stores user data and posts
• bcrypt (^6.0.0) – Secures user passwords
• cors (^2.8.5) – Enables frontend-backend communication
• axios (^1.10.0) – Handles API calls from the frontend
• dotenv (^17.1.0) – Loads environment variables from .env
• express-session (^1.18.1) – Session management for Express
• passport (^0.7.0) – Authentication middleware
• passport-google-oauth20 (^2.0.0) – Google OAuth 2.0 strategy for Passport

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Main features

• Single sign-on
• User one-factor authentication (Username and Passkey)
• Basic posting functions (posts, comments, likes)
• User account customization
• Rich UI/UX components

Set Up Project

If using Docker Desktop

docker compose up

else

Install packages manually

npm install

Initialize database tables and create test data

npm run init

Environment Variables (.env Setup)

Create a .env file in the backend folder. This file will store sensitive configuration values for your backend server.

You will need to set the following variables:

GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your-google-oauth-client-id
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=your-google-oauth-client-secret
SESSION_SECRET=your-session-secret

Where to get these values:

• GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID and GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET: Create OAuth 2.0 credentials in the Google Cloud Console. Use the Authorized JavaScript origins and redirect URIs listed below when setting up your credentials.
• SESSION_SECRET: Set this to any random string for securing user sessions (e.g., use a password generator).

Google OAuth SSO Setup

To enable Google Single Sign-On (SSO), configure your Google Cloud OAuth credentials as follows:

Authorized JavaScript origins:

• http://localhost:3000
• http://127.0.0.1:5500

Authorized redirect URIs:

• http://localhost:3000/api/auth/google/callback
• http://127.0.0.1:3000/api/auth/google/callback

Add these in the Google Cloud Console under your OAuth 2.0 Client ID settings.

Connect to NodeJS server

npm run server

Open another terminal and connect to browser-sync

npm run serve