Cultures.today

An interactive web application for exploring and documenting cultures around the world through an interactive map interface.

Overview

Cultures.today enables users to discover cultures plotted on a world map, view detailed information including languages and multimedia content, and contribute their own cultural knowledge by drawing geographic boundaries and submitting culture data.

Features

• Interactive World Map - MapLibre GL-based globe with culture boundaries overlaid
• Boundary Drawing Tool - Draw custom geographic boundaries using a brush tool with add/erase modes and adjustable size
• Culture Details - View languages, phrases with audio, flags, and multimedia content
• Culture Submission - Multi-step wizard for submitting new cultures with validation
• Google Authentication - OAuth login for user accounts and submissions
• Spatial Queries - PostGIS-powered queries to find cultures at any map location

Tech Stack

Frontend:

• Next.js 16 (App Router)
• React 19
• Mantine 8 (UI components)
• MapLibre GL (mapping)
• Zustand (state management)
• Tailwind CSS 4

Backend:

• Next.js API Routes
• Prisma 7 with PostgreSQL
• PostGIS (geospatial)
• MinIO (S3-compatible storage)
• NextAuth (authentication)

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• Docker & Docker Compose
• PostgreSQL with PostGIS (or use Docker)

Installation

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Copy environment template
cp .env.example .env.local

Configure .env.local with your credentials:

• Google OAuth (GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID, GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET)
• NextAuth secret
• Database URL
• MinIO credentials

Development

# Start database and MinIO
docker-compose up -d

# Run migrations
npm run db:migrate

# Start development server
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:3000

Database Commands

npm run db:migrate   # Run migrations
npm run db:reset     # Reset database
npm run db:generate  # Generate Prisma client
npm run db:studio    # Open Prisma Studio

Production

# Build
npm run build

# Start
npm start

# Or with Docker
docker-compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d

Project Structure

src/
├── app/
│   ├── api/           # API routes (auth, cultures, upload)
│   ├── page.tsx       # Home page with map
│   └── layout.tsx     # Root layout
├── components/
│   ├── map/           # Map and drawing components
│   ├── culture/       # Culture modal and submission wizard
│   ├── controls/      # UI controls
│   └── providers/     # Context providers
├── lib/               # Database, auth, storage utilities
├── stores/            # Zustand state stores
└── types/             # TypeScript types
prisma/
├── schema.prisma      # Database schema
└── migrations/        # Database migrations

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
DATABASE_URL	PostgreSQL connection string
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID	Google OAuth client ID
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET	Google OAuth client secret
NEXTAUTH_SECRET	NextAuth encryption secret
NEXTAUTH_URL	Application URL
NEXT_PUBLIC_MAP_STYLE	MapLibre style URL
MINIO_ENDPOINT	MinIO server endpoint
MINIO_ACCESS_KEY	MinIO access key
MINIO_SECRET_KEY	MinIO secret key

License

MIT