Vouch

Vouch is a social travel app where you document places you've been through photo-based "postcards" — each one tied to a location, rating, and short description. You can group postcards into trips and folders, follow friends, and explore what other people are vouching for.

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Project Structure

backend/

Node.js + Express API written in TypeScript. Handles authentication, all business logic, and talks directly to a PostgreSQL database using raw SQL (no ORM). Photos are stored in AWS S3 and served through CloudFront.

cd backend
cp .env.example .env   # fill in your Postgres config, JWT_SECRET, and AWS credentials
npm install
npm run dev            # starts dev server on port 3000

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frontend/

React Native app built with Expo SDK 54 and Expo Router for file-based navigation. Communicates with the backend over a REST API and uses AsyncStorage for persisting the auth token locally.

cd frontend
cp .env.example .env   # set EXPO_PUBLIC_API_URL to your backend's address
npm install
npm start              # opens Expo dev server — scan QR with Expo Go on your phone

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infrastructure/

AWS CDK v2 stack written in TypeScript that provisions the full cloud infrastructure: S3 + CloudFront for photo storage and delivery, and a VPC with EC2 (backend API server) and RDS PostgreSQL (private subnet) for compute and data.

cd infrastructure
cp .env.example .env   # set your AWS account ID and region
npm install
npx cdk deploy         # deploys AWS resources

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Getting Started

The fastest way to get the full stack running locally:

1. Clone the repo

   git clone <repo-url>
   cd Vouch

2. Set up the backend

   cd backend
   cp .env.example .env    # edit with your Postgres credentials and JWT_SECRET
   npm install
   npm run db:reset        # creates tables and seeds with sample data
   npm run dev

3. Set up the frontend (in a new terminal)

   cd frontend
   cp .env.example .env    # set EXPO_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://<your-local-ip>:3000
   npm install
   npm start

4. Open the app — download Expo Go on your phone and scan the QR code, or press i for iOS simulator / a for Android emulator.

Seed accounts all use the password password123.