OwnerSwap

OwnerSwap: The College Marketplace

A full-stack web application where college students can buy and sell used products. The project consists of a robust Node.js/Express.js backend API and a modern React/Vite/Tailwind CSS frontend.

🚀 Key Features

Feature Area	Backend (Node/Express)	Frontend (React/Vite)
User Management	JWT Auth, secure cookies, bcrypt hashing, protected routes.	Register, Login, Logout flow with Context API state.
Product Listings	Full CRUD operations, Cloudinary image upload, authorization.	Create, edit, delete, Mark as Sold, My Products dashboard.
Search & Filter	Advanced query parameters for search, category, and price range.	Responsive filtering component with instant results.
Security	Input validation (express-validator), MongoDB injection protection.	PrivateRoute protection, client-side validation.
Design	N/A	Mobile-first responsive design with Tailwind CSS.

🎯 Current Status: Full Marketplace Complete! 🎉

All core features, including full CRUD for products, secure authentication, advanced searching, and a responsive UI, are complete.

🛠️ Installation & Setup

You will need Node.js (v16+), MongoDB, and a Cloudinary account to run the full application.

1. Clone & Install

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/SouCoder9/OwnerSwap.git 
cd OwnerSwap

# Install backend dependencies
cd backend
npm install

# Install frontend dependencies
cd ../frontend
npm install

2. Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the backend directory based on the .env.example and fill in your credentials:

Variable	Description
MONGODB_URI	Your MongoDB connection string (Atlas recommended)
JWT_SECRET	Secret key for JWT signing
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME	Your Cloudinary Cloud Name
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY / SECRET	Your Cloudinary API Key and Secret

3. Start the Servers

You will need two separate terminals to run both the backend and frontend concurrently.

Start Backend API

# In the /OwnerSwap/backend directory
npm run dev
# Server runs on http://localhost:5000

Start Frontend Application

# In the /OwnerSwap/frontend directory
npm run dev
# App runs on http://localhost:5173

📚 API Endpoints Overview (Backend)

Category	Method	Endpoint	Description	Authentication
Auth	POST	/api/auth/register	Create a new user account.	Public
Auth	POST	/api/auth/login	Log in and receive an httpOnly JWT cookie.	Public
Auth	GET	/api/auth/me	Get the currently logged-in user’s profile.	Protected
Product	POST	/api/products	Create a new product listing (supports multipart/form-data).	Protected
Product	GET	/api/products	Get all products with search and filter support (e.g., ?search=book&category=Textbooks).	Public
Product	GET	/api/products/my-products	Get the logged-in user’s listings.	Protected
Product	PUT	/api/products/:id	Update a product listing.	Protected (Owner only)
Product	DELETE	/api/products/:id	Delete a product listing.	Protected (Owner only)

🗂️ Project Structure

OwnerSwap/
├── backend/
│   ├── models/           # MongoDB schemas
│   ├── routes/           # Express API endpoints
│   ├── middleware/       # Auth/Error handling
│   └── server.js         # Main entry point
└── frontend/
   ├── src/
   │   ├── components/     # Reusable UI elements
   │   ├── context/        # Global state management
   │   ├── pages/          # Router-defined components
   │   └── services/       # API integration layer (Axios)
   └── tailwind.config.js

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

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Let me know if you’d like to dive deeper into any specific section, like the database schema or the frontend state management!