Documentation

JGEC Alumni Association Platform

Welcome to the JGEC Alumni Association platform repository. This project consists of a main public-facing frontend, an admin dashboard, and a robust Node.js backend. The entire stack is containerized using Docker for seamless local development and production deployment.

🏗️ Architecture & Services

The platform is a monolithic repository containing three primary services:

• Jgec-Alumni-Frontend: The main public website for alumni, built with Next.js, Tailwind CSS, and shadcn/ui.
• Jgec-alumni-admin: The administrative dashboard for managing alumni data, built with Next.js.
• Jgec_Alumni_Backend: The core API server, built with Node.js, Express, and Prisma (ORM).
• Database & Cache: Relies on a MySQL database and a Redis instance for caching.

📖 API Documentation

The backend provides comprehensive Swagger API documentation for all endpoints:

• Local (Development): http://localhost:8000/api-docs
• Production: https://backend.jgecalumni.in/api-docs

📁 File Structure

jgec-alumni/
├── Jgec-Alumni-Frontend/      # Next.js Public Frontend
│   ├── src/                   # Source code (pages, components, styles)
│   ├── public/                # Static assets
│   ├── next.config.mjs        # Next.js configuration
│   └── tailwind.config.ts     # Tailwind CSS configuration
├── Jgec-alumni-admin/         # Next.js Admin Dashboard
│   ├── src/                   # Source code
│   ├── public/                # Static assets
│   └── next.config.mjs        # Next.js configuration
├── Jgec_Alumni_Backend/       # Node.js/Express API Backend
│   ├── prisma/                # Prisma schema and migrations
│   ├── src/controller/        # API Controllers
│   ├── src/router/            # API Routes
│   ├── src/middleware/        # Custom middlewares
│   └── index.ts               # Application entry point
├── docker-compose.yml         # Docker Compose for Local Development
├── docker-compose.prod.yml    # Docker Compose for Production
├── .env                       # Environment Variables (Secrets)
└── README.md                  # Project Documentation

⚙️ Environment Variables (.env)

You need a .env file at the root of the project. Below is the list of required variables. Do not commit actual secrets to version control.

# Database Configuration
DATABASE_URL="mysql://<user>:<password>@<host>:<port>/<db_name>"

# Authentication
JWT_SECRET="your_jwt_secret_key"

# CORS & URLs
FORNTEND_URI_DEV="http://localhost:4000"
FORNTEND_URI_PROD="https://admin.jgecalumni.in"
FORNTEND_URI_MAIN="https://jgecalumni.in"
FORNTEND_URI_MAIN_TWO="https://www.jgecalumni.in"
FORNTEND_URI_ADMIN_DEV="http://localhost:3000"

# Email Configuration (Nodemailer)
EMAIL_USERNAME="your_email@gmail.com"
EMAIL_PASSWORD="your_app_password"
MONEY_EMAIL="receipt_email@gmail.com"
MONEY_PASSWORD="receipt_app_password"

# Cloudinary (Image Storage)
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME="your_cloud_name"
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY="your_api_key"
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET="your_api_secret"

# Initial Admin Credentials
ADMIN_EMAIL="admin@example.com"
ADMIN_PASSWORD="admin_password"

# Google Sheets / Service Account (Frontend envs)
CLIENT_EMAIL="service-account@..."
CLIENT_ID="your_client_id"
PRIVATE_KEY="-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----\n...\n-----END PRIVATE KEY-----\n"
SPREADSHEET_ID="your_spreadsheet_id"

# Application URLs & Configs
NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL="/v1/api"
NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL="http://localhost:8000"
INTERNAL_BACKEND_URL="http://backend:8000"
REDIS_URL="redis://redis:6379"
GENERATE_SOURCEMAP="false"
GITHUB_REPOSITORY_LOWER="jgecalumni/jgec-alumni"

(Note: The Next.js apps receive NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL and NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL as build arguments via Docker Compose.)

🚀 How to Run (Local Development)

The easiest way to run the entire stack locally is using Docker Compose.

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose
• Make sure ports 3000, 4000, 8000, and 6379 are free on your local machine.

Steps

1. Clone the repository and navigate to the project root:

   cd jgec-alumni

2. Create the .env file in the root directory and fill it with your development values (as shown above).
3. Start the containers using the local Docker Compose file:

   docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml up --build

4. Access the Applications:
   • Frontend: http://localhost:4000
   • Admin Dashboard: http://localhost:3000
   • Backend API: http://localhost:8000
   • Redis: localhost:6379

🌍 How to Run (Production)

For production, the deployment uses docker-compose.prod.yml, which pulls pre-built Docker images from GitHub Container Registry (GHCR) instead of building them from source on the server.

Steps

1. Server Setup: Ensure Docker and Docker Compose are installed on your production server.
2. Transfer Files: Copy the docker-compose.prod.yml and your production .env file to the server.
3. Authenticate with GHCR (if images are private):

   echo $CR_PAT | docker login ghcr.io -u YOUR_GITHUB_USERNAME --password-stdin

4. Start the Services:

   docker-compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d

5. Reverse Proxy & SSL: It is highly recommended to put an NGINX reverse proxy in front of ports 3000, 4000, and 8000 to handle SSL (HTTPS) termination.

🛠️ Manual Setup (Without Docker)

If you prefer to run services individually without Docker:

1. Backend:

   cd Jgec_Alumni_Backend
   npm install # or pnpm install / yarn install
   npx prisma generate
   npm run dev

2. Frontend:

   cd Jgec-Alumni-Frontend
   npm install
   npm run dev

3. Admin:

   cd Jgec-alumni-admin
   npm install
   npm run dev

(Note: You will also need to have a Redis instance and MySQL database running locally and update your .env accordingly).