SwapSkill - Skill Exchange Platform

Team Lead: Saniya Vaghani
Email: [email protected]

A modern MERN stack application that enables users to exchange skills through a collaborative platform. Users can offer their expertise and request skills from others, creating a community-driven learning ecosystem.

📋 Table of Contents

• Overview
• Features
• Tech Stack
• Prerequisites
• Installation
• Configuration
• Usage
• API Endpoints
• Project Structure
• Contributing
• Contact

🎯 Overview

SwapSkill is a full-stack web application built with the MERN (MongoDB, Express.js, React.js, Node.js) stack. The platform facilitates skill exchange between users, allowing them to offer their expertise and request skills from others in the community.

✨ Features

User Management

• 🔐 User registration and authentication with JWT
• 👤 Public and private user profiles
• 🛡️ Secure password hashing with bcrypt
• 🔒 Protected routes and middleware

Skill Management

• 📝 Create and manage skill listings
• 🔍 Advanced skill search and filtering
• 📊 Skill categories and descriptions
• ⭐ Skill ratings and reviews

Swap System

• 🤝 Request skill swaps from other users
• ✅ Accept, reject, or cancel swap requests
• 📈 Track swap history and status
• 💬 In-app messaging system

Admin Features

• 👨‍💼 Comprehensive admin panel
• 🚫 User management (ban/unban)
• ✅ Skill approval system
• 📊 Platform analytics and reports
• 📢 Platform-wide messaging

Real-time Features

• 🔔 Real-time notifications
• 💬 Live messaging with Socket.io
• 📱 Responsive design for mobile and desktop

🛠️ Tech Stack

Backend

• Node.js - Runtime environment
• Express.js - Web framework
• MongoDB - Database
• Mongoose - ODM for MongoDB
• JWT - Authentication
• Socket.io - Real-time communication
• Multer - File upload handling
• bcryptjs - Password hashing
• Express-validator - Input validation

Frontend

• React.js - UI library
• Material-UI - Component library
• React Router - Client-side routing
• Socket.io-client - Real-time client
• Axios - HTTP client

📋 Prerequisites

Before running this application, make sure you have the following installed:

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• npm (v6 or higher)
• MongoDB (v4.4 or higher)

🚀 Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd SkillSwap2

2. Install backend dependencies

   cd backend
   npm install

3. Install frontend dependencies

   cd ../frontend
   npm install

⚙️ Configuration

1. Create environment file

   cd backend
   cp .env.example .env

2. Configure environment variables

   MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/skillswap
   JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_key_here
   PORT=5000
   NODE_ENV=development

3. Start MongoDB service

   # On Windows
   net start MongoDB
   
   # On macOS/Linux
   sudo systemctl start mongod

🏃‍♂️ Usage

Development Mode

1. Start the backend server

   cd backend
   npm run dev

   The backend will run on http://localhost:5000

2. Start the frontend application

   cd frontend
   npm start

   The frontend will run on http://localhost:3000

Production Mode

1. Build the frontend

   cd frontend
   npm run build

2. Start production server

   cd backend
   npm start

🔌 API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /api/auth/register - User registration
• POST /api/auth/login - User login
• GET /api/auth/profile - Get user profile

Skills

• GET /api/skills - Get all skills
• POST /api/skills - Create new skill
• PUT /api/skills/:id - Update skill
• DELETE /api/skills/:id - Delete skill

Swaps

• GET /api/swaps - Get user swaps
• POST /api/swaps - Create swap request
• PUT /api/swaps/:id - Update swap status

Admin

• GET /api/admin/users - Get all users
• PUT /api/admin/users/:id/ban - Ban user
• GET /api/admin/reports - Get platform reports

📁 Project Structure

SkillSwap2/
├── backend/
│   ├── controllers/     # Route controllers
│   ├── middleware/      # Custom middleware
│   ├── models/         # MongoDB models
│   ├── routes/         # API routes
│   ├── uploads/        # File uploads
│   ├── utils/          # Utility functions
│   └── app.js          # Main server file
├── frontend/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── api/        # API service functions
│   │   ├── components/ # Reusable components
│   │   ├── context/    # React context
│   │   ├── pages/      # Page components
│   │   └── utils/      # Utility functions
│   └── public/         # Static files
└── README.md

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request