LeftPlot - Nigerian Political Discourse Platform (THIS IS A STRIPPED VERSION OF PRODUCTION CODE)

A modern, full-stack web application for Nigerian political discussions and debates. Built with Node.js, Express, PostgreSQL, and Redis.

Features

Core Functionality

• User Authentication & Authorization - JWT-based auth with role-based access
• Political Discussions - Create, read, update posts with Nigerian political focus
• Comment System - Threaded discussions with voting
• Voting System - Upvote/downvote posts and comments
• Polling System - Create polls on posts with multiple voting options
• Share Functionality - URL-friendly slugs for easy sharing
• Admin Panel - Content moderation and user management
• Real-time Analytics - Page views and user behavior tracking

Technical Features

• RESTful API - Well-structured endpoints with pagination
• Database Optimization - PostgreSQL with proper indexing
• Caching Layer - Redis for performance optimization
• Security - Rate limiting, input validation, SQL injection protection
• Containerization - Docker and Docker Compose for easy deployment
• Testing - Comprehensive test suite

Architecture

├── Backend (Node.js/Express)
│   ├── Authentication & Authorization
│   ├── RESTful API Endpoints
│   ├── Database Layer (PostgreSQL)
│   ├── Caching Layer (Redis)
│   └── Security Middleware
├── Database Schema
│   ├── Users & Authentication
│   ├── Posts & Comments
│   ├── Voting System
│   ├── Polling System
│   └── Analytics & Reports
└── Deployment
    ├── Docker Configuration
    ├── Environment Management
    └── Production Setup

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• PostgreSQL 14+
• Redis 6+
• Docker & Docker Compose (optional)

Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/leftplot-backend.git
cd leftplot-backend

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Set up environment variables

cp env.example .env
# Edit .env with your configuration

4. Set up the database

# Create database
createdb leftplot_db

# Run migrations
psql -d leftplot_db -f db/schema.sql

# Seed with sample data
psql -d leftplot_db -f megaseed.sql

5. Start the application

# Development
npm run dev

# Production
npm start

Docker Setup

# Build and run with Docker Compose
docker-compose up --build

# Or run individual services
docker-compose up postgres redis
npm start

Project Structure

leftplot-backend/
├── db/
│   └── schema.sql              # Database schema
├── middleware/
│   └── auth.js                 # Authentication middleware
├── routes/
│   ├── auth.js                 # Authentication routes
│   ├── posts.js                # Post management
│   ├── comments.js             # Comment system
│   ├── polls.js                # Polling system
│   ├── users.js                # User management
│   ├── admin.js                # Admin panel
│   └── reports.js              # Reporting system
├── utils/
│   └── slugGenerator.js        # URL slug generation
├── test/                       # Test suite
├── logs/                       # Application logs
├── server.js                   # Main application file
├── package.json
├── docker-compose.yml
└── Dockerfile

API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /api/auth/register - User registration
• POST /api/auth/login - User login
• POST /api/auth/logout - User logout
• POST /api/auth/verify - Email verification

Posts

• GET /api/posts - Get all posts (with pagination)
• GET /api/posts/:identifier - Get post by ID or slug
• POST /api/posts - Create new post
• PUT /api/posts/:id - Update post
• DELETE /api/posts/:id - Delete post (admin)
• POST /api/posts/:id/upvote - Upvote post
• POST /api/posts/:id/downvote - Downvote post

Comments

• GET /api/comments/:postId - Get comments for post
• POST /api/comments - Create comment
• PUT /api/comments/:id - Update comment
• DELETE /api/comments/:id - Delete comment

Polls

• GET /api/polls/post/:postId - Get polls for post
• GET /api/polls/:id - Get single poll
• POST /api/polls - Create poll
• POST /api/polls/:id/vote - Vote on poll
• PUT /api/polls/:id - Update poll
• DELETE /api/polls/:id - Delete poll

Users & Admin

• GET /api/users/profile - Get user profile
• PUT /api/users/profile - Update profile
• GET /api/admin/users - Admin: Get all users
• GET /api/admin/posts - Admin: Get all posts
• PATCH /api/admin/users/:id/block - Admin: Block user
• PATCH /api/admin/posts/:id/block - Admin: Block post

Database Schema

Core Tables

• users - User accounts and authentication
• posts - Political discussions and content
• comments - Threaded discussions
• post_votes - Post voting system
• comment_votes - Comment voting system
• polls - Polling system
• poll_options - Poll choices
• poll_votes - Poll voting records
• reports - Content moderation
• page_views - Analytics tracking

Security Features

• JWT Authentication - Secure token-based auth
• Password Hashing - bcrypt for password security
• Rate Limiting - Prevent abuse and spam
• Input Validation - Sanitize user inputs
• SQL Injection Protection - Parameterized queries
• CORS Configuration - Cross-origin request handling
• Helmet.js - Security headers

Testing

# Run all tests
npm test

# Run specific test files
npm test -- auth.test.js
npm test -- posts.test.js
npm test -- comments.test.js

Performance Features

• Redis Caching - API response caching
• Database Indexing - Optimized queries
• Connection Pooling - Efficient database connections
• Compression - Gzip response compression
• Pagination - Efficient data loading

Deployment

Environment Variables

# Database
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/leftplot_db

# Redis
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379

# JWT
JWT_SECRET=your-secret-key

# Server
PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=production

# Frontend URL
FRONTEND_URL=https://yourdomain.com

Production Checklist

• Set up PostgreSQL database
• Configure Redis cache
• Set environment variables
• Enable HTTPS
• Set up monitoring
• Configure backups
• Set up CI/CD pipeline

Contributing

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

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built for Nigerian political discourse
• Focused on local content and language support
• Designed for scalability and performance
• Community-driven development

Support

For support, create an issue in this repository.