Course Selling Platform Backend

About

A comprehensive backend API for an online course marketplace with separate admin and user authentication, built with Express.js and MongoDB.

Topics: course-selling marketplace backend mongodb express jwt nodejs rest-api e-learning

Features

• Dual Authentication System: Separate signup/signin for admins and users
• Course Management: Admins can create, update, and manage courses
• Course Marketplace: Users can browse and purchase courses
• Purchase System: Complete purchase tracking and history
• JWT Authentication: Secure token-based authentication for both user types
• Password Security: Bcrypt password hashing
• Input Validation: Comprehensive validation with Zod
• MongoDB Integration: Efficient data storage with Mongoose ODM

Tech Stack

• Express.js - Backend server
• MongoDB - Database
• Mongoose - MongoDB ODM
• JWT - Authentication
• Bcrypt - Password hashing
• Zod - Input validation
• Nodemon - Development server

Project Structure

course-selling-app/
├── index.js                 # Main server & routes setup
├── db.js                    # Database models & connection
├── package.json             # Dependencies & scripts
├── .env                     # Environment variables
├── .env.example            # Environment template
├── .gitignore              # Git ignore rules
├── middleware/
│   ├── admin.js            # Admin authentication middleware
│   └── user.js             # User authentication middleware
└── routes/
    ├── admin.js            # Admin-specific routes
    ├── course.js           # Course browsing & purchase routes
    └── users.js            # User-specific routes

Getting Started

1. Clone the repository

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd course-selling-app

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Set up environment variables

   cp .env.example .env
   # Edit .env file with your values:
   # DB_URL=your-mongodb-connection-string
   # JWT_ADMIN_SECRET=your-admin-jwt-secret
   # JWT_USER_SECRET=your-user-jwt-secret

4. Start the server

   # Development
   npm run dev
   
   # Production
   npm start

5. Server runs on - http://localhost:3001

API Endpoints

Admin Routes (/admin)

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/admin/signup	Admin account creation
POST	/admin/signin	Admin login
POST	/admin/course	Create new course
PUT	/admin/course	Update existing course
GET	/admin/course/bulk	Get admin's courses

User Routes (/user)

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/user/signup	User account creation
POST	/user/signin	User login
GET	/user/purchases	Get user's purchases

Course Routes (/course)

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/course/preview	Browse all courses
POST	/course/purchase	Purchase a course

Database Schema

Users

• Email, password, firstName, lastName
• JWT authentication with separate secrets for admin/user

Courses

• Title, description, price, imageUrl, creatorId
• Created and managed by admins

Purchases

• Links users to purchased courses
• Tracks purchase history with timestamps

How it Works

For Admins:

1. Admin creates account with email validation
2. Admin signs in and receives JWT token
3. Admin can create, update, and manage courses
4. Admin can view all their created courses

For Users:

1. User creates account with email validation
2. User signs in and receives JWT token
3. User can browse all available courses
4. User can purchase courses
5. User can view their purchase history with course details

Authentication Flow

• Separate JWT secrets for admin and user authentication
• Password hashing with bcrypt for secure storage
• Token-based authentication for all protected routes
• Middleware protection for admin and user-specific endpoints

Features in Detail

Course Management

• Admins can create courses with title, description, price, and image
• Course updates are restricted to the creator
• Bulk retrieval of admin's courses

Purchase System

• Users can purchase any available course
• Purchase history with populated course details
• Prevents duplicate purchases (can be enhanced)

Security

• Input validation with Zod schemas
• Password complexity requirements
• Separate authentication contexts for admins and users

Development

# Run in development mode with auto-restart
npm run dev

# Run tests (when implemented)
npm test

Environment Variables

DB_URL=mongodb://localhost:27017/course-selling-app
JWT_ADMIN_SECRET=your-super-secret-admin-key
JWT_USER_SECRET=your-super-secret-user-key

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Built with ❤️ by Sahil Singh