Quadly - University Connect

About the Project

Quadly is a university-only platform designed to solve the common problem: "It's hard to make friends in graduate school." Our platform enables students to connect based on shared interests, activities, and academic pursuits in a low-pressure environment.

Core Concept

Students can post about:

• What they're currently reading or watching
• Topics they'd love to discuss with others
• Academic projects they're working on
• Low-pressure thoughts or questions

Instead of direct messaging, Quadly's intelligent system:

• Pairs people with overlapping interests using our similarity algorithm
• Enables reactions to posts to express interest in topics
• Suggests gentle ways to connect (like "grab coffee this week?")
• Includes a leaderboard for engagement

Think of it as subtle matchmaking for friendships in the university environment.

Features

User Experience

• University-based Authentication: Secure login system
• Rich User Profiles: Share your interests, department, year, and current readings
• Interest-based Posts: Share what you're working on or thinking about
• Smart Matching: Our algorithm connects you with like-minded peers
• Coffee Chat System: Low-pressure way to schedule meetups
• Direct Messaging: Once connected, communicate directly
• Events: Discover and join campus events

Technical Features

• Real-time Notifications: Stay updated on interactions
• Similarity Scoring: Advanced algorithm to find your best matches
• Comment System: Engage in discussions on posts
• Tagging System: Categorize posts for better discovery

Tech Stack

Frontend

• Next.js 15 with App Router
• React 19
• TypeScript
• TailwindCSS 4 for styling
• Radix UI and Shadcn UI components

Backend

• Next.js Server Actions
• Prisma ORM with PostgreSQL
• NextAuth.js for authentication
• WebSockets for real-time features

Infrastructure

• Docker and Docker Compose for development environment
• PostgreSQL database
• Redis for caching and real-time features

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (latest LTS version)
• pnpm
• Docker and Docker Compose (for containerized development)

Development Setup

Using Docker (Recommended, but being updated as the project grows - might break)

# Clone the repository
git clone <repository-url>
cd quadly-university-connect

# Start the Docker containers
docker-compose up

Local Development

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Set up your .env file with database connection
# Example: DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:5432/postgres

# Run database migrations
pnpm prisma migrate dev

# Start the development server with Turbopack
pnpm dev

Open http://localhost:3000 with your browser to see the application.

Project Structure

• /src/app: Next.js application routes
• /src/components: Reusable UI components
• /src/actions: Server actions for data mutations
• /src/lib: Utility functions and shared code
• /prisma: Database schema and migrations
• /socket: WebSocket server for real-time features

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is private and not licensed for public use.