Petlyst Web

Senior Project — Developed as part of the two-semester Senior Project course. Ranked 3rd in the department graduation project competition.

Project Advisor:
Prof. Dr. Oumout Chouseinoglou

Web platform for Petlyst — a system connecting pet owners, veterinarians, and clinics. Includes appointment booking, clinic management, hospitalization tracking, inventory, medical examinations, and reviews.

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React 18 + TypeScript + Vite, Redux Toolkit, Tailwind CSS, Axios
• Backend: Node.js + Express, PostgreSQL (pg), JWT auth, AWS S3 (image storage), Nodemailer (SMTP)
• Other: AES-256-CBC encryption for sensitive fields (e.g. TC identity numbers), Expo push notifications

Repository Layout

backend/petlyst-webapp-backend/   Express API server
frontend/petlyst-webapp-frontend/ React + Vite client

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• PostgreSQL 14+
• An AWS S3 bucket (for image uploads)
• A Google Maps Platform API key
• (Optional) An SMTP account for password-reset / verification emails

1. Clone

git clone https://github.com/<your-account>/Petlyst-Web.git
cd Petlyst-Web

2. Backend setup

cd backend/petlyst-webapp-backend
cp .env.example .env
# Fill in real values in .env (DB credentials, JWT_SECRET, ENCRYPTION_KEY, AWS, SMTP, etc.)
npm install
npm start

The API listens on http://localhost:3000 by default.

ENCRYPTION_KEY is required and must be exactly 32 characters (AES-256). The server will refuse to start without it.

3. Frontend setup

cd frontend/petlyst-webapp-frontend
cp .env.example .env
# Fill in VITE_API_URL and VITE_GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY
npm install
npm run dev

The dev server runs on http://localhost:5173 and proxies /api to the backend.

4. Database

Schema bootstrapping is handled by the running backend (it auto-creates / migrates several columns on startup). For new installs you will need to create the database manually and run any migrations under backend/petlyst-webapp-backend/scripts/.

Environment Variables

See backend/petlyst-webapp-backend/.env.example and frontend/petlyst-webapp-frontend/.env.example for the full list.

Real .env files are git-ignored. Never commit credentials.

Encryption Notes

Sensitive identifiers (e.g. veterinarian TC numbers) are encrypted at rest with AES-256-CBC using ENCRYPTION_KEY from the environment. See backend/petlyst-webapp-backend/utils/encryption.js.

If you rotate ENCRYPTION_KEY, existing ciphertexts will become unreadable — re-encrypt them with the new key before swapping.

Roadmap

Planned post-launch improvements (CI, component decomposition, API client consolidation, logging discipline, smoke tests) are tracked in ROADMAP.md.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.