This is a backend server for a news application built with Express.js and PostgreSQL. The server provides API endpoints for managing news articles, topics, users, and comments. It supports CRUD operations and can be extended for various features such as user authentication, pagination, and more.

Live View

You can view the API live and view the endpoints that are available here

The frontend repository - the live demo can be seen here

Quick Tip:

For a better experience viewing JSON responses, install a browser extension like JSON Formatter

Table of Contents

• Technologies
• Installation
• Environment Variables
• Endpoints
• Running the Server

Technologies Used

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/TTibbs/be-nc-news.git
cd be-nc-news
npm install

Set up the database:

Ensure you have PostgreSQL installed locally or use a hosted database such as Supabase.

If using Supabase:

• Sign up at Supabase
• Create a new project and retrieve your database URL.

Seed the database:

• For development:

npm run seed

• For production:

npm run seed-prod

Environment Variables

Set up the following .env files for different environments:

.env.development

PGDATABASE=your_development_database_name

.env.test

PGDATABASE=your_test_database_name

.env.production

DATABASE_URL=your_supabase_database_url

Notes:

• PGDATABASE is for local development and testing.
• DATABASE_URL is used in production (e.g., when deploying to Render).
• Ensure .env.* is added to .gitignore to avoid exposing credentials.

Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api	Lists all available endpoints
GET	/api/users	Lists all users
GET	/api/topics	Lists all topics
GET	/api/articles	Lists all articles
GET	/api/articles/:article_id	View an article by its ID
GET	/api/articles/:article_id/comments	View comments on an article by its ID
POST	/api/articles/:article_id/comments	Creates a new comment on the article
PATCH	/api/articles/:article_id	Updates the votes on an article
DELETE	/api/comments/:comment_id	Deletes a comment by its ID

Running the Server and Seeding

You need to make sure you have these minimum versions of node.js and postgres in order for the project to run successfully:

• Node.js ^22.5.1
• Postgres ^14.13

To start the server:

npm run start

If you want to include more functionality and tests, you can run them with:

npm test
--- or shorthand
npm t

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This portfolio project was created as part of a Digital Skills Bootcamp in Software Engineering provided by Northcoders