SIH Registration Portal website

A comprehensive backend system for the Smart India Hackathon (SIH) registration portal built with Next.js API Routes, MongoDB, Firebase Authentication, and Cloudinary for file storage

🏗️ Architecture Overview

Tech Stack

• Framework: Next.js 15 with App Router
• Database: MongoDB with Mongoose ODM
• Authentication: Firebase Admin SDK + Custom JWT
• File Storage: Cloudinary
• Email: Nodemailer (SMTP)
• File Processing: multer, xlsx for Excel processing
• Validation: Custom validation utilities

User Roles

• Team Leader: Can register teams, access team portal, submit tasks
• Admin/Evaluator: Manage teams, problem statements, assign tasks, send emails
• Team Members: Information collected during registration (no login required)

📁 Project Structure

├── app/api/                          # API Routes
│   ├── auth/                         # Authentication endpoints
│   │   ├── admin-register/           # Admin registration
│   │   └── verify/                   # User verification
│   ├── admin/                        # Admin-only endpoints
│   │   ├── teams/                    # Team management
│   │   ├── problem-statements/       # PS management
│   │   └── tasks/                    # Task management
│   ├── problem-statements/           # Public PS endpoints
│   ├── teamRegistration/             # Team registration
│   └── upload/                       # File upload utility
├── lib/                              # Core utilities
│   ├── firebase-admin.ts             # Firebase config
│   ├── mongodb.ts                    # Database connection
│   ├── middleware/                   # Auth middleware
│   └── utils/                        # Utility functions
└── models/                           # Database models
    ├── User.ts                       # User model
    ├── Team.ts                       # Team model
    ├── ProblemStatement.ts           # Problem Statement model
    └── Task.ts                       # Task model

🔧 Environment Setup

Create a .env.local file with the following variables:

# MongoDB Atlas (M0 Free Tier - Perfect for 50 teams!)
MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://username:password@cluster.mongodb.net/sih-reg?retryWrites=true&w=majority

# OR MongoDB Local (For Development)
# MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/sih-reg
# Firebase Configuration
FIREBASE_API_KEY=your-firebase-api-key
FIREBASE_AUTH_DOMAIN=your-project.firebaseapp.com
FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID=your-project-id
FIREBASE_MESSAGING_SENDER_ID=your-sender-id
FIREBASE_APP_ID=your-app-id
FIREBASE_MEASUREMENT_ID=your-measurement-id

# MongoDB Configuration
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/sih-reg

# JWT Secret
JWT_SECRET=your-super-secret-jwt-key

# Admin Registration Secret Keys (Role-Based)
EVALUATOR_REGISTRATION_SECRET=your-evaluator-secret-key
SUPER_ADMIN_REGISTRATION_SECRET=your-super-admin-secret-key

# Cloudinary Configuration
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your-cloud-name
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your-api-key
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your-api-secret

# Email Configuration
EMAIL_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
EMAIL_PORT=587
EMAIL_USER=your-email@gmail.com
EMAIL_PASS=your-app-password
EMAIL_FROM=SIH Registration <your-email@gmail.com>

🗄️ Database Models

User Model

interface IUser {
  email: string;
  name: string;
  role: "leader" | "admin";
  firebaseUid: string;
  team?: ObjectId; // Reference to Team
}

Team Model

interface ITeam {
  teamName: string;
  leader: ObjectId; // Reference to User
  members: ITeamMember[]; // Array of 5 members
  problemStatement: ObjectId; // Reference to ProblemStatement
  status: "registered" | "selected" | "rejected" | "finalist";
  tasks: ITaskSubmission[];
}

Problem Statement Model

interface IProblemStatement {
  psNumber: string;
  title: string;
  description: string;
  domain: string;
  link: string;
  teamCount: number;
  maxTeams: number; // Default: 3
  isActive: boolean;
}

Task Model

interface ITask {
  title: string;
  description: string;
  fields: ITaskField[]; // Dynamic form fields
  assignedTo: ObjectId[]; // Array of Team references
  dueDate?: Date;
  isActive: boolean;
  createdBy: ObjectId; // Reference to admin User
}

🔐 Authentication Flow

Team Leader (Google OAuth)

1. User signs in with Google
2. Firebase returns user info
3. Backend creates/updates User record with role 'leader'
4. JWT token issued for API access

Admin (Email/Password + Role-Based Secret Key)

1. Admin provides email, password, and secret key
2. Backend validates secret key and determines role:
   • EVALUATOR_REGISTRATION_SECRET → creates evaluator account
   • SUPER_ADMIN_REGISTRATION_SECRET → creates super-admin account
3. Firebase user created with email/password
4. User record created with appropriate role
5. Custom token generated for immediate login

📝 API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /api/auth/admin-register - Register admin account
• GET /api/auth/verify - Verify current user
• POST /api/auth/verify - Sync user after Google OAuth

Team Management

• POST /api/teamRegistration - Register new team
• GET /api/teamRegistration - Get leader's team info

Problem Statements

• GET /api/problem-statements - Get available problem statements
• GET /api/admin/problem-statements - Admin: Get all PSs
• POST /api/admin/problem-statements - Admin: Bulk upload PSs
• PUT /api/admin/problem-statements - Admin: Toggle PS active status
• GET /api/admin/problem-statements/template - Download Excel template

Team Administration

• GET /api/admin/teams - Get all teams (with pagination/filtering)
• PUT /api/admin/teams - Update team status

Task Management

• GET /api/admin/tasks - Get all tasks
• POST /api/admin/tasks - Create and assign tasks
• PUT /api/admin/tasks - Update task status

File Upload

• POST /api/upload - Upload files to Cloudinary

🎯 Key Features

Team Registration Validation

• Team Size: Exactly 6 members (1 leader + 5 members)
• Gender Diversity: At least 1 female member required
• Unique Constraints: Team name, member emails must be unique
• Problem Statement Availability: Max 3 teams per PS

Admin Features

• Bulk Problem Statement Upload: Excel/CSV file processing
• Dynamic Task Creation: Configurable form fields
• Team Status Management: Update registration status
• Email Notifications: Automated emails for registration/tasks

Security & Validation

• Firebase Authentication: Secure token-based auth
• Input Sanitization: All user inputs validated and sanitized
• File Upload Security: Type and size validation
• Rate Limiting: Built-in protection (can be added)

📧 Email Notifications

Registration Confirmation

Sent automatically when team registers successfully:

• Team details confirmation
• Problem statement information
• Next steps guidance

Task Assignment

Sent when admin assigns tasks to teams:

• Task title and description
• Due date (if specified)
• Portal login instructions

📊 Problem Statement Management

Excel Template Format

| psNumber | title | description | domain | link | maxTeams |
|----------|-------|-------------|--------|------|----------|
| SIH001   | ...   | ...         | ...    | ...  | 3        |

Bulk Upload Process

1. Admin downloads template from /api/admin/problem-statements/template
2. Fills in problem statement data
3. Uploads via admin panel
4. System validates and imports data
5. Duplicate detection and error reporting

🔧 Development Setup

1. Clone and Install

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd sih-reg
   npm install

2. Environment Configuration

   • Copy .env.example to .env.local
   • Update all environment variables

3. Firebase Setup

   • Create Firebase project
   • Enable Authentication (Google Sign-In, Email/Password)
   • Download service account key
   • Place in lib/firebase-admin-key.json

4. MongoDB Setup

   • Install MongoDB locally or use MongoDB Atlas
   • Update MONGODB_URI in environment

5. Cloudinary Setup

   • Create Cloudinary account
   • Get API credentials
   • Update environment variables

6. Start Development Server

   npm run dev

🚀 Production Deployment

Environment Variables

Ensure all production environment variables are properly configured:

• Strong JWT secrets
• Production MongoDB connection string
• Verified email SMTP settings
• Cloudinary production credentials

Security Considerations

• Use HTTPS in production
• Implement rate limiting
• Regular security audits
• Monitor file upload sizes
• Validate all user inputs

🧪 Testing

API Testing

# Test admin registration (evaluator)
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/admin/register \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"Evaluator","email":"evaluator@test.com","password":"password","secretKey":"your-evaluator-secret"}'

# Test admin registration (super-admin)
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/admin/register \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"Super Admin","email":"admin@test.com","password":"password","secretKey":"your-super-admin-secret"}'

# Test problem statements
curl http://localhost:3000/api/problem-statements

Database Testing

• Use MongoDB Compass for database inspection
• Test data validation rules
• Verify indexes are created properly

📈 Monitoring & Logging

Application Logs

• All API endpoints include error logging
• User authentication events logged
• File upload activities tracked

Database Monitoring

• Connection status monitoring
• Query performance tracking
• Index usage analysis

🔄 Future Enhancements

• Real-time Notifications: WebSocket implementation
• Advanced Analytics: Team performance metrics
• Mobile App Support: API optimization for mobile
• Caching Layer: Redis implementation for better performance
• Advanced Security: Rate limiting, DDoS protection
• Backup System: Automated database backups

🤝 Contributing

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

📜 License

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

📞 Support

For support, email support@sih-portal.com or create an issue in the repository.

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Built with ❤️ for Smart India Hackathon 2025