Backend

🎓 GATE & UGC NET Practice Platform - Backend

RESTful API server for the GATE and UGC NET Practice Platform

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📌 Overview

The Backend module is a Node.js/Express REST API server that handles all business logic, authentication, and database operations for the platform. It provides secure endpoints for both student and admin functionality.

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✨ Features

• 🔐 Authentication - JWT-based user and admin authentication
• 👤 User Management - Registration, login, profile management
• 📝 Test Management - CRUD operations for tests and questions
• 📊 Results Tracking - Store and retrieve test results
• 📈 Statistics - User performance analytics
• 🛡️ Security - Password hashing with bcrypt

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🏗️ Project Structure

Backend/
├── config/
│   └── connectDB.js         # MongoDB connection configuration
├── controllers/
│   ├── adminController.js   # Admin authentication and management logic
│   ├── authController.js    # User authentication logic
│   ├── testController.js    # Test management and submission logic
│   └── userController.js    # User profile and statistics logic
├── middleware/
│   ├── adminAuth.js         # Admin JWT authentication middleware
│   └── userAuth.js          # User JWT authentication middleware (required & optional)
├── models/
│   ├── Test.js              # Test and Question schema definition
│   ├── TestResult.js        # Test result and answers schema
│   └── User.js              # User profile and authentication schema
├── routes/
│   ├── adminRoutes.js       # Admin-only API routes
│   ├── authRoutes.js        # Public authentication routes
│   ├── testRoutes.js        # Test CRUD and submission routes
│   └── userRoutes.js        # User profile and stats routes
├── .env                     # Environment variables (not in git)
├── .gitignore               # Git ignore rules
├── index.js                 # Express app entry point
├── package.json             # Dependencies and scripts
└── README.md                # Backend documentation

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💻 Tech Stack

Technology	Version	Purpose
Node.js	Latest	Runtime environment
Express.js	5.2.1	Web framework
MongoDB	-	Database
Mongoose	9.2.2	MongoDB ODM
JWT	9.0.3	Authentication tokens
bcryptjs	3.0.3	Password hashing
CORS	2.8.6	Cross-origin support
dotenv	17.3.1	Environment variables

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🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18 or higher)
• MongoDB (local or cloud instance like MongoDB Atlas)

Installation

# Navigate to Backend directory
cd Backend

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Create .env file with the following variables:
PORT=8080
MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://username:password@cluster.mongodb.net/gate-ugcnet
JWT_SECRET=your_super_secret_jwt_key_2026
ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@example.com
ADMIN_PASSWORD=your_admin_password

# Start the server
npm start
# Server will be available at http://localhost:8080

Available Scripts

Script	Description
npm start	Start the server

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🔗 API Endpoints

Authentication Routes (/api/auth)

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required	Request Body
POST	/register	Register new user	No	{ email, password, name }
POST	/login	User login	No	{ email, password }

Admin Routes (/api/admin)

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required
POST	/login	Admin login	No
GET	/verify	Verify admin token & get admin info	Admin Only

Test Routes (/api/tests)

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required
POST	/create	Create new test	Admin Only
GET	/all	Get all tests (admin)	Admin Only
GET	/:id	Get test by ID	Admin Only
PUT	/update/:id	Update test	Admin Only
DELETE	/delete/:id	Delete test	Admin Only
GET	/active/list	Get all active tests	No
GET	/attempt/:testId	Get test for attempt	User Only
POST	/submit	Submit test answers	User Only
GET	/results/user	Get user's test results	User Only
GET	/stats/user	Get user's test statistics	User Only

User Routes (/api/users)

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required
GET	/profile	Get user profile	User Only
PUT	/profile/update	Update user profile	User Only
GET	/stats	Get user statistics	User Only

🔐 Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Example
PORT	Server port	8080
MONGODB_URI	MongoDB connection string	mongodb+srv://user:pass@cluster.mongodb.net/db
JWT_SECRET	Secret key for JWT tokens	your_super_secret_jwt_key_2026
ADMIN_EMAIL	Admin login email	admin@example.com
ADMIN_PASSWORD	Admin login password	password123

🔒 Authentication

The API uses JWT (JSON Web Tokens) for authentication:

1. User Authentication: Users register/login and receive a JWT token
2. Admin Authentication: Admins login separately and receive an admin JWT token
3. Token Storage: Tokens are sent via HTTP headers: Authorization: Bearer <token>
4. Token Validation: Middleware validates tokens before allowing access to protected routes

Tests (/api/tests)

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth
POST	/create	Create new test	Admin
GET	/all	Get all tests	Admin
GET	/:id	Get test by ID	Admin
PUT	/:id	Update test	Admin
DELETE	/:id	Delete test	Admin
GET	/user/results	Get user's test results	User
GET	/user/stats	Get user's statistics	User
GET	/public/active	Get active tests	No
GET	/public/:id	Get test for attempt	No
POST	/public/:id/submit	Submit test answers	Optional

Users (/api/users)

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth
GET	/profile	Get user profile	User
PUT	/profile	Update user profile	User
GET	/profile/results	Get user's results	User
GET	/all	Get all users	Admin
GET	/:id	Get user by ID	Admin
GET	/:id/performance	Get user performance	Admin
DELETE	/:id	Delete user	Admin

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📊 Database Models

User Model

{
  name: String,          // Required
  email: String,         // Required, unique
  password: String,      // Required, hashed
  phone: String,
  college: String,
  exam: String,          // Default: "GATE CS"
  year: String,          // Default: "2026"
  timestamps: true
}

Test Model

{
  name: String,          // Required
  subject: String,       // Enum: Computer Science, General Aptitude, etc.
  duration: Number,      // Enum: 10, 20, 30, 60 minutes
  numberOfQuestions: Number, // Enum: 10, 30, 50, 100
  questions: [{
    questionText: String,
    options: [String],   // Exactly 4 options
    correctAnswer: Number // Index 0-3
  }],
  isActive: Boolean,
  createdBy: String,
  timestamps: true
}

TestResult Model

{
  user: ObjectId,        // Reference to User
  test: ObjectId,        // Reference to Test
  testName: String,
  totalQuestions: Number,
  correct: Number,
  wrong: Number,
  unanswered: Number,
  score: Number,
  timeTaken: Number,
  answers: [{
    questionIndex: Number,
    userAnswer: Number,
    isCorrect: Boolean
  }],
  timestamps: true
}

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🔐 Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Example
PORT	Server port	5000
MONGODB_URI	MongoDB connection string	mongodb://localhost:27017/gate-ugcnet
JWT_SECRET	Secret key for JWT signing	your_super_secret_key
ADMIN_EMAIL	Admin email for login	admin@example.com
ADMIN_PASSWORD	Admin password	secure_password

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🛡️ Security

• Password Hashing: All passwords are hashed using bcrypt with salt rounds
• JWT Authentication: Secure token-based authentication
• Protected Routes: Middleware ensures only authorized access
• Input Validation: Mongoose schema validation for all inputs

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🔄 API Response Format

Success Response

{
  "success": true,
  "data": { ... },
  "message": "Operation successful"
}

Error Response

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Error message"
}

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👥 Contributing

Please refer to the main README for contribution guidelines.

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📜 License

This project is part of the GATE & UGC NET Practice Platform and is licensed under the MIT License.