ReachInbox Assignment - Backend Progress

Project Structure

• Monorepo with /backend (Express + TypeScript) and /frontend (Vite + React)

🚀 Manual Installation Guide

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18 or later)
• Docker and Docker Compose
• npm or yarn
• Git

Backend Setup

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/sahil-009/reachinbox.git
   cd reachinbox-main

2. Set up environment variables

   cd backend
   cp .env.local .env

   Update the .env file with your configuration:

   # Server
   PORT=3000
   NODE_ENV=development
   
   # IMAP Configuration
   IMAP_HOST=ethereal.email
   IMAP_PORT=993
   IMAP_SECURE=true
   IMAP_USER=your-email@ethereal.email
   IMAP_PASSWORD=your-ethereal-password
   
   # Elasticsearch
   ELASTICSEARCH_NODE=http://localhost:9200
   

3. Start Elasticsearch using Docker

   docker compose up -d

4. Install dependencies

   npm install
   # or
   yarn install

5. Start Elasticsearch using Docker

   docker compose up -d

6. Run the backend server

   npm run dev
   # or
   yarn dev

Frontend Setup

1. Navigate to frontend directory

   cd ../frontend

2. Install dependencies

   npm install
   

3. Start the development server

   npm run dev
   

🏗️ System Architecture

High-Level Architecture

┌─────────────────┐     ┌───────────────────┐     ┌──────────────────┐
│                 │     │                   │     │                  │
│  Email Service  │<--->│  Backend Server   │<--->│  Elasticsearch   │
│   (IMAP/IDLE)   │     │   (Node.js/TS)    │     │                  │
│                 │     │                   │     │                  │
└─────────────────┘     └────────┬──────────┘     └──────────────────┘
                                 │
                                 │
                         ┌───────▼───────┐
                         │               │
                         │   Frontend    │
                         │  (React/TS)   │
                         │               │
                         └───────────────┘

Component Breakdown

1. Email Service

   • Handles IMAP connections using imapflow
   • Implements IDLE mode for real-time email notifications
   • Parses incoming emails using mailparser

2. Backend Server

   • API Layer: RESTful endpoints for client communication
   • Service Layer: Business logic for email processing
   • Data Access Layer: Handles Elasticsearch operations
   • Worker Processes: Background jobs for email syncing

3. Elasticsearch

   • Stores and indexes all emails
   • Enables fast full-text search and filtering
   • Handles large volumes of email data efficiently

4. Frontend

   • Built with React and TypeScript
   • State management with React Query
   • Real-time updates via WebSockets

Features Implemented So Far

1. Backend Setup

• Express server with TypeScript
• Health check endpoint at /health
• Environment variables managed with .env

2. Real-Time IMAP Email Sync

• Uses imapflow for persistent IMAP (IDLE mode) connections
• Connects to Ethereal Email IMAP test account
• Fetches last 30 days of emails on startup
• Listens for new emails in real-time
• Parses emails using mailparser

3. Elasticsearch Integration

• Elasticsearch set up via Docker Compose (local, single-node)
• Backend connects to Elasticsearch using official Node.js client
• Every fetched/received email is indexed into Elasticsearch with fields:
  • subject, from, to, date, text, html, messageId, folder, account
• Type/linter issues fixed for robust, type-safe indexing

---

Next Steps

• Build backend API endpoints for searching/filtering emails
• Add AI categorization (Gemini API)
• Integrate Slack/webhook notifications
• Build frontend to display/search emails

---

How to Run So Far

1. Install dependencies in /backend and /frontend
2. Add .env file in /backend with IMAP and Elasticsearch config
3. Start Elasticsearch: docker compose up -d
4. Start backend: npm run dev in /backend
5. Backend will sync and index emails automatically