🌟 Aura - Instagram Clone

Aura is a full-featured Instagram clone built with modern web technologies. Experience social media like never before with real-time messaging, photo sharing, and seamless user interactions.

✨ Features

🔐 Authentication & Security

• JWT Authentication - Secure user login/registration
• Password Encryption - bcrypt hashing for secure storage
• Cookie-based Sessions - HTTP-only cookies for enhanced security
• Protected Routes - Role-based access control

📸 Post Management

• Image Upload - Cloudinary integration for image storage
• Image Optimization - Sharp.js for automatic resizing and compression
• Create Posts - Upload photos with captions
• Delete Posts - Remove your own posts (with admin override)
• View Posts - Instagram-like feed with infinite scroll

💖 Social Interactions

• Like/Unlike Posts - Heart button functionality with duplicate prevention
• Comments System - Add, view, and manage comments
• Bookmark Posts - Save posts for later viewing
• Follow/Unfollow - Build your social network
• User Search - Find users with real-time search

💬 Real-time Messaging

• Direct Messages - Instagram-like chat interface
• Real-time Delivery - Socket.IO powered instant messaging
• Online Status - See who's online
• Message Notifications - Live notification system
• Conversation Management - Organized chat threads

👤 User Profiles

• Profile Customization - Edit bio, profile picture, and privacy settings
• Private Accounts - Control who can see your content
• Followers/Following Lists - View social connections
• User Posts Grid - See all posts from any user

🔧 Admin Features

• User Management - Admin can remove users with complete data cleanup
• Content Moderation - Comment filtering for inappropriate content
• System Monitoring - Comprehensive error handling and logging

🛠️ Tech Stack

Backend

• Node.js - Runtime environment
• Express.js - Web application framework
• MongoDB - NoSQL database with Mongoose ODM
• Socket.IO - Real-time bidirectional communication
• Cloudinary - Cloud-based image management
• JWT - JSON Web Tokens for authentication
• bcryptjs - Password hashing
• Multer - File upload middleware
• Sharp - Image processing

Frontend

• React 19 - User interface library
• Redux Toolkit - State management
• Tailwind CSS - Utility-first CSS framework
• Radix UI - Accessible component primitives
• Axios - HTTP client
• Lucide React - Icon library
• Vite - Build tool and development server

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+ installed
• MongoDB database (local or cloud)
• Cloudinary account for image storage

Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/sparshsharma81/Aura.git
cd Aura

2. Install dependencies

# Install all dependencies (backend + frontend)
npm run build

3. Environment Setup

Create .env file in the backend directory:

PORT=5000
MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
SECRET_KEY=your_jwt_secret_key
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your_cloudinary_cloud_name
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your_cloudinary_api_key
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your_cloudinary_api_secret
SPECIAL_USER_ID=admin_user_id_here
NODE_ENV=development

4. Start the application

# Development mode
npm run dev

# Production mode
npm start

The app will be available at http://localhost:5000

📁 Project Structure

Aura/
├── backend/
│   ├── controllers/          # Business logic
│   │   ├── user.controller.js
│   │   ├── post.controller.js
│   │   └── message.controller.js
│   ├── models/              # Database schemas
│   │   ├── user.model.js
│   │   ├── post.model.js
│   │   ├── comment.model.js
│   │   ├── message.model.js
│   │   └── conversation.model.js
│   ├── routes/              # API endpoints
│   │   ├── user.route.js
│   │   ├── post.route.js
│   │   └── message.route.js
│   ├── middlewares/         # Custom middleware
│   │   ├── isAuthenticated.js
│   │   ├── multer.js
│   │   └── isBlueTick.js
│   ├── utils/               # Utility functions
│   │   ├── db.js
│   │   ├── cloudinary.js
│   │   └── datauri.js
│   ├── socket/              # Real-time functionality
│   │   └── socket.js
│   └── index.js             # Server entry point
├── frontend/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/      # React components
│   │   │   ├── ui/          # Reusable UI components
│   │   │   ├── Home.jsx
│   │   │   ├── Profile.jsx
│   │   │   ├── Messages.jsx
│   │   │   └── ...
│   │   ├── redux/           # State management
│   │   │   ├── store.js
│   │   │   ├── authSlice.js
│   │   │   ├── postSlice.js
│   │   │   └── chatSlice.js
│   │   ├── hooks/           # Custom React hooks
│   │   ├── lib/            # Utility functions
│   │   └── main.jsx        # App entry point
│   ├── public/             # Static assets
│   └── package.json
└── README.md

🔌 API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /api/v1/user/register - User registration
• POST /api/v1/user/login - User login
• GET /api/v1/user/logout - User logout

User Management

• GET /api/v1/user/:id/profile - Get user profile
• POST /api/v1/user/profile/edit - Edit profile
• GET /api/v1/user/suggested - Get suggested users
• GET /api/v1/user/search?query=username - Search users
• POST /api/v1/user/follow/:id - Follow/unfollow user

Posts

• POST /api/v1/post/addpost - Create new post
• GET /api/v1/post/all - Get all posts (feed)
• GET /api/v1/post/userpost/all - Get user's posts
• GET /api/v1/post/:id/like - Like post
• GET /api/v1/post/:id/dislike - Unlike post
• POST /api/v1/post/:id/comment - Add comment
• DELETE /api/v1/post/delete/:id - Delete post
• GET /api/v1/post/:id/bookmark - Bookmark post

Messages

• POST /api/v1/message/send/:id - Send message
• GET /api/v1/message/:id - Get conversation messages

🎨 UI Components

Core Components

• MainLayout - App shell with navigation
• LeftSideBar - Navigation menu
• RightSideBar - Suggestions and activity
• Feed - Main content area
• Post - Individual post component
• CreatePost - Post creation modal
• Profile - User profile page
• Messages - Chat interface
• SearchBox - User search functionality

UI Library

• Radix UI components for accessibility
• Custom styled components with Tailwind CSS
• Responsive design for all screen sizes

🔄 Real-time Features

Socket.IO Events

• newMessage - New chat message received
• messageNotification - Message notification
• notification - General notifications (likes, follows, comments)
• user-online - User online status
• user-offline - User offline status

🧪 Development

Running in Development Mode

# Start backend server (with nodemon)
npm run dev

# Start frontend dev server
cd frontend && npm run dev

Building for Production

# Build frontend and start production server
npm run build
npm start

🔒 Security Features

• JWT Authentication with HTTP-only cookies
• Password hashing with bcrypt (10 rounds)
• CORS configuration for cross-origin requests
• Input validation and sanitization
• File upload restrictions (images only)
• Rate limiting considerations
• XSS protection with secure headers

🗄️ Database Schema

User Model

• Personal information (username, email, bio)
• Social connections (followers, following)
• Content references (posts, bookmarks)
• Privacy settings (isPrivate)

Post Model

• Content (image, caption)
• Engagement (likes, comments)
• Metadata (author, timestamp)

Message/Conversation Models

• Real-time chat system
• Participant management
• Message history

🤝 Contributing

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

📝 License

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

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Cloudinary for image storage and optimization
• MongoDB for flexible data storage
• Socket.IO for real-time communication
• Radix UI for accessible components
• Tailwind CSS for rapid styling

📞 Contact

Sparsh Sharma - @sparshsharma81

Project Link: https://github.com/sparshsharma81/Aura

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