Future Messages

Write to your future self, lock the message, and open it only when the right day arrives.

Future Messages is a full-stack MVP for creating time-locked personal messages with authentication, a private dashboard, and scheduled unlock dates.

The repository contains:

• client: a React + Vite frontend
• server: an Express + MongoDB API

The current UI copy is mostly in Portuguese, while this README is written in English for GitHub.

Features

• User registration and login with JWT authentication
• Protected dashboard for authenticated users
• Create future messages with a scheduled delivery date
• Locked messages stay hidden until the unlock date is reached
• View unlocked messages and track pending ones
• Edit or delete messages only while they are still locked
• Health check endpoint for quick backend verification

Tech Stack

Frontend

• React 19
• Vite
• React Router
• Axios
• Tailwind CSS 4

Backend

• Node.js
• Express 5
• MongoDB + Mongoose
• JWT authentication
• bcryptjs

Project Structure

future-messages/
|-- client/
|   |-- src/
|   |-- public/
|   |-- .env.example
|   `-- package.json
|-- server/
|   |-- src/
|   |-- .env.example
|   `-- package.json
|-- PLAN.md
`-- README.md

Getting Started

1. Clone the repository

git clone <your-repo-url>
cd future-messages

2. Install dependencies

Install frontend dependencies:

cd client
npm install

Install backend dependencies:

cd ../server
npm install

Environment Variables

Client

Create client/.env from client/.env.example:

VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:5000/api

Server

Create server/.env from server/.env.example:

PORT=5000
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017/future-messages
JWT_SECRET=change-me
CLIENT_URL=http://localhost:5173

Running the App

Start the backend

cd server
npm run dev

The API will run on http://localhost:5000.

Start the frontend

Open a second terminal:

cd client
npm run dev

The app will run on http://localhost:5173.

API Overview

Auth routes

• POST /api/auth/register
• POST /api/auth/login
• GET /api/auth/me

Message routes

• GET /api/messages
• POST /api/messages
• GET /api/messages/:id
• PUT /api/messages/:id
• DELETE /api/messages/:id

Health check

• GET /api/health

Development Notes

• The frontend stores the JWT token in local storage.
• Locked messages return without their body until the scheduled date is reached.
• Unlocked messages cannot be edited or deleted.
• The backend expects MongoDB to be available before the server starts.

Deployment Ideas

• Frontend: Vercel, Netlify, or Cloudflare Pages
• Backend: Render, Railway, Fly.io, or a VPS
• Database: MongoDB Atlas

GitHub Upload Checklist

Before pushing to GitHub:

• Make sure client/.env and server/.env are not committed
• Keep node_modules and client/dist out of the repository
• Review PLAN.md and .qodo/ if you do not want internal planning files online

License

Add the license that matches how you want to share the project.