InterestIntersection - Social Network Web App

A robust, scalable social networking platform built using Django 5 and Redis. Designed for users to connect, share hobbies, bookmark media dynamically, and follow each other's activity streams in real-time.

🚀 Key Features

• OAuth & Social Authentication: Integration with external login providers (Google, GitHub, Facebook) using social-auth-app-django.
• Real-time Activity Stream: Chronological system that tracks and displays user activities (e.g., following users, bookmarking images) using a highly optimized database schema.
• Redis Caching: Configured Redis database caching layer for fast session storage, improving server response times.
• Dynamic Image Bookmarking: Includes a custom JavaScript bookmarklet that allows users to save images from external websites directly onto their profile boards.
• Follower System: Fully implemented follower/following relationships utilizing intermediate join tables to trace connections.
• Automated Media Optimization: Automatic image scaling and responsive thumbnail rendering powered by easy-thumbnails and Pillow.

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🛠 Tech Stack

• Backend: Python, Django 5.x
• Database: PostgreSQL (with support for Sqlite in local dev)
• Cache/Session Manager: Redis
• Security: Python-Decouple (environment variable segregation), Django security middlewares
• Frontend Utilities: Django Widget Tweaks (clean form integrations)

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💻 Architecture Details

The system is split into multiple modules:

• /account: Handles user signup, login, profile editing, and social authentication configurations.
• /actions: Manages the dynamic database structure for user activity tracing.
• /app: Root project folder containing middleware, settings, URLs, and static file configurations.

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⚙️ Local Development Guide

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+
• Redis Server (local or cloud instance)
• PostgreSQL (optional, defaults to SQLite if database variables are not set)

1. Clone & Set Up Directory

git clone https://github.com/Josue-Tejeda/InterestIntersection.git
cd InterestIntersection

2. Configure Virtual Environment

python -m venv venv
# Windows
venv\Scripts\activate
# macOS/Linux
source venv/bin/activate

3. Install Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Setup Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root directory:

DEBUG=True
SECRET_KEY=your-django-secret-key
# Redis configuration
REDIS_HOST=localhost
REDIS_PORT=6379
REDIS_DB=0

5. Start Redis

Make sure your Redis server is running:

# On Linux/macOS
redis-server
# On Windows (WSL / native service)
redis-cli ping  # should return PONG

6. Migrations & Server Launch

python manage.py migrate
python manage.py runserver

Visit http://127.0.0.1:8000/ in your browser.