WashEase 🧺

A Smart Digital Laundry Management System for hostels and residences. Track your clothes, schedule pickups, and get notified instantly.

🚀 Features

• User Authentication - Secure signup and login with JWT
• Role-Based Access - Support for Students, Washers, and Admins
• Laundry Tracking - Real-time status updates (Pending → Picked Up → In Progress → Ready → Delivered)
• Dashboard - Personal dashboard for students to manage requests
• Admin Panel - Comprehensive admin dashboard for managing all requests
• Modern UI - Beautiful, responsive design with smooth animations
• Database Storage - All data securely stored in MongoDB

🛠️ Tech Stack

• Frontend: React, Vite, Tailwind CSS, Axios
• Backend: Node.js, Express, MongoDB, Mongoose
• Authentication: JWT (JSON Web Tokens)
• Password Hashing: bcryptjs

📋 Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• MongoDB (local installation or MongoDB Atlas account)
• npm or yarn

🏃 Quick Start

1. Clone the Repository

git clone <repository-url>
cd WashEase

2. Backend Setup

cd server
npm install

Create a .env file in the server directory:

MONGO_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/washease
JWT_SECRET=your_super_secret_jwt_key_here
PORT=5001
NODE_ENV=development

For MongoDB Atlas:

• Sign up at MongoDB Atlas
• Create a free cluster
• Get your connection string
• Replace MONGO_URI with your Atlas connection string

Generate JWT Secret:

node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('hex'))"

Start the server:

npm run dev

Server will run on http://localhost:5001

3. Frontend Setup

cd client
npm install
npm run dev

Frontend will run on http://localhost:5173 (or the port Vite assigns)

📁 Project Structure

WashEase/
├── client/                 # React frontend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/    # Reusable components
│   │   ├── pages/         # Page components
│   │   ├── context/       # React context (Auth)
│   │   ├── utils/         # Utility functions
│   │   └── App.jsx        # Main app component
│   └── package.json
├── server/                 # Express backend
│   ├── config/            # Database configuration
│   ├── controllers/       # Route controllers
│   │   └── README.md     # 📚 Controllers documentation
│   ├── middleware/        # Auth middleware
│   ├── models/            # Mongoose models
│   ├── routes/            # API routes
│   └── server.js          # Entry point
├── README.md              # Main documentation
├── START.md               # Quick start guide
├── GIT_SETUP.md          # Git push instructions
└── .gitignore            # Git ignore rules

🔐 User Roles

• Student - Can create laundry requests and view their own requests
• Washer - Can view all requests and update status
• Admin - Full access to all features

📡 API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /api/auth/signup - Register new user
• POST /api/auth/login - Login user

Laundry (Protected)

• POST /api/laundry - Create laundry request
• GET /api/laundry - Get user's laundry requests
• GET /api/laundry/all - Get all requests (Admin/Washer)
• PUT /api/laundry/:id - Update laundry status (Admin/Washer)

📚 Detailed API Documentation: See server/controllers/README.md for complete controller documentation with request/response examples, error codes, and testing examples.

🗄️ Database Collections

• users - User accounts with authentication
• laundries - Laundry requests with status tracking

🐛 Troubleshooting

MongoDB Connection Issues

• Ensure MongoDB is running locally, or
• Check your MongoDB Atlas connection string
• Verify network access in Atlas (if using cloud)

Port Already in Use

• Change PORT in server .env file
• Or kill the process using the port

Frontend Not Connecting to Backend

• Ensure backend is running on port 5001
• Check vite.config.js proxy configuration
• Verify CORS is enabled in server

📝 Environment Variables

Server (.env)

MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_key
PORT=5001
NODE_ENV=development

🎨 Features in Detail

• ✅ User registration and authentication
• ✅ Role-based access control
• ✅ Create and manage laundry requests
• ✅ Real-time status tracking
• ✅ Admin dashboard with statistics
• ✅ Responsive design
• ✅ Smooth animations and transitions
• ✅ Error handling and validation
• ✅ Secure password hashing
• ✅ JWT token authentication

📄 License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions, issues, and feature requests are welcome!

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Made with ❤️ for easy laundry management