DEX_Nova_MVP

A concise reference for the DEX_Nova_MVP repository. This project pairs a Node.js/Express backend with a React frontend and includes Solidity contract sources.

Repository contents

• src/ — backend (Express, controllers, models)
• client/ — React frontend (CRA)
• contract/, migrations/ — Solidity contracts and migration scripts
• public/, data/, models/, routes/, middlewares/ — server assets and helpers

Quick start

1. Install dependencies (root + client):

npm install
npm install --prefix client

2. Create a .env at the project root (see Environment section below).

3. Run development servers (backend + frontend):

npm run dev

Useful npm scripts

• npm run server — start backend with nodemon
• npm run client — start React dev server (runs client/npm start)
• npm run dev — run backend and client concurrently
• npm start — start production server (expects built frontend and configured env)

Environment variables

The backend uses several process.env keys. Common values to set in .env:

• PORT (default 4000)
• NODE_ENV (development / production)
• MONGO_URI (MongoDB connection string)
• JWT_SECRET, JWT_EXPIRE, COOKIE_EXPIRES_TIME
• SENDGRID_API_KEY, SENDGRID_MAIL, SENDGRID_RESET_TEMPLATEID, SENDGRID_ORDER_TEMPLATEID
• CLOUDINARY_NAME, CLOUDINARY_API_KEY, CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET
• Pay providers: STRIPE_SECRET_KEY, PAYTM_MID, PAYTM_MERCHANT_KEY, etc.
• CLIENT_URL — frontend origin used for CORS and email links

An example .env was added to the README earlier; I can also generate a full .env.example file containing every process.env key scanned from src/.

Client notes

• The React frontend lives in client/. See client/README.md and client/.env.example for frontend-specific setup. The client uses a proxy to forward API requests to http://localhost:4000 in development.

Contracts

• Solidity sources are in contract/. Use Truffle or Hardhat to compile and deploy. Migrations are in migrations/.

Contributing

• Fork, branch, and open a pull request with a clear description.
• Run tests and linters before submitting changes.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License — see LICENSE.

If you'd like, I can now generate a complete top-level .env.example by scanning src/ for process.env usages and creating a file with placeholder values.

Project details

DEX_Nova_MVP is a minimal viable product that demonstrates a full-stack DEX/marketplace flow combining a REST API backend, a React frontend, and Solidity smart contract artifacts. It is intended as a starting point for prototyping token-enabled marketplaces and simple trading flows.

Key capabilities included in this repo:

• Product catalog and images (backend models + data/products.json sample data)
• Shopping cart, save-for-later, and order flows (backend controllers + frontend views)
• User authentication and authorization using JWTs
• Email notifications (SendGrid) and SMTP fallback
• File uploads with Cloudinary integration
• Payment integration scaffolding (Stripe and Paytm placeholders)
• Solidity contracts and migrations in contract/ for on-chain features

Technical architecture

• Backend (server): Node.js + Express. Routes are defined under src/routes, business logic in src/controllers, and data models in src/models (Mongoose). The server is stateless and uses JWTs for authentication.
• Database: MongoDB via Mongoose. Connection code lives in src/config/database.js and helper connection utilities under src/middlewares/helpers.
• Frontend (client): React (Create React App) with Redux for state management and redux-thunk for async actions. UI uses MUI and Tailwind where applicable. The client proxies API requests to the server in development (client/package.json proxy).
• Smart contracts: Solidity sources in contract/, migrations in migrations/. Contracts are not automatically deployed by the app — use Truffle/Hardhat to compile and deploy.
• Third-party integrations: SendGrid (@sendgrid/mail) for transactional emails, Cloudinary for media storage, Stripe/Paytm SDKs for payments (example hooks present in controllers), and optional analytics keys in the frontend.

Tech stack (detailed)

• Runtime: Node.js 14+
• Server framework: Express
• Database: MongoDB (Mongoose ODM)
• Authentication: JSON Web Tokens (JWT)
• Frontend: React (Create React App), Redux, react-router-dom
• UI: Material UI (MUI), Tailwind CSS
• Payments: Stripe (example) and Paytm integration scaffolding
• Email: SendGrid (primary), SMTP fallbacks
• File uploads: express-fileupload + Cloudinary
• Contracts: Solidity (pragma), migration scripts for deployment

Development workflow

1. Install dependencies:

npm install
npm install --prefix client

2. Create .env with the variables listed earlier and start development:

npm run dev

3. Frontend runs on port 3006 (development) and proxies API requests to the backend at http://localhost:4000.

Where to look in the codebase

• API entry: src/server.js and src/app.js
• DB config: src/config/database.js
• Auth utilities: src/utils/jwtToken.js, src/middlewares/user_actions/auth.js
• Controllers: src/controllers/* (products, orders, users, payments)
• Models: src/models/* (Product, User, Order, Cart, etc.)
• Frontend entry: client/src/index.js and client/src/App.js
• Contracts: contract/ and migrations/

Notes & next steps

• Tests: frontend tests use CRA test tooling; backend tests are not included — I can scaffold Jest + supertest if you want.
• CI/CD: no pipeline configured. I can add a GitHub Actions workflow to build and test both server and client.
• Deployment: the Procfile suggests Heroku-style deployment; alternatively build the client and serve statically from the Express server.

If you'd like, I will mark this task complete and can also generate a top-level .env.example containing every process.env key found in src/.