COM6102 Task Manager

A real-time collaborative Kanban board built for COM6102 Cloud Computing & Distributed Systems. Supports full CRUD operations, task prioritization, and live synchronization across multiple browser sessions.

Features

• Full CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete tasks)
• Task prioritization: low / medium / high
• Real-time sync via Socket.IO across all connected clients
• Kanban board with three columns: To Do → In Progress → Done
• Multi-user collaboration (open multiple tabs to test)
• Docker / Podman ready with PostgreSQL

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Frontend	React 19 + Vite + Tailwind CSS
Backend	Node.js + Express 5 (TypeScript)
Database	PostgreSQL 18
Realtime	Socket.IO
Container	Docker / Podman Compose

Project Structure

COM6102-Task-Manager/
├── backend/
│   └── src/
│       ├── server.ts            # Entry point, wires everything together
│       ├── db.ts                # PostgreSQL pool + CRUD helpers
│       ├── socket.ts            # Socket.IO event handlers
│       ├── routes/
│       │   ├── auth.ts          # Login route
│       │   └── tasks.ts         # Task CRUD routes + Socket events
│       └── middleware/
├── frontend/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── App.tsx
│   │   ├── main.tsx
│   │   ├── components/
│   │   └── types.ts
│   └── vite.config.ts
├── db/
│   └── init.sql                 # Database initialization script
├── docker-compose.yml            # Full production stack
├── docker-compose.local-db.yml   # Local dev DB only
├── Dockerfile
├── package.json
└── README.md

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 22+
• Docker (or Podman)
• Git

1. Clone & Install

git clone https://github.com/cylamangie/COM6102-Task-Manager.git
cd COM6102-Task-Manager
npm install

2. Configure

Copy the example env file and adjust if needed:

cp .env.example .env

Default values work out of the box for local development.

3. Choose a Mode

Mode A — Local Dev (recommended)

Start a local PostgreSQL container, then run the app with hot-reload:

# Start local DB
docker compose -f docker-compose.local-db.yml up -d

# Start dev server (Vite HMR + Express API on port 5173)
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:5173.

When done, tear down the DB:

docker compose -f docker-compose.local-db.yml down

Mode B — Full Container Stack

Run everything in containers (no local npm run dev needed):

docker compose -f docker-compose.yml up -d --build

Open http://localhost:3000.

To stop:

docker compose -f docker-compose.yml down

Podman users: replace docker compose with podman compose in all commands above.

4. Production Build

npm run build    # Builds frontend + compiles backend
npm run start    # Serves from dist/

Development Commands

Command	Description
npm run dev	Start dev server with Vite HMR (port 5173)
npm run build	Build frontend + compile backend
npm run start	Run production build
docker compose -f docker-compose.local-db.yml up -d	Start local dev DB
docker compose -f docker-compose.local-db.yml down	Stop local dev DB
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml up -d --build	Start full production stack
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml down	Stop full stack

API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/api/login	Upsert user by username
GET	/api/boards/:boardId/tasks	List tasks for a board
POST	/api/boards/:boardId/tasks	Create a new task
PUT	/api/tasks/:id	Update task fields (partial)
DELETE	/api/tasks/:id	Delete a task

Socket.IO Events

Event	Payload	Description
taskCreated	Task	Broadcast when a task is created
taskUpdated	Task	Broadcast when a task is updated
taskDeleted	taskId	Broadcast when a task is deleted
joinBoard	boardId	Client joins a board room

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Port 5432 already in use	Stop the other service or set LOCAL_DB_PORT=5433 before running compose
App returns 500 errors	Check DB is running: docker compose ps
Port 3000 / 5173 in use	Change PORT in .env or stop the conflicting process
Stale DB data	docker compose -f docker-compose.local-db.yml down -v to wipe and recreate

Contributors

• Angie Lam [@cylamangie]
• Jimmy Lo [@immylo102]
• Yuen Sze Hong [@YuenSzeHong]

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Academic project for COM6102 Cloud Computing & Distributed Systems (C) 2026 COM6102 Group Project