TaskFlow

A real-time collaborative Kanban project management application built on the MERN stack.

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Features

• Kanban Boards — Drag-and-drop task management across customisable columns
• Task List View — Alternative tabular layout for bulk task management
• Real-time Collaboration — Live updates via Socket.IO; see teammates' changes instantly
• Team Management — Invite collaborators by email; pending invitations auto-resolve on signup
• Task Tracking — Priority levels, labels, due dates, assignees, and activity logs
• AI Assist — Gemini-powered priority suggestions and automatic task labelling
• Notifications — In-app real-time notifications for assignments, comments, and board events
• Overdue Alerts — Automated daily email alerts for overdue tasks via a cron job
• Analytics Dashboard — Charts and stats for task completion, priorities, and team productivity
• Dark / Light Mode — System-aware theme with manual toggle

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Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Frontend	React 19, React Router, Axios, Socket.IO Client, @dnd-kit, Recharts, TailwindCSS
Backend	Node.js, Express 5, Socket.IO, node-cron
Database	MongoDB Atlas (Mongoose ODM)
Auth	httpOnly Cookies (JWT), bcryptjs
Validation	Zod schemas
Email	Brevo HTTP API
AI	Google Gemini API (gemini-2.5-flash)
Security	Helmet, CORS, express-rate-limit
Testing	Jest, Supertest (unit + integration)

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js v18+
• A MongoDB Atlas cluster (free tier works)
• A Brevo account and API key
• A Google Gemini API key

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/maryamKR/TaskFlow-Project.git
cd TaskFlow-Project

2. Configure the backend environment

cp backend/.env.example backend/.env

Edit backend/.env:

PORT=5000
MONGO_URI=mongodb+srv://<username>:<password>@cluster0.xxxx.mongodb.net/taskflow
JWT_SECRET=your_secure_random_secret

GEMINI_API_KEY=your_gemini_api_key

BREVO_API_KEY=your_brevo_api_key_here
BREVO_SENDER_EMAIL=your_verified_brevo_email@domain.com

FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:3000
ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:5173,http://localhost:3000

Note: BREVO_SENDER_EMAIL must be an email address or domain that you have verified in your Brevo account dashboard.

3. Install dependencies

# Backend
cd backend && npm install

# Frontend (from root)
cd .. && npm install

4. Run in development

# Terminal 1: Start the backend (http://localhost:5000)
cd backend && npm run dev

# Terminal 2: Start the frontend (http://localhost:3000)
npm start

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Running Tests

cd backend
npm test

The test suite includes 257 unit and integration tests covering all controllers, middleware, validators, utilities, and end-to-end HTTP flows. All tests run sequentially (--runInBand) to respect MongoDB Atlas connection limits.

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Project Structure

TaskFlow-Project/
├── backend/                  # Express.js API server
│   ├── controllers/          # Route handlers
│   ├── middleware/           # Auth, validation, error handling, rate limiting
│   ├── models/               # Mongoose schemas
│   ├── routes/               # API route definitions
│   ├── utils/                # Email, notifications, cron, task helpers
│   ├── docs/                 # Full backend documentation
│   │   ├── API.md            # Complete REST API reference
│   │   ├── architecture.md   # System design & data flow
│   │   ├── documentation.md  # Controller & utility deep-dive
│   │   ├── schema.md         # ER diagram & database indexes
│   │   ├── userflow.md       # Backend-focused user flow
│   │   ├── email-service.md  # Email & cron documentation
│   │   └── pending-invitations-flow.md
│   ├── tests/                # Jest unit + Supertest integration tests
│   ├── server.js             # Application bootstrap
│   └── socket.js             # Socket.IO room management
├── frontend/                 # React frontend
│   └── src/
│       ├── components/       # Reusable UI components
│       ├── context/          # ThemeContext
│       ├── pages/            # Route-level page components
│       ├── services/         # Axios API service functions
│       └── socket.js         # Socket.IO client setup

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API Reference

See backend/docs/API.md for the complete endpoint reference, including request/response schemas, rate limits, and error codes.

Base URL: http://localhost:5000/api

Section	Endpoints
Auth	POST /auth/register, /auth/login, /auth/logout, /auth/me, /auth/forgot-password, /auth/reset-password/:token
Boards	GET/POST /boards, GET/DELETE /boards/:id, PUT /boards/:id/reorder
Members	GET /boards/:id/members, POST /boards/:id/invite, DELETE /boards/:id/members/:memberId
Columns	GET/POST /columns, PUT/DELETE /columns/:id
Tasks	GET/POST /tasks, GET/PUT/DELETE /tasks/:id, PATCH /tasks/move, PATCH /tasks/column/:id/reorder
Comments	GET/POST /tasks/:id/comments, DELETE /comments/:id
Notifications	GET /notifications, PATCH /notifications/read-all, DELETE /notifications/read
AI	POST /ai/suggest-priority, POST /ai/auto-label, POST /ai/board-insight, POST /ai/auto-prioritize

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Documentation Index

Document	Contents
backend/docs/userflow.md	End-to-end user flows with API, socket events, and security summary
backend/docs/API.md	Full REST API reference
backend/docs/architecture.md	System design, security layers, real-time architecture
backend/docs/documentation.md	Detailed controller, middleware, and utility reference
backend/docs/schema.md	ER diagram, collection indexes, notification types
backend/docs/email-service.md	Email setup (Brevo API), cron job
backend/docs/pending-invitations-flow.md	Board invitation workflow for registered and unregistered users

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Security

• All endpoints protected by secure httpOnly cookie authentication (JWT)
• Rate limiting on /login (10/15min), /register (5/hr), /forgot-password (3/hr)
• Input validated via Zod schemas before controllers execute
• HTTP headers hardened with Helmet
• CORS restricted to configured allowed origins
• Passwords hashed with bcryptjs (10 salt rounds)
• User enumeration protection on password reset endpoint

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