Prime Solo Project - Starting Repo

This version uses React, Redux, Express, Passport, and PostgreSQL (a full list of dependencies can be found in package.json).

We STRONGLY recommend following these instructions carefully. It's a lot, and will take some time to set up, but your life will be much easier this way in the long run.

Use the Template for This Repository (Don't Clone)

• Don't Fork or Clone. Instead, click the Use this Template button, and make a copy to your personal account. Make the project PUBLIC!

Prerequisites

Before you get started, make sure you have the following software installed on your computer:

• Node.js
• PostgreSQL
• Nodemon

Create Database and Table

Create a new database called prime_app and create a user table:

CREATE TABLE "user" (
    "id" SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    "username" VARCHAR (80) UNIQUE NOT NULL,
    "password" VARCHAR (1000) NOT NULL
);

If you would like to name your database something else, you will need to change prime_app to the name of your new database name in server/modules/pool.js.

Development Setup Instructions

• Run npm install.
  • Be sure to take stock of package.json to see which dependencies you'll need to add.
• Create a .env file at the root of the project and paste this line into the file:

SERVER_SESSION_SECRET=superDuperSecret

While you're in your new .env file, take the time to replace superDuperSecret with some long random string like 25POUbVtx6RKVNWszd9ERB9Bb6 to keep your application secure. Here's a site that can help you: Password Generator Plus. If you don't do this step, create a secret with less than eight characters, or leave it as superDuperSecret, you will get a warning.

• Start postgres if not running already by using opening up the Postgres.app, or if using Homebrew you can use the command brew services start postgresql.
• Run npm run server to start the server.
• Run npm run client to start the client.
• Navigate to localhost:5173.

Debugging

To debug, you will need to run the client-side separately from the server. Start the client by running the command npm run client. Start the debugging server by selecting the Debug button.

Then make sure Launch Program is selected from the dropdown, then click the green play arrow.

Testing Routes with Postman

To use Postman with this repo, you will need to set up requests in Postman to register a user and login a user at a minimum.

Keep in mind that once you using the login route, Postman will manage your session cookie for you just like a browser, ensuring it is sent with each subsequent request. If you delete the localhost cookie in Postman, it will effectively log you out.

1. Run npm run server to start the server.
2. Import the sample routes JSON file v2 by clicking Import in Postman. Select the file.
3. Click Collections and Send the following three calls in order:
   1. POST /api/user/register registers a new user, see body to change username/password.
   2. POST /api/user/login will login a user, see body to change username/password.
   3. GET /api/user will get user information, by default it's not very much.

After running the login route above, you can try any other route you've created that requires a logged in user!

Production Build

Before pushing to Heroku, run npm run build in terminal. This will create a build folder that contains the code Heroku will be pointed at. You can test this build by typing npm start. Keep in mind that npm start will let you preview the production build but will not auto update.

• Start postgres if not running already by using opening up the Postgres.app, or if using Homebrew you can use the command brew services start postgresql.
• Run npm start.
• Navigate to localhost:5173.

Lay of the Land

There are a few videos linked below that show a walkthrough the client and sever setup to help acclimatize to the boilerplate. Please take some time to watch the videos in order to get a better understanding of what the boilerplate is like.

• Initial Set
• Server Walkthrough
• Client Walkthrough

Directory Structure:

• src/ contains the React application.
• public/ contains static assets for the client-side.
• build/ after you build the project, contains the transpiled code from src/ and public/ that will be viewed on the production site.
• server/ contains the Express App.

This code is also heavily commented. We recommend reading through the comments, getting a lay of the land, and becoming comfortable with how the code works before you start making too many changes. If you're wondering where to start, consider reading through component file comments in the following order:

• src/components
  • App/App
  • Footer/Footer
  • Nav/Nav
  • AboutPage/AboutPage
  • InfoPage/InfoPage
  • UserPage/UserPage
  • LoginPage/LoginPage
  • RegisterPage/RegisterPage
  • LogOutButton/LogOutButton
  • ProtectedRoute/ProtectedRoute

Deployment

1. Create a new Heroku project.
2. Link the Heroku project to the project GitHub Repo.
3. Create an Heroku Postgres database.
4. Connect to the Heroku Postgres database from Postico.
5. Create the necessary tables.
6. Add an environment variable for SERVER_SESSION_SECRET with a nice random string for security.
7. In the deploy section, select manual deploy.

Update Documentation

Customize this ReadMe and the code comments in this project to read less like a starter repo and more like a project. Here is an example: https://gist.github.com/PurpleBooth/109311bb0361f32d87a2.