Blog Platform Backend is a robust backend service designed for a blogging platform that supports multiple user roles, user authentication, and the management of blog posts. Built with Node.js, Express, MongoDB, and TypeScript, this project provides a powerful API for managing users, blogs, and administrative functions with full CRUD capabilities. The backend is structured for scalability, efficiency, and security.

Key features include user registration, login, role-based access control (admin and user roles), and blog post management. It also implements Zod for data validation and robust error handling, ensuring seamless operation and a clean user experience.

Features

• User Registration & Login: JWT-based authentication for secure user login and token management.
• Role-Based Access Control: Differentiates between regular users and admin roles, with admins having more extensive permissions.
• CRUD Operations for Blogs: Allows users to create, update, delete, and read blog posts.
• Global Error Handling: Custom error classes to handle various types of errors such as validation, duplicate data, and MongoDB-specific errors.
• Zod Validation: Type-safe validation library for ensuring data integrity in API requests.
• Query Builder: Built-in support for filtering, searching, and paginating blog posts.

Index

1. Project Title
2. Description
3. Features
4. Installation
5. Usage
6. API Endpoints
   • Authentication
     • Register User
     • Login User
   • User Management
     • Get All Users
     • Get User Profile
     • Update User Profile
   • Blog Management
     • Get All Blogs
     • Create Blog
     • Update Blog
     • Delete Blog
   • Admin Routes
     • Block User
     • Delete Blog
7. Error Handling
8. Authentication
9. Contribution Guidelines
10. Contact
11. License

Installation

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

• Node.js: Version 18 or higher
• npm: Node package manager
• MongoDB: Either a local instance or MongoDB Atlas for a cloud-based solution

Steps

1. Clone the repository to your local machine:

   git clone https://github.com/Shakilofficial/blog-platform-backend.git
   cd blog-platform-backend

2. Install the necessary dependencies:

   npm install

3. Set up your environment variables in a .env file. Example:

   PORT=5000
   MONGO_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/blog-platform
   JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_key

4. Compile TypeScript:

   npm run build

5. Start the server:

   • For development:

     npm run dev

   • For production:

     npm run start:prod

Usage

Once the server is running, you can access the API at http://localhost:<port>/api, where <port> is defined in your .env file (default is 5000).

• Development Mode: The server will automatically reload with changes.
• Production Mode: The server will be optimized for performance.

API Endpoints

Here’s a comprehensive list of the available API routes:

Auth Routes

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/api/auth/register	Register a new user.
POST	/api/auth/login	Login and obtain a JWT token.

---

User Routes

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/users	Retrieve a list of all users (Admin only).
GET	/api/users/:id	Retrieve a user's profile (Admin or themselves).

---

Blog Routes

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/blogs	Retrieve all blogs (with search, filter, and pagination).
POST	/api/blogs	Create a new blog post (User only).
GET	/api/blogs/:id	Retrieve a single blog by its ID.
PUT	/api/blogs/:id	Update a blog post (User can update their own blogs).
DELETE	/api/blogs/:id	Delete a blog post (User can delete their own blogs).

---

Admin Routes

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/api/admin/users/:userId/block	Block a user (Admin only).
DELETE	/api/admin/blogs/:id	Delete any blog (Admin only).

---

Authentication

1.1 Register User

POST /api/auth/register

Description: Registers a new user with the platform. It validates user data and saves it to the database.

Request Body:

{
  "name": "John Doe",
  "email": "john@example.com",
  "password": "securepassword"
}

Response:

Success (201):

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "User registered successfully",
  "statusCode": 201,
  "data": {
    "_id": "string",
    "name": "string",
    "email": "string"
  }
}

Failure (400):

{
  "success": false,
  "message": "Validation error",
  "statusCode": 400,
  "error": {
    "details": "Field validation failed"
  },
  "stack": "error stack"
}

1.2 Login User

POST /api/auth/login

Description: Authenticates a user and returns a JWT token.

Request Body:

{
  "email": "john@example.com",
  "password": "securepassword"
}

Response:

Success (200):

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Login successful",
  "statusCode": 200,
  "data": {
    "token": "jwt_token_here"
  }
}

Failure (401):

{
  "success": false,
  "message": "Invalid credentials",
  "statusCode": 401
}

User Management

2.1 Get All Users (Admin Only)

GET /api/users

Description: Retrieves a list of all users in the platform (Admin only).

Response:

Success (200):

{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {
      "_id": "user_id",
      "name": "John Doe",
      "email": "john@example.com",
      "role": "user"
    }
  ]
}

2.2 Get User Profile

GET /api/users/:id

Description: Retrieves a user’s profile (Admin or the user themselves).

Response:

Success (200):

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "_id": "user_id",
    "name": "John Doe",
    "email": "john@example.com",
    "role": "user",
    "isBlocked": false
  }
}

2.3 Update User Profile

PUT /api/users/:id

Description: Updates a user’s profile (Admin or the user themselves).

Request Body:

{
  "name": "Updated Name",
  "email": "newemail@example.com"
}

Response:

Success (200):

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Profile updated successfully"
}

Blog Management

3.1 Get All Blogs

GET /api/blogs

Description: Retrieves all blog posts, with support for search, filtering, and pagination.

Response:

Success (200):

{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {
      "_id": "blog_id",
      "title": "Blog Title",
      "content": "Blog content here...",
      "author": "author_id",
      "isPublished": true,
      "createdAt": "2021-10-01T00:00:00.000Z"
    }
  ]
}

3.2 Create Blog

POST /api/blogs

Description: Allows the user to create a new blog post.

Request Body:

{
  "title": "Blog Title",
  "content": "Content of the blog post",
  "author": "author_id"
}

Response:

Success (201):

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Blog created successfully",
  "data": {
    "_id": "new_blog_id",
    "title": "Blog Title",
    "content": "Content of the blog post",
    "author": "author_id"
  }
}

3.3 Update Blog

PUT /api/blogs/:id

Description: Allows the user to update their own blog post.

Request Body:

{
  "title": "Updated Blog Title",
  "content": "Updated content of the blog post"
}

Response:

Success (200):

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Blog updated successfully"
}

3.4 Delete Blog

DELETE /api/blogs/:id

Description: Allows the user to delete their own blog post.

Response:

Success (200):

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Blog deleted successfully"
}

Admin Routes

4.1 Block User

POST /api/admin/users/:userId/block

Description: Allows the admin to block a user by setting isBlocked to true.

Response:

Success (200):

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "User blocked successfully"
}

4.2 Delete Blog (Admin Only)

DELETE /api/admin/blogs/:id

Description: Allows the admin to delete any blog post.

Response:

Success (200):

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Blog deleted successfully"
}

Error Handling

The application implements robust error handling mechanisms to ensure a smooth user experience and facilitate debugging for developers. Below is a list of standardized error types:

Error Type	Description
Zod Validation Error	(ZOD_ERROR): Errors arising from invalid data inputs based on Zod schema validation.
Not Found Error	(NOT_FOUND_ERROR): When requested resources (e.g., a user, item, or page) are not found.
Validation Error	(VALIDATION_ERROR): General validation errors (e.g., incorrect data format, missing fields).
Authentication Error	(AUTH_ERROR): Issues related to failed authentication (e.g., invalid token or expired session).
Authorization Error	(AUTHORIZATION_ERROR): When the user lacks permissions to access a resource.
Internal Server Error	(INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR): Unhandled errors or unexpected server issues.

The global error handler is designed to catch all unhandled errors and send a clean and consistent response with a 500 status code for server-related issues.

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Authentication

JWT Authentication

• The platform uses JWT (JSON Web Tokens) for authenticating users.
• After successful registration or login, a JWT token is returned.
• The token should be included in the Authorization header as Bearer <token> for protected routes.

Role-Based Authentication

• Admin users can access all routes and manage blog posts and users.

• Regular users can create, update, and delete their own blog posts but cannot manage other users.

Contribution Guidelines

If you'd like to contribute to this project, please fork the repository and submit a pull request. Ensure your changes are well-tested and follow the coding standards outlined in the project.

Contact

For questions or collaboration, please contact me via:

• Email: mrshakilhossain@outlook.com

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/your-profile

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamshakilhossain

• Portfolio: https://shakilhossain-sigma.vercel.app

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Copyright © 2024 Md Shakil Hossain.

License

This project is MIT licensed.