Members Only Project

Introduction

The Members Only Project is an exclusive online clubhouse where users can write anonymous posts. Only authenticated members with special privileges can see the identity of the post authors, while non-members can view the posts without knowing who wrote them. This project focuses on user authentication, role-based access control, and database management, and it’s part of The Odin Project’s NodeJS curriculum.

Features

• User Registration & Login:

  • Users can sign up using their first name, last name, email and password.
  • Secure password storage using bcrypt for hashing.
  • Login is handled through Passport.js authentication middleware.

• Member-Only Privileges:

  • Users must input a secret passcode to gain exclusive membership status.
  • Members can view additional details about each post, including the author’s name and timestamp.

• Post Creation & Viewing:

  • Authenticated users can create posts with a title and body text.
  • Posts are viewable by all users, but only members can see the author and date.

• Admin Access:

  • Admins have special privileges, including the ability to delete posts.
  • Admin access is granted by entering an admin secret code or through manual promotion in the database.

Installation

Live Demo

Check out the live version of the app: Live Demo

Local Installation

To run the app locally, follow these steps:

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/odilson-dev/members-only-nodejs.git

2. Install dependencies:

   cd members-only-nodejs
   npm install

3. Set up environment variables

• Create a .env file in the root directory and add the following variables: bash Copy code

DATABASE_URL=your_postgresql_database_uri
ADMIN_ACCESS=your_admin_password
ACCESS_CODE=your_membership_access_code

• DATABASE_URL: Connection string for your PostgreSQL database.
• ADMIN_ACCESS: Password for admin-level access.
• ACCESS_CODE: Secret passcode required for users to become members.
• COOKIE_SECRET: A random string for securing session cookies.

Usage

• Signup/Login: Create a user account and log in.
• Join the Club: Enter the secret passcode to gain membership.
• Post Messages: Authenticated users can post anonymously.
• Admin Controls: Admins can delete posts if they have admin privileges.

Technologies Used

• Node.js: A runtime environment for executing JavaScript on the server-side.
• Express: A fast, unopinionated web framework for Node.js.
• PostgreSQL: An open-source relational database management system for storing user data and posts.
• Passport.js: Middleware for authentication with username and password.
• bcrypt: Library for hashing passwords.
• Express Validator: Middleware for validating and sanitizing user input.
• EJS: Templating engine used to generate HTML markup with JavaScript.

Conclusion

This project is part of The Odin Project, and you are free to use and modify the code.