Dominex — Backend

Social media platform backend built with Node.js, Socket.io, and MongoDB.

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Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Runtime	Node.js (ESM)
Framework	Express.js
Database	MongoDB + Mongoose
Real-time	Socket.io
Auth	JWT + Bcrypt
Media	Cloudinary + Multer
Email	Nodemailer (Gmail / Mailtrap)
AI Bot	Gemini AI / OpenAI (switchable)

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Features

• JWT authentication with OTP email verification
• Follow / unfollow system with mutual follow enforcement for chat
• Posts with image upload, likes, and nested comments
• Stories with viewer tracking
• Real-time chat between users (mutual follow required)
• AI bot chat powered by Gemini or OpenAI
• Cloudinary media upload for posts and stories
• Paginated feeds and message history

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Project Structure

src/
  chatBot/
    botLogic_geminiAi.js      # Gemini AI response logic
    botLogic_OpenAi.js        # OpenAI response logic
    botProvider.js            # Provider switch via AI_PROVIDER env
  config/
    cloudinary.config.js      # Cloudinary setup
    db.js                     # MongoDB connection
  controllers/
    authController.js
    userController.js
    postController.js
    storyController.js
    commentController.js
    followController.js
    msgController.js
  middlewares/
    auth.middleware.js        # JWT verification
    multer.middleware.js      # File upload handling
  models/
    user.models.model.js
    post.models.model.js
    story.models.model.js
    comment.models.model.js
    message.models.model.js
  routes/
    authRoute.js
    userRoute.js
    postRoute.js
    StoryRoute.js
    commentRoute.js
    followRoute.js
    msgRoute.js
  services/
    message.service.js        # Shared messaging logic (HTTP + Socket)
  sockets/
    socket.js                 # Real-time chat handler
  utils/
    auth/
      generateOtp.js
      token.js
    mail/
      mailer.js
      templates/
    media/
      Upload.on.Cloudinary.js

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js v18+
• MongoDB (local or Atlas)
• Cloudinary account
• Gmail account with App Password enabled
• Gemini or OpenAI API key

Installation

git clone https://github.com/kishukumar07/Dominex-server-side.git
cd Dominex-server-side
npm install

Environment Setup

cp .env.sample .env

Fill in your .env values:

PORT=4500
MONGO_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/dominex
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_here

EMAIL_PROVIDER=gmail
EMAIL_PORT=587
EMAIL_USER=your_email@gmail.com
EMAIL_PASSWORD=your_app_password

CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your_cloud_name
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your_api_key
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your_api_secret
UPLOAD_DIR=./public/temp

AI_PROVIDER=gemini
GEMINI_API_KEY=your_gemini_key
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_key

BOT_USER_ID=your_bot_user_objectid
ALLOWED_ORIGIN=http://localhost:3000

Run

# Development
npm run dev

# Production
npm start

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API Overview

Auth

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/api/auth/register	Register + send OTP
POST	/api/auth/verify	Verify OTP
POST	/api/auth/login	Login
POST	/api/auth/logout	Logout
POST	/api/auth/refresh	GetAcessToken via Ref. Token

Users

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/user/:id	Get user profile
PATCH	/api/user/update	Update profile

Posts

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/post	Get all posts (paginated)
POST	/api/post/create	Create post
GET	/api/post/user/:userId	Get user posts
GET	/api/post/:id	Get post by ID
PATCH	/api/post/:id	Update post
DELETE	/api/post/:id	Delete post

Stories

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/api/story/create	Create story
GET	/api/story/user/:userId	Get user stories
PATCH	/api/story/:id	Mark story as viewed
DELETE	/api/story/:id	Delete story

Messages

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/messages/:userId1/:userId2	Get conversation history

Follow

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/api/follow/:id	Follow user
POST	/api/unfollow/:id	Unfollow user

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Real-time Socket Events

Event	Direction	Description
joinRoom	Client → Server	Join a chat room
roomJoined	Server → Client	Confirm room joined
oldMessages	Server → Client	Load recent messages
sendMessage	Client → Server	Send a message
receiveMessage	Server → Client	Receive a message
loadMore	Client → Server	Load older messages (scroll up)
olderMessages	Server → Client	Paginated older messages
error	Server → Client	Error response

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AI Bot

Switch between Gemini and OpenAI with a single env variable:

AI_PROVIDER=gemini   # or openai

No code changes needed. The bot is accessible as a special user in the chat system.

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Environment Variables Reference

See .env.sample for the full list with descriptions.

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Author

Kishu Kumar

• GitHub: @kishukumar07

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Status

Backend complete. Frontend in progress.