🔧 TaskMate Backend — Express + PostgreSQL + JWT

This is the backend of a task management and collaboration platform built during a 36-hour hackathon. It handles user auth, task CRUD, AI suggestions, and group-based role management — built from scratch using raw SQL queries and cookie-based JWT auth.

🚀 No Firebase. No ORM. Just raw backend logic.

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✨ Features

✅ Authentication (JWT + Cookies)

• User registration with hashed passwords (bcryptjs)
• Login sets httpOnly JWT token
• Protected routes via custom middleware
• Logout clears cookie

✅ Tasks API

• CRUD operations for personal and group tasks
• Task ownership and role-based access control
• PATCH to update status or details
• AI-based suggestions via Gemini API (based on current task list)

✅ Group Collaboration

• Users can create groups (auto-assigned as admin)
• Admins can add members to groups
• Role management handled via a group_members table
• All logic enforced through server-side ownership checks

✅ PostgreSQL (No ORM)

• Raw SQL queries using pg module
• Manual transaction management for critical ops
• Schemas with proper constraints and cascading behavior

✅ Deployment & Testing

• Works on Render (free-tier friendly)
• Frontend consumes these APIs successfully
• .env driven configuration for secrets and DB

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🛠️ Tech Stack

• Node.js + Express.js
• PostgreSQL (raw SQL, no ORM)
• JWT (cookie-based auth)
• Google Gemini API (task suggestions)
• bcryptjs (password hashing)
• dotenv, cookie-parser, cors

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Optional: Add DATABASE_URL for production deployments

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⚙️ Local Setup

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Run DB table creation (auto on start)
node initDB.js

# Start server
node server.js

API Reference

Note

• All these routes require the user to be logged-in , all routes are protected by a middleware that checks for the jwt token .

User auth

POST api/user/register

Request Body :

{
  "username": "john123",
  "email": "john@example.com",
  "password": "strongPassword123"
} 

Response :

201 Created on success

400 if user/email already exists

POST api/user/login

Request Body :

{
  "email": "john@example.com",
  "password": "strongPassword123"
} 

Response :

200 On succesful login else status codes and message accordingly.

POST api/user/logout

Clears the cookie

POST api/task/add

Request Body :

{
  "title": "Finish report",             // required
  "description": "Complete the final draft",
  "priority": "High",                   // optional: Low | Medium | High
  "duedate": "2025-07-01T18:30:00.000Z",
  "tag": "work",                        // optional
  "groupId": 1,                         // optional
  "assignedTo": 2                       // optional user ID
}

Response :

201 Created on success

Other status codes accordingly.

DELETE api/task/delete/:id

Request Body : Id of task taken from params.

Response :

Status codes accordingly.

PATCH api/task/update/:id

Request Body :

{
  "title": "New title",
  "description": "Updated description",
  "duedate": "2025-07-05T14:00:00.000Z",
  "priority": "Medium",
  "tag": "updated",
  "is_completed": false                // optional
}

Response :

Status codes accordingly.

GET /api/task/getall

Returns all tasks of the logged-in user.

GET /api/task/get/:id

Return the task with "id" only if created by the user

GET /api/task/suggestions

Get AI-generated suggestions based on the user's tasks.

Note :

• The live task collaboration feature is currently under development. Check out the feat/live-collab branch for the following experimental APIs and logic.

POST /api/group/create

Request Body :

{
  "name": "Project X"   // required, string
}

Response : Status codes accordingly.

Notes

• This route runs a transactional query to create the group and assign admin rights atomically.

• Only logged-in users can create groups.

POST /api/group/:groupId/add-member

Request Body :

{
  "userToAddId": 7    // required: ID of the user to be added
}

Notes

• This checks if the requester is the admin of the group.
• The new member is added with the role member