Libsta | Book Sharing App

A full-stack web application that enables members to create personal libraries, share books, and connect with other readers.

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Table of Contents

• About the Project
  • Vision
  • Goals
  • Context
• Features
• Tech Stack
• Getting Started
  • Prerequisites
  • Installation
• Usage
• Project Structure
• Status
• Future Improvements
• License

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About the Project

Vision

Berlin’s libraries often lack books in diverse languages. Libsta was created as a community-driven alternative: a digital space where people can connect their personal libraries, exchange books, and meet others with similar tastes.

Goals

• Registration-based membership system
• Personal library pages for each member
• Book search by title or author
• Social features: follow, like, comment (with spoiler alerts)
• Direct messaging to arrange exchanges

Context

This project was developed within the Women Techmakers Berlin JavaScript Crash Course 2019 at Wayfair.

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Features

• Authentication & profile management
• Create and manage personal book libraries
• Search functionality
• Likes, comments, and follows
• Spoiler protection in comment sections
• Direct messaging between members

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Tech Stack

• Frontend: Vue.js
• Backend: Node.js, Express
• Database: MongoDB with Mongoose
• Other: Axios (HTTP requests), Pug (templates), ESLint (code styling), Ava (testing)

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (>= v8.11)
• NPM (>= v6)
• MongoDB (>= v4.2)
• Docker (>= v19.03.2) – optional for containerization
• Robo3T – optional for DB GUI

Installation

# Clone repository
git clone <repo-url>
cd libsta

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start backend
nodemon index.js

# Start frontend
npm run serve

## Usage
- Run npm run serve for frontend development
- Run npm run build for production build
- Connect to MongoDB with brew services start mongodb-community@4.2
- Run tests with npm run test

## Project Structure
├───backend
│   ├───models
│   ├───routes
│   ├───services
│   ├───test
│   └───views
└───frontend
    ├───public
    └───src
        ├───assets
        ├───axios-auth
        ├───components
        │   └───forms
        ├───data
        ├───router
        ├───store
        └───views

## Status
- ✅ Authentication basics
- ✅ Library management (add books, like, comment)
- ✅ Routing & navigation
- ✅ Initial tests

## Future Improvements
- Enhanced authentication & validation
- Direct messaging between users
- Advanced search and filtering
- Profile customization (follows, favorites, etc.)
- Carousel views for featured books
- UI polish (icons, styles, responsive layouts)

## Licence
MIT License