TaskFlow API 🚀 A robust task management REST API built with Node.js, Express, TypeScript, and MongoDB. Features real-time updates via Socket.IO, Redis caching, email notifications, and JWT-based authentication.

📋 Project Overview TaskFlow is a full-featured task management system designed for teams and individuals. It enables users to create projects, assign tasks, track progress, and collaborate in real-time. The API follows RESTful principles and implements industry-standard security practices. Key Highlights

Real-time collaboration using Socket.IO Secure authentication with JWT (access & refresh tokens) Email verification system for new users Redis caching for improved performance Type-safe development with TypeScript Production-ready logging with Winston Scalable architecture with clear separation of concerns

🛠️ Tech Stack Core Technologies

Runtime: Node.js (v18+) Framework: Express.js v5 Language: TypeScript Database: MongoDB with Mongoose ODM Caching: Redis Real-time: Socket.IO

Authentication & Security

JWT (JSON Web Tokens) Bcrypt for password hashing Cookie-based session management CORS configuration

Developer Tools

Validation: Zod Logging: Winston & Pino Email: Nodemailer Development: Nodemon, ts-node

🏗️ Architecture
The project follows a layered architecture pattern:
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│         Routes Layer                │  ← HTTP endpoints
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│       Controllers Layer             │  ← Request handling
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│        Services Layer               │  ← Business logic
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│         Models Layer                │  ← Data models
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│    Database (MongoDB + Redis)       │  ← Data persistence
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

Design Patterns Used

• MVC Pattern: Separation of concerns
• Middleware Pattern: Authentication, validation, role-based access
• Repository Pattern: Data access abstraction through services
• Factory Pattern: Used in JWT utilities

✨ Features

👤 User Management

• User registration with email verification
• Secure login with JWT authentication
• Password hashing with bcrypt
• Session management with refresh tokens
• Role-based access control (Admin/User)

📂 Project Management

• Create and manage projects
• Add project members with role assignment
• Update project details
• Admin-only access controls
• Email notifications for new members

✅ Task Management

• Create tasks within projects
• Assign tasks to project members
• Update task status (pending/working/completed)
• Real-time task updates via Socket.IO
• Task filtering and retrieval
• Delete tasks (admin only)

🔄 Real-time Features

• Socket.IO integration for live updates
• Project-based room connections
• Real-time task creation/update notifications
• Automatic client synchronization

📧 Email Notifications

• Email verification on registration
• Project membership notifications
• Task assignment notifications
• Customizable HTML email templates

🔐 Security Features

• JWT access and refresh tokens
• HTTP-only cookies for refresh tokens
• Token expiration handling
• Middleware-based authentication
• Project admin authorization checks

📁 Folder Structure

TaskFlow/
├── config/
│   └── default.ts              # Configuration settings
├── src/
│   ├── app.ts                  # Application entry point
│   ├── controllers/            # Request handlers
│   │   ├── project.controller.ts
│   │   ├── session.controller.ts
│   │   ├── tasks.controller.ts
│   │   └── user.controller.ts
│   ├── middleware/             # Custom middleware
│   │   ├── authentication.middleware.ts
│   │   ├── isProjectAdmin.middleware.ts
│   │   ├── role.middleware.ts
│   │   └── validateResource.ts
│   ├── models/                 # Database schemas
│   │   ├── projects.model.ts
│   │   ├── session.model.ts
│   │   ├── tasks.model.ts
│   │   └── user.model.ts
│   ├── routes/                 # API routes
│   │   ├── healthCheck.routes.ts
│   │   ├── project.routes.ts
│   │   ├── tasks.routes.ts
│   │   └── user.routes.ts
│   ├── schema/                 # Validation schemas
│   │   ├── project.schema.ts
│   │   ├── session.schema.ts
│   │   ├── tasks.schema.ts
│   │   └── user.schema.ts
│   ├── services/               # Business logic
│   │   ├── project.service.ts
│   │   ├── session.service.ts
│   │   ├── tasks.service.ts
│   │   └── user.service.ts
│   ├── types/                  # TypeScript types
│   │   └── request.types.ts
│   └── utils/                  # Utilities
│       ├── connect.ts          # MongoDB connection
│       ├── jwt.utils.ts        # JWT helpers
│       ├── logger.ts           # Logger setup
│       ├── redisClient.ts      # Redis connection
│       └── sendMail.ts         # Email utilities
├── .env                        # Environment variables
├── package.json
└── tsconfig.json              # TypeScript config

🚀 How to Run the Project Prerequisites

Node.js (v18 or higher) MongoDB (local or Atlas) Redis server Gmail account (for email notifications)

Installation Steps

Clone the repository

bashgit clone https://github.com/yourusername/taskflow.git cd taskflow

Install dependencies

bashnpm install

Set up environment variables

Create a .env file in the root directory: env# JWT Keys ACCESS_KEY=your_access_secret_key REFRESH_KEY=your_refresh_secret_key JWT_LIFE_TIME=15m REFRESH_LIFE_TIME=7d

Database

MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/TaskFlow

Redis

REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379

Email Configuration

APP_PASSWORD=your_gmail_app_password

Start MongoDB

bash# For local MongoDB mongod

Start Redis

bash# For local Redis redis-server

Run the application

Development mode: bashnpm run dev Production mode: bashnpm run build npm start The server will start at http://localhost:1337 Testing the API Use tools like Postman, Thunder Client, or cURL to test endpoints: bash# Health check GET http://localhost:1337/api/health-check

Register user

POST http://localhost:1337/api/user/users Content-Type: application/json

{ "name": "John Doe", "email": "john@example.com", "password": "SecurePass123", "passwordConfirmation": "SecurePass123" }

📝 API Endpoints

Authentication:
Method | Endpoint | Description 
POST - /api/user/usersRegister - new user
GET - /api/user/verifyVerify - email
POST - /api/user/sessions - Login
GET - /api/user/getSessionsGet - active sessions
PUT - /api/user/deleteSession - Logout
________________________________________
Projects:
Method | Endpoint | Description 
POST - /api/v1/projects/addProject - Create project
PUT - /api/v1/projects/updateProject/:projectId - Update project
PUT - /api/v1/projects/addMember/:projectId - Add member
________________________________________
Tasks:
Method | Endpoint | Description
POST - /api/tasks/add-task - Create task
GET - /api/tasks/get-tasksGet - all tasks
GET - /api/tasks/single-task/:taskId - Get task by ID
PUT - /api/tasks/update-admin-task/:taskIdUpdate - task (admin)

🧪 Testing Manual Testing

Register a new user and check email for verification link Login and receive JWT tokens Create a project Add members to the project Create and assign tasks Update task status Monitor real-time updates via Socket.IO

Socket.IO Testing Use a Socket.IO client to connect: javascriptconst socket = io('http://localhost:1337'); socket.emit('joinProject', 'projectId'); socket.on('taskCreated', (task) => console.log(task));

🔮 Future Improvements

Add comprehensive unit and integration tests (Jest/Mocha) Implement task comments and attachments Add task priority levels and due dates Create notification center for users Implement task filtering and search Implement file upload for tasks Implement OAuth (Google, GitHub) Add two-factor authentication Set up CI/CD pipeline Add API rate limiting

Fork the project Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature) Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature') Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature) Open a Pull Request