Gele Trekking - Setup Guide

A fully Dockerized MERN (MongoDB, Express, React, Node.js) stack application for trek booking and management.

Stack Overview

Frontend  → Next.js (App Router) + Tailwind CSS
Backend   → Express.js + Node.js with JWT authentication
Database  → MongoDB with authentication
Services  → Docker Compose orchestration

Prerequisites

Before running this project on a new machine, ensure you have:

• Docker (v20.10+) - Install Docker
• Docker Compose (v2.0+) - Usually included with Docker Desktop
• Git - For cloning the repository
• ~2GB of free disk space for Docker images and volumes

Verify Installation

docker --version
docker compose --version

Quick Start (Using Docker) ⚡

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/Crazz-Zaac/geletrekking.git
cd geletrekking

2. Start All Services

cd docker
docker compose up -d --build

This command will:

• Build the frontend (Next.js)
• Build the backend (Express.js)
• Start MongoDB with authentication
• Start Mongo Express (database admin UI)
• Automatically seed the superadmin user

3. Access the Application

Service	URL	Credentials
Frontend	http://localhost:3000	-
Backend API	http://localhost:5000	-
Mongo Express	http://localhost:8081	sherap / sherap123

4. Login to Dashboard

Use the credentials you set in SUPERADMIN_EMAIL and SUPERADMIN_PASSWORD to login

5. Stop Services

cd docker
docker compose down

To also remove data volumes:

docker compose down -v

Local Development (Without Docker)

Prerequisites

• Node.js v18+ and npm/pnpm
• MongoDB running locally on port 27017

1. Install Dependencies

# Root directory
npm install

# Backend dependencies
cd backend
npm install --legacy-peer-deps

# Frontend dependencies
cd ../frontend
npm install

2. Configure Environment Variables

Create/update .env files:

• Copy backend/.env.example to backend/.env
• Fill in your configuration values

backend/.env (for local development):

# MongoDB Configuration (no URL encoding needed!)
MONGO_USERNAME=your_username
MONGO_PASSWORD=your_password
MONGO_HOST=localhost              # Use 'localhost' for local, 'mongo' for Docker
MONGO_PORT=27017
MONGO_DATABASE=geletrekking
MONGO_AUTH_SOURCE=admin

# Application Config
SUPERADMIN_EMAIL=superadmin@geletrekking.com
SUPERADMIN_PASSWORD=your_password
NODE_ENV=development
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_key_here
EMAIL_USER=your_email@gmail.com
EMAIL_PASS=your_app_password
FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:3000
ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:3000

3. Start the Application

From the root directory:

# Run both backend and frontend concurrently
npm run dev

Or run them separately:

# Terminal 1 - Backend
cd backend
npm run dev

# Terminal 2 - Frontend
cd frontend
npm run dev

Frontend: http://localhost:3000 Backend: http://localhost:5000

Project Structure

geletrekking/
├── backend/                 # Express.js server
│   ├── config/             # Database, Cloudinary config
│   ├── controllers/        # Route handlers
│   ├── models/             # MongoDB schemas
│   ├── routes/             # API endpoints
│   ├── middleware/         # Auth, role-based middleware
│   ├── utils/              # Helper functions
│   ├── server.js           # Entry point
│   ├── superadminSeeder.js # Creates superadmin user
│   ├── entrypoint.sh       # Docker entry script
│   └── .env               # Environment variables
│
├── frontend/               # Next.js application
│   ├── app/                # App Router pages
│   ├── components/         # Reusable UI components
│   ├── hooks/              # Custom React hooks
│   ├── lib/                # Utilities & API client
│   └── next.config.mjs
│
├── docker/                 # Docker configuration
│   ├── Dockerfile.backend  # Backend image
│   ├── Dockerfile.frontend # Frontend image
│   ├── docker-compose.yml  # Orchestration
│   └── nginx.conf          # Production Nginx config
│
└── README.md              # This file

Key Features

• ✅ JWT Authentication - Secure user login and token management
• ✅ Role-Based Access Control - Superadmin, admin, and user roles
• ✅ MongoDB Authentication - Database security with credentials
• ✅ Auto-Seeding - Superadmin user created on first run
• ✅ Email Integration - Gmail SMTP for notifications
• ✅ Responsive UI - Tailwind CSS for modern design
• ✅ Production Ready - Dockerized Next.js + backend services
• ✅ Database Admin UI - Mongo Express for easy data management

Environment Variables Reference

Backend (backend/.env)

✅ RECOMMENDED: Use individual MongoDB components (automatically URL-encoded)

# MongoDB Configuration
MONGO_USERNAME=sherap
MONGO_PASSWORD=P@ssw0rd!          # Special characters handled automatically!
MONGO_HOST=mongo                   # 'mongo' for Docker, 'localhost' for local
MONGO_PORT=27017
MONGO_DATABASE=geletrekking
MONGO_AUTH_SOURCE=admin

# MongoDB initialization (Docker only)
MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_USERNAME=sherap
MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD=P@ssw0rd!

# Server Configuration
NODE_ENV=development
ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:3000,http://localhost:5173
FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:3000

# Authentication
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_key_here
SUPERADMIN_EMAIL=superadmin@geletrekking.com
SUPERADMIN_PASSWORD=sherap

# Email Configuration
EMAIL_USER=your_email@gmail.com
EMAIL_PASS=your_app_password

# Database Admin (Mongo Express)
ME_CONFIG_BASICAUTH_USERNAME=sherap
ME_CONFIG_BASICAUTH_PASSWORD=sherap123
ME_CONFIG_MONGODB_SERVER=mongo
ME_CONFIG_MONGODB_PORT=27017

⚠️ LEGACY: Direct MONGO_URI (requires manual URL encoding)

# Only use if you need full control over connection string
MONGO_URI=mongodb://sherap:P%40ssw0rd%21@mongo:27017/geletrekking?authSource=admin

Common Tasks

View Docker Logs

# Backend logs
docker logs geletrekking-backend -f

# MongoDB logs
docker logs geletrekking-mongo -f

# All services
docker logs -f

Access MongoDB Shell

docker exec -it geletrekking-mongo mongosh -u sherap -p 'P@ssw0rd!' --authenticationDatabase admin geletrekking

Rebuild Containers

cd docker
docker compose down -v
docker compose up -d --build

Check Container Status

docker compose ps

Troubleshooting

MongoDB Authentication Failed

Issue: Authentication failed error when connecting to MongoDB

Solution:

• Ensure MONGO_URI includes URL-encoded credentials (@ = %40, ! = %21)
• Rebuild containers: docker compose down -v && docker compose up -d --build

Backend Connection Error

Issue: Backend can't connect to MongoDB

Solution:

• Use mongo as hostname (not localhost) in Docker environment
• Verify .env file is in backend/ directory
• Check MongoDB container is running: docker ps | grep mongo

Port Already in Use

Issue: Port 3000, 5000, or 27017 already in use

Solution:

# Find process using port
lsof -i :3000

# Or change ports in docker-compose.yml

Superadmin User Not Created

Issue: Can't login with superadmin credentials

Solution:

• Check backend logs: docker logs geletrekking-backend
• Verify .env has SUPERADMIN_EMAIL and SUPERADMIN_PASSWORD
• Recreate containers: docker compose down -v && docker compose up -d --build

Special Characters in Password Cause Connection Issues

Issue: MongoDB URI fails with special characters like @ or !

Solution:

• RECOMMENDED: Use individual MongoDB variables (MONGO_USERNAME, MONGO_PASSWORD) - encoding is automatic!
• LEGACY: If using MONGO_URI, manually URL-encode special characters:
  • @ → %40
  • ! → %21
  • : → %3A
  • Example: P@ssw0rd! becomes P%40ssw0rd%21

Production Deployment

For production:

1. Update environment variables in .env
2. Set NODE_ENV=production in backend .env
3. Remove port mappings or use a reverse proxy
4. Enable HTTPS/SSL
5. Update ALLOWED_ORIGINS with production domains
6. Change default passwords
7. Set strong JWT_SECRET
8. Update FRONTEND_URL to production domain

API Documentation

Backend API runs on http://localhost:5000

Main routes:

• POST /api/auth/login - User login
• POST /api/auth/register - User registration
• GET /api/treks - List all treks
• GET /api/about - About page content
• GET /api/gallery - Gallery items
• POST /api/admin/... - Admin routes
• POST /api/superadmin/... - Superadmin routes

Contributing

1. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/your-feature
2. Make your changes
3. Commit: git commit -m "Add your feature"
4. Push: git push origin feature/your-feature
5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is private and owned by Crazz-Zaac.

Support

For issues or questions, contact the development team or create an issue on GitHub.

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