LearnedUp

LearnedUp is a full-stack learning platform with a Node.js/Express backend and a Vite + React frontend.

Project Structure

• backend/ - API server, authentication, AI, history, and transcript routes
• Frontend/ - React application built with Vite

Requirements

• Node.js 18 or newer
• npm
• MongoDB connection string
• Google AI API key

Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone <your-repo-url>
cd LearnedUp

2. Install backend dependencies

cd backend
npm install

3. Install frontend dependencies

cd ../Frontend
npm install

Environment Setup

Create a local environment file in backend/ based on backend/example.env.

Example:

PORT=4500
NODE_ENV=development
MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
JWT_SECRET=your_secret_key
FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:5173
GEMANI_API_KEY=your_google_ai_key

Important:

• Do not commit backend/.env
• Use backend/example.env as the template
• Keep secrets local only

Running the Project

Start the backend

cd backend
npm run dev

The backend runs on http://localhost:4500 by default from the example env file, or on the port set in PORT.

Start the frontend

cd Frontend
npm run dev

The frontend runs on http://localhost:5173 by default.

Available Scripts

Backend

• npm run start - start the server
• npm run dev - start the server with nodemon

Frontend

• npm run dev - start the Vite development server
• npm run build - create a production build
• npm run lint - run ESLint
• npm run test - run tests with Vitest
• npm run preview - preview the production build

How to Contribute

1. Fork the repository on GitHub.
2. Clone your fork locally.
3. Create a new branch for your change.
4. Make your changes and test them.
5. Commit and push the branch to your fork.
6. Open a pull request to the main repository.

Suggested git flow

git checkout -b feature/your-feature
git add .
git commit -m "Describe your change"
git push origin feature/your-feature

How to Fork, Push, and Merge

Fork

• Open the repository on GitHub
• Click Fork to create your own copy

Push

After making changes locally, push them to your fork:

git push origin your-branch-name

Merge

There are two common ways to merge changes:

1. Merge through a pull request

• Push your branch to your fork
• Open a pull request from your branch into the main repository
• After review, the maintainer merges it

2. Merge locally with git

If you are combining branches on your own machine:

git checkout main
git pull origin main
git merge your-branch-name

If you are working from a fork, you may also need to add the original repository as an upstream remote:

git remote add upstream <original-repo-url>
git fetch upstream
git merge upstream/main

Notes

• Keep API keys and database credentials out of version control
• Check backend/example.env before starting the server
• If the frontend cannot reach the backend, confirm FRONTEND_URL and PORT match your local setup