(Note: This project was originally developed as part of a course at Roskilde Technical School (RTS.dk) and has been mirrored here for portfolio purposes.)

This document serves as the official technical documentation for the HiFi Horizons backend API.

• Made by Christian Reed and Sebastian Køster.
• checkout the website live from here: https://kosterseb.github.io/HiFiHorizon

HiFi Horizons is a full-stack e-commerce platform for high-end audio equipment. This backend handles data persistence, product catalog management, user authentication, and customer engagement.

• Frontend: Hosted on GitHub Pages, serving the React-based user interface.
• Backend: Hosted on Render, running the Node.js/Express server.
• Database: MongoDB Atlas, a cloud-managed NoSQL database.

The server uses Express and CORS to handle requests. It serves static images and registers all API routes.

import express from 'express';
import cors from 'cors';
import connectDB from './config/db.js';
import productRoutes from './routes/productRoutes.js';
import userRoutes from './routes/userRoutes.js';
import contactRoutes from './routes/contactRoutes.js';
import newsletterRoutes from './routes/newsletterRoutes.js';

// Connect to MongoDB
connectDB();
const app = express();

app.use(cors());
app.use(express.json()); 

// Static folder for assets and product images
app.use(express.static('public'));
app.use('/images', express.static('images'));

// API Routes
app.use('/api/products', productRoutes); 
app.use('/api/users', userRoutes);
app.use('/api/contact', contactRoutes);
app.use('/api/newsletter', newsletterRoutes);

const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;
app.listen(PORT, () => console.log(`Server running on port ${PORT}`));

Uses Mongoose to establish a secure connection to MongoDB Atlas using environment variables.

import mongoose from 'mongoose';
import 'dotenv/config';

const MONGODB_URI = process.env.MONGO_URI; 

const connectDB = async () => {
    try {
        await mongoose.connect(MONGODB_URI, {});
        console.log('MongoDB connected successfully!');
    } catch (err) {
        console.error('MongoDB connection failed:', err.message);
        process.exit(1); 
    }
};

export default connectDB;

Manages the retrieval of the audio equipment catalog.

• **GET /**: Returns the entire catalog document.
• **GET /random**: Fetches the catalog document to allow for frontend-side product randomization.

Handles customer accounts and authentication.

• **POST /register**: Registers a new user with full profile details.
• **POST /login**: Authenticates a user and returns a profile (password excluded).
• **PUT /update/:id**: Updates existing user profile information.

• Newsletter (/api/newsletter): **POST /** saves a unique email address for subscriptions.
• Contact (/api/contact): **POST /** records customer inquiries into the database.

The catalog is optimized for a nested structure: Category > Brand > Model.

const productDetailSchema = mongoose.Schema({
    image: { type: String, required: true },
    description: { type: String, required: true },
    'in-stock': { type: Boolean, required: true },
    price: { type: Number, required: true },
    color: [{ type: String }], 
    specifications: { type: Map, of: String }, 
}, { _id: false }); 

Stores comprehensive shipping and contact information.

Create a .env file in the root directory with the following variables:

The HiFi Horizons platform is architected as a Decoupled Application, separating the static frontend from the dynamic logic of the backend.

• Hosting Model: Static Site Hosting.

• Build Process: React source code is bundled using Vite into minified assets.

• Deployment Workflow:

• The gh-pages package automates the deployment.

• Running npm run deploy triggers a build and pushes the dist folder to a dedicated gh-pages branch.

• Routing Strategy: Uses a basename="/HiFiHorizon" configuration within BrowserRouter to ensure path resolution matches the GitHub repository subdirectory.

• Hosting Model: Web Service (Node.js).
• Lifecycle: The server remains in "sleep" mode during inactivity and spins up automatically upon the first API request.
• Static Asset Serving: The Express server is configured to serve physical product images via the /images route, which are accessed by the frontend using absolute URLs (https://hifihorizon.onrender.com/images/...).

To allow the frontend (hosted on github.io) to safely request data from the backend (hosted on onrender.com), the backend utilizes the cors middleware. This "handshake" ensures that only authorized domains can access the product catalog and user data.

When updating the project, follow these steps:

1. Backend Changes: Push code to the main branch; Render will auto-deploy. Ensure environment variables (MONGO_URI) are set in the Render Dashboard.
2. Frontend Changes: Update the code locally and run npm run deploy to refresh the GitHub Pages site.
3. Environment Sync: Ensure the frontend VITE_API_URL (or hardcoded fetch URLs) always points to the live Render address, not localhost.