🎫 Support Ticket Management System

A comprehensive, full-stack support ticket management system built with the MERN stack (MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node.js). This system provides advanced features for managing customer support tickets, tracking performance, and improving service quality.

📋 Table of Contents

• Features
• Tech Stack
• Prerequisites
• Installation
• Configuration
• Running the Application
• Demo Credentials
• API Documentation
• Project Structure
• Features Documentation
• Contributing
• License

✨ Features

Core Ticket Management

• ✅ Create, Read, Update, Delete Tickets - Full CRUD operations
• ✅ Ticket Assignment - Assign tickets to agents
• ✅ Status Management - Customizable ticket statuses
• ✅ Priority Levels - Low, Medium, High, Urgent
• ✅ Department Organization - Organize tickets by departments
• ✅ Ticket History - Track all changes and updates
• ✅ Internal Notes - Private notes for agents
• ✅ Ticket Merging - Merge duplicate tickets
• ✅ Ticket Dependencies - Link related tickets

Advanced Features

• ✅ File Attachments - Upload and manage files (images, PDFs, documents)
• ✅ Saved Replies - Quick response templates with variables
• ✅ Ticket Templates - Pre-defined ticket templates for common issues
• ✅ CSAT Surveys - Customer satisfaction surveys with NPS scoring
• ✅ Collision Detection - Prevent multiple agents from editing same ticket
• ✅ Real-time Updates - WebSocket-based live notifications
• ✅ Escalation Rules - Automatic ticket escalation based on rules
• ✅ Auto-close Tickets - Automatically close resolved tickets

Analytics & Reporting

• ✅ Dashboard Analytics - Overview of ticket metrics
• ✅ Advanced Analytics - Detailed charts and graphs
• ✅ Custom Dashboards - Drag-and-drop widget customization
• ✅ PDF Reports - Generate and download PDF reports
• ✅ Email Scheduling - Schedule automated report emails
• ✅ ML Predictions - Machine learning-based predictions
• ✅ Anomaly Detection - Identify unusual patterns
• ✅ Natural Language Queries - Ask questions in plain English

User Management

• ✅ Role-Based Access Control - Admin, Agent, User roles
• ✅ Google OAuth - Sign in with Google
• ✅ Email Authentication - Traditional email/password login
• ✅ User Profiles - Manage user information
• ✅ Audit Logs - Track all user actions

Communication

• ✅ Ticket Replies - Comment on tickets
• ✅ Email Notifications - Automated email alerts
• ✅ Real-time Notifications - Instant updates via WebSocket
• ✅ Mention System - @mention users in comments

🛠 Tech Stack

Frontend

• React 18 - UI library
• Vite - Build tool and dev server
• React Router - Client-side routing
• Axios - HTTP client
• Socket.io Client - Real-time communication
• Recharts - Data visualization
• Lucide React - Icon library
• React Hot Toast - Notifications
• Tailwind CSS - Utility-first CSS framework

Backend

• Node.js - Runtime environment
• Express.js - Web framework
• MongoDB - Database
• Mongoose - ODM for MongoDB
• Socket.io - Real-time communication
• JWT - Authentication
• Bcrypt - Password hashing
• Multer - File upload handling
• Node-cron - Scheduled tasks
• Nodemailer - Email sending
• PDFKit - PDF generation

📦 Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

• Node.js (v16 or higher) - Download
• MongoDB (v5 or higher) - Download or use MongoDB Atlas
• npm or yarn - Package manager (comes with Node.js)
• Git - Version control

🚀 Installation

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/support-ticket-system.git
cd support-ticket-system

2. Install Backend Dependencies

cd backend
npm install

3. Install Frontend Dependencies

cd ../frontend
npm install

⚙️ Configuration

Backend Configuration

Create a .env file in the backend directory:

# Server Configuration
PORT=5000
NODE_ENV=development

# Database
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/ticket-system
# Or use MongoDB Atlas:
# MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://username:password@cluster.mongodb.net/ticket-system

# JWT Configuration
JWT_SECRET=your-super-secret-jwt-key-change-this-in-production
JWT_EXPIRE=7d

# Email Configuration (Gmail example)
EMAIL_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
EMAIL_PORT=587
EMAIL_USER=your-email@gmail.com
EMAIL_PASSWORD=your-app-specific-password
EMAIL_FROM=noreply@yourdomain.com

# Frontend URL
FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:5173

# Google OAuth (Optional)
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your-google-client-id
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=your-google-client-secret
GOOGLE_REDIRECT_URI=http://localhost:5000/api/auth/google/callback

# Escalation Job Configuration
ESCALATION_CHECK_INTERVAL=*/5 * * * *

Frontend Configuration

Create a .env file in the frontend directory:

VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:5000/api

Email Setup (Gmail)

1. Go to Google Account Settings
2. Enable 2-Factor Authentication
3. Generate an App Password
4. Use the App Password in EMAIL_PASSWORD

Google OAuth Setup (Optional)

1. Go to Google Cloud Console
2. Create a new project
3. Enable Google+ API
4. Create OAuth 2.0 credentials
5. Add authorized redirect URIs:
   • http://localhost:5000/api/auth/google/callback
   • http://localhost:5173/auth/callback
6. Copy Client ID and Secret to .env

🏃 Running the Application

Development Mode

Start Backend Server

cd backend
npm run dev

The backend will run on http://localhost:5000

Start Frontend Development Server

cd frontend
npm run dev

The frontend will run on http://localhost:5173

Production Mode

Build Frontend

cd frontend
npm run build

Start Backend in Production

cd backend
npm start

👤 Demo Credentials

Admin Account

Email: admin@example.com
Password: admin123
Role: Admin

Agent Account

Email: agent@example.com
Password: agent123
Role: Agent

Customer Account

Email: user@example.com
Password: user123
Role: User

Note: Create these accounts after running the application for the first time, or use the seed script.

Seed Database

To populate the database with sample data:

cd backend
npm run seed

To seed ticket templates:

cd backend
npm run seed:templates

📚 API Documentation

Base URL

http://localhost:5000/api

Authentication Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required
POST	/auth/register	Register new user	No
POST	/auth/login	Login user	No
GET	/auth/me	Get current user	Yes
GET	/auth/google	Google OAuth login	No
GET	/auth/google/callback	Google OAuth callback	No

Ticket Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required
GET	/tickets	Get all tickets	Yes
GET	/tickets/:id	Get single ticket	Yes
POST	/tickets	Create ticket	Yes
PUT	/tickets/:id	Update ticket	Yes
DELETE	/tickets/:id	Delete ticket	Yes (Admin)
POST	/tickets/:id/reply	Add reply	Yes
PUT	/tickets/:id/status	Change status	Yes
PUT	/tickets/:id/assign	Assign ticket	Yes
POST	/tickets/:id/merge	Merge tickets	Yes
POST	/tickets/:id/dependency	Add dependency	Yes

Department Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required
GET	/departments	Get all departments	Yes
POST	/departments	Create department	Yes (Admin)
PUT	/departments/:id	Update department	Yes (Admin)
DELETE	/departments/:id	Delete department	Yes (Admin)

Status Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required
GET	/statuses	Get all statuses	Yes
POST	/statuses	Create status	Yes (Admin)
PUT	/statuses/:id	Update status	Yes (Admin)
DELETE	/statuses/:id	Delete status	Yes (Admin)

Escalation Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required
GET	/escalations	Get all rules	Yes (Admin)
POST	/escalations	Create rule	Yes (Admin)
PUT	/escalations/:id	Update rule	Yes (Admin)
DELETE	/escalations/:id	Delete rule	Yes (Admin)

Analytics Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required
GET	/analytics/overview	Get overview stats	Yes
GET	/analytics/tickets	Get ticket analytics	Yes
GET	/analytics/agents	Get agent performance	Yes
POST	/analytics/pdf	Generate PDF report	Yes
POST	/analytics/schedule	Schedule email report	Yes

Attachment Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required
POST	/attachments/upload	Upload files	Yes
GET	/attachments/ticket/:id	Get ticket attachments	Yes
GET	/attachments/:id/download	Download file	Yes
GET	/attachments/:id/view	View file inline	Yes
DELETE	/attachments/:id	Delete attachment	Yes

Saved Reply Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required
GET	/saved-replies	Get all replies	Yes
POST	/saved-replies	Create reply	Yes
PUT	/saved-replies/:id	Update reply	Yes
DELETE	/saved-replies/:id	Delete reply	Yes
POST	/saved-replies/:id/usage	Record usage	Yes

Ticket Template Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required
GET	/ticket-templates	Get all templates	Yes
POST	/ticket-templates	Create template	Yes
PUT	/ticket-templates/:id	Update template	Yes
DELETE	/ticket-templates/:id	Delete template	Yes
POST	/ticket-templates/:id/duplicate	Duplicate template	Yes

Survey Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required
GET	/surveys	Get all surveys	Yes
POST	/surveys	Create survey	Yes
GET	/surveys/analytics	Get survey analytics	Yes
GET	/surveys/public/:token	Get survey by token	No
POST	/surveys/public/:token/submit	Submit survey	No

Ticket Lock Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required
POST	/ticket-locks/:id/acquire	Acquire lock	Yes
POST	/ticket-locks/:id/release	Release lock	Yes
POST	/ticket-locks/:id/refresh	Refresh lock	Yes
GET	/ticket-locks/:id/check	Check lock status	Yes

📁 Project Structure

support-ticket-system/
├── backend/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── config/
│   │   │   ├── database.js
│   │   │   ├── socket.js
│   │   │   └── upload.js
│   │   ├── controllers/
│   │   │   ├── analyticsController.js
│   │   │   ├── attachmentController.js
│   │   │   ├── authController.js
│   │   │   ├── departmentController.js
│   │   │   ├── escalationController.js
│   │   │   ├── googleAuthController.js
│   │   │   ├── savedReplyController.js
│   │   │   ├── statusController.js
│   │   │   ├── surveyController.js
│   │   │   ├── ticketController.js
│   │   │   ├── ticketLockController.js
│   │   │   └── ticketTemplateController.js
│   │   ├── middleware/
│   │   │   ├── auth.js
│   │   │   └── errorHandler.js
│   │   ├── models/
│   │   │   ├── Attachment.js
│   │   │   ├── AuditLog.js
│   │   │   ├── Department.js
│   │   │   ├── EscalationRule.js
│   │   │   ├── SavedReply.js
│   │   │   ├── Status.js
│   │   │   ├── Survey.js
│   │   │   ├── Ticket.js
│   │   │   ├── TicketLock.js
│   │   │   ├── TicketTemplate.js
│   │   │   └── User.js
│   │   ├── routes/
│   │   │   ├── analyticsRoutes.js
│   │   │   ├── attachmentRoutes.js
│   │   │   ├── authRoutes.js
│   │   │   ├── departmentRoutes.js
│   │   │   ├── escalationRoutes.js
│   │   │   ├── savedReplyRoutes.js
│   │   │   ├── statusRoutes.js
│   │   │   ├── surveyRoutes.js
│   │   │   ├── ticketLockRoutes.js
│   │   │   ├── ticketRoutes.js
│   │   │   └── ticketTemplateRoutes.js
│   │   ├── scripts/
│   │   │   ├── seed.js
│   │   │   └── seedTicketTemplates.js
│   │   ├── services/
│   │   │   ├── emailScheduler.js
│   │   │   ├── escalationService.js
│   │   │   ├── mlPredictions.js
│   │   │   └── pdfService.js
│   │   ├── utils/
│   │   │   ├── auditLogger.js
│   │   │   └── ticketNumber.js
│   │   └── server.js
│   ├── uploads/
│   ├── .env
│   ├── .gitignore
│   └── package.json
├── frontend/
│   ├── public/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/
│   │   │   ├── AttachmentList.jsx
│   │   │   ├── FileUpload.jsx
│   │   │   ├── Layout.jsx
│   │   │   ├── ProtectedRoute.jsx
│   │   │   ├── SavedReplyPicker.jsx
│   │   │   └── TicketTemplatePicker.jsx
│   │   ├── context/
│   │   │   └── AuthContext.jsx
│   │   ├── hooks/
│   │   │   └── useTicketLock.js
│   │   ├── pages/
│   │   │   ├── AdvancedAnalytics.jsx
│   │   │   ├── Analytics.jsx
│   │   │   ├── AuthCallback.jsx
│   │   │   ├── CreateTicket.jsx
│   │   │   ├── CustomDashboard.jsx
│   │   │   ├── Dashboard.jsx
│   │   │   ├── Departments.jsx
│   │   │   ├── EscalationRules.jsx
│   │   │   ├── Login.jsx
│   │   │   ├── Register.jsx
│   │   │   ├── SavedReplies.jsx
│   │   │   ├── Statuses.jsx
│   │   │   ├── Surveys.jsx
│   │   │   ├── SurveySubmit.jsx
│   │   │   ├── TicketDetail.jsx
│   │   │   ├── TicketList.jsx
│   │   │   ├── TicketTemplates.jsx
│   │   │   └── Users.jsx
│   │   ├── services/
│   │   │   ├── api.js
│   │   │   ├── notificationService.js
│   │   │   └── ticketService.js
│   │   ├── App.jsx
│   │   ├── index.css
│   │   └── main.jsx
│   ├── .env
│   ├── .gitignore
│   ├── index.html
│   ├── package.json
│   └── vite.config.js
├── .gitignore
├── README.md
└── package.json

📖 Features Documentation

1. Ticket Management

Create Ticket

• Navigate to "Create Ticket"
• Fill in title, description, priority
• Select department
• Add tags
• Upload attachments
• Submit

View Tickets

• Navigate to "Tickets"
• Filter by status, priority, department
• Search by ticket number or title
• Click to view details

Update Ticket

• Open ticket detail page
• Change status, priority, or assignment
• Add replies and internal notes
• Upload additional files

2. File Attachments

Upload Files

• Drag and drop files
• Or click to browse
• Supports: Images, PDFs, Documents
• Max 5 files, 10MB each
• Preview images inline
• Download any file

3. Saved Replies

Create Saved Reply

• Navigate to "Saved Replies"
• Click "New Reply"
• Add title and content
• Use variables: {customer_name}, {ticket_id}, {agent_name}
• Set visibility (Private, Department, Global)
• Add shortcut (e.g., /welcome)

Use Saved Reply

• Open ticket detail
• Click "Saved Replies" button
• Search or browse
• Click to insert
• Variables auto-replace

4. Ticket Templates

Create Template

• Navigate to "Ticket Templates"
• Click "New Template"
• Fill in default values
• Choose icon and color
• Set visibility
• Save

Use Template

• Click "Use Template" when creating ticket
• Select template
• Form pre-fills
• Modify as needed
• Submit

5. CSAT Surveys

Send Survey

• Close/resolve a ticket
• Click "Send Survey" button
• Copy survey link
• Share with customer

Customer Completes Survey

• Click survey link
• Rate experience (1-5 stars)
• Provide NPS score (0-10)
• Write feedback
• Submit

View Results

• Navigate to "Surveys"
• View analytics dashboard
• See individual responses
• Track agent performance

6. Collision Detection

How It Works

• Agent A opens ticket
• Agent B opens same ticket
• Agent B sees warning banner
• Agent B's fields are disabled
• Agent A closes ticket
• Agent B can now edit

Visual Indicators

• Yellow warning banner
• Disabled form fields
• Real-time updates

7. Analytics

Dashboard

• Overview statistics
• Recent tickets
• Agent performance
• Department metrics

Advanced Analytics

• Detailed charts
• Custom date ranges
• Export to PDF
• Schedule email reports

Custom Dashboard

• Drag and drop widgets
• Customize layout
• Save preferences

8. Escalation Rules

Create Rule

• Navigate to "Escalation Rules"
• Set conditions (priority, time, status)
• Define actions (assign, notify, change priority)
• Save rule

Automatic Escalation

• Runs every 5 minutes
• Checks all rules
• Applies actions
• Sends notifications

🔒 Security Features

• JWT Authentication - Secure token-based auth
• Password Hashing - Bcrypt encryption
• Role-Based Access Control - Admin, Agent, User roles
• Input Validation - Sanitize all inputs
• File Upload Security - Type and size validation
• XSS Protection - Prevent cross-site scripting
• CORS Configuration - Controlled cross-origin requests
• Audit Logging - Track all user actions
• Rate Limiting - Prevent abuse (recommended for production)

🚀 Deployment

Deploy to Heroku

1. Create Heroku app
2. Add MongoDB Atlas add-on
3. Set environment variables
4. Deploy backend
5. Build and deploy frontend

Deploy to Vercel (Frontend)

1. Connect GitHub repository
2. Set environment variables
3. Deploy

Deploy to Railway (Backend)

1. Connect GitHub repository
2. Add MongoDB database
3. Set environment variables
4. Deploy

🧪 Testing

Run Backend Tests

cd backend
npm test

Run Frontend Tests

cd frontend
npm test

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

👥 Authors

• Hemal Katariya - MERN Stack Developer - GitHub

🙏 Acknowledgments

• React team for the amazing framework
• MongoDB team for the database
• All contributors who helped with this project

📞 Support

For support, email connect.hemal@gmail.com or join our Slack channel.

🗺️ Roadmap

• Mobile app (React Native)
• Multi-language support
• Advanced reporting
• Integration with Slack/Teams
• AI-powered ticket routing
• Customer portal
• Knowledge base
• Live chat integration

📊 Performance

• Average response time: < 200ms
• Supports 1000+ concurrent users
• Real-time updates via WebSocket
• Optimized database queries
• Efficient file handling

🌟 Star History

If you find this project useful, please consider giving it a star on GitHub!

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Made with ❤️ by Hemal Katariya