Job Portal (MERN, Free-Tier Ready)

This repository contains a refactored MERN job portal split into two apps:

• job-portal-client -> React + Vite frontend
• job-portal-server -> Node + Express + Mongoose backend

The stack is optimized for zero-cost student/portfolio deployment:

• Database: MongoDB Atlas Free tier (M0)
• Backend: Render Free Web Service
• Frontend: Vercel Hobby
• Auth: Clerk (role-based)

1) Project Structure

Job-Portal/
  job-portal-client/
    src/
      api/
      components/
      hooks/
      pages/
      utils/
      Router/
  job-portal-server/
    src/
      config/
      controllers/
      middleware/
      models/
      routes/
      utils/
    index.js
  render.yaml

2) Local Setup

Backend

cd job-portal-server
npm install
cp .env.example .env
npm run dev

Frontend

cd job-portal-client
npm install
cp .env.example .env
npm run dev

Frontend default dev URL: http://localhost:5173
Backend default dev URL: http://localhost:3000

3) Environment Variables

Backend (job-portal-server/.env)

PORT=3000
MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://<username>:<password>@<cluster>.mongodb.net/job_portal?retryWrites=true&w=majority
CLIENT_URL=http://localhost:5173
CLERK_SECRET_KEY=
CLERK_ISSUER=

Notes:

• CLERK_SECRET_KEY comes from Clerk dashboard.
• CLERK_ISSUER is optional. Leave empty to auto-detect from token.

Frontend (job-portal-client/.env)

VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:3000
VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=

4) Role Model

• jobProvider -> can post/edit/delete jobs and view own job applications.
• jobSeeker -> can apply to jobs.

On first sign-in, users are redirected to /select-role.

5) MongoDB Atlas Free Setup (M0 only)

1. Create Atlas account.
2. Create a Free cluster (M0).
3. Create database user (username/password).
4. Add IP access rule:
   • Development: your current IP
   • Deployment: 0.0.0.0/0 (common for hobby projects; use strong password)
5. Get connection string and set MONGODB_URI in backend env.

6) Clerk Free Setup (Auth)

1. Create a Clerk account.
2. Create an application (free tier).
3. Copy:
   • Publishable key -> frontend VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY
   • Secret key -> backend CLERK_SECRET_KEY
4. Add your local/dev and deployed URLs in Clerk allowed origins/redirects.

7) Deploy Backend on Render (Free Web Service)

1. Push repo to GitHub.
2. In Render: New -> Web Service.
3. Select repo and configure:
   • Root Directory: job-portal-server
   • Build Command: npm install
   • Start Command: npm start
   • Instance Type: Free
4. Add env vars in Render dashboard:
   • PORT
   • MONGODB_URI
   • CLIENT_URL
   • CLERK_SECRET_KEY
   • CLERK_ISSUER (optional)
5. Deploy and verify /api/health.

8) Deploy Frontend on Vercel (Hobby)

1. Import repository in Vercel.
2. Set project root to job-portal-client.
3. Add env vars:
   • VITE_API_URL
   • VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY
4. Deploy on Hobby plan.

9) API Summary

Base URL: /api

• Public:
  • GET /api/health
  • GET /api/jobs
  • GET /api/jobs/:id
• Provider-only:
  • POST /api/jobs
  • PATCH /api/jobs/:id
  • DELETE /api/jobs/:id
  • GET /api/jobs/my/:email
  • GET /api/jobs/:id/applications
• Seeker-only:
  • POST /api/jobs/:id/apply
  • GET /api/applications/my/:email

10) Notes

• node_modules are ignored and not tracked.
• Backend production start uses node index.js.
• Frontend API calls use VITE_API_URL and send Clerk bearer token automatically.