DeadDrop.

📝 Description

DeadDrop is a secure, anonymous file drop platform for sharing files with expiring, self-destructing links. Files can be protected with passwords, limited by download count, and automatically cleaned up after expiration. The project uses a React frontend and a TypeScript + Express backend with SQLite for zero external database setup.

✨ Features

• Anonymous file sharing with generated unique download links
• Drag-and-drop upload UX with modern animated interface
• Configurable file expiration (1 hour, 24 hours, 7 days)
• Configurable download limits per file
• Optional password protection for shared files
• Password hashing with bcrypt before storage
• Automatic file self-destruction when:
  • Expired
  • Download limit is reached
• Scheduled background cleanup job (runs every 5 minutes)
• UUID-based file identifiers with server-side validation
• Secure file metadata storage in SQLite
• Browser-based file download with response header support for filenames
• Dedicated result page with copy-to-clipboard share link
• Favicon, web manifest, and installable icon set support

🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend:

• React 19
• TypeScript
• Vite
• React Router
• Axios
• Tailwind CSS
• Framer Motion
• GSAP
• Lucide Icons

Backend:

• Node.js
• Express
• TypeScript
• Multer (file uploads)
• bcrypt (password hashing)
• node-cron (scheduled cleanup)
• uuid

Database:

• SQLite via better-sqlite3 (embedded database, no external setup required)

📋 Prerequisites

• Node.js 18 or higher (recommended: Node.js 20+)
• npm 9 or higher

🚀 Installation and Setup

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/isthatpratham/DeadDrop.git
cd DeadDrop

2. Backend setup

Install backend dependencies from the project root:

npm install

Create environment file:

copy .env.example .env

Start backend in development mode:

npm run dev

Backend will run by default at:

• http://localhost:5000

Health check:

• GET http://localhost:5000/ → API running

3. Frontend setup

Open a second terminal:

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev

Frontend will run on Vite default port (usually):

• http://localhost:5173

🔧 Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the project root with:

PORT=5000
NODE_ENV=development

Variable reference:

• PORT: Backend server port
• NODE_ENV: Runtime mode (development or production)

📡 API Endpoints

• POST /api/upload
  • Multipart field name: file
  • Optional body fields:
    • expiryMinutes
    • maxDownloads
    • password
• GET /api/download/:id
  • Optional query:
    • password

📁 Project Structure

DeadDrop/
├── backend/
│   └── database/
│       └── sqlite-setup.js
├── frontend/
│   ├── public/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/
│   │   ├── layouts/
│   │   ├── pages/
│   │   ├── services/
│   │   └── utils/
│   └── index.html
├── src/
│   ├── config/
│   ├── controllers/
│   ├── routes/
│   ├── services/
│   ├── utils/
│   ├── app.ts
│   └── server.ts
├── uploads/
├── .env.example
├── package.json
└── README.md

🔒 Security Features

• Password-protected file links
• Passwords are hashed with bcrypt (never stored in plain text)
• UUIDv4 identifiers reduce predictable link patterns
• Server-side UUID format validation for download routes
• Allowed MIME type filtering during upload
• Upload size limit enforced on server
• Automatic deletion of expired files and metadata
• One-time/limited-use download behavior based on max download count
• SQLite foreign keys enabled and WAL mode activated

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Commit your changes with clear messages
4. Push your branch
5. Open a Pull Request

Recommended before submitting:

npm run build
cd frontend && npm run build

📄 License

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

👤 Author

Pratham

• GitHub: https://github.com/isthatpratham - Star the repo.