🌉 Skill-Bridge

A dynamic web platform designed to connect students and mentors, facilitate skill exchange, and foster project collaboration.

Skill-Bridge provides a comprehensive ecosystem for learning, teaching, and building together. Whether you are a student eager to learn or a mentor ready to guide, Skill-Bridge is your gateway to a world of opportunities.

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✨ Key Features

• 👤 Dual User Roles: Separate registration and onboarding flows for Students and Mentors.
• 🔐 Secure Authentication: Robust authentication system using JSON Web Tokens (JWT).
• 🧑‍💻 Rich User Profiles: Differentiated profiles for students and mentors to showcase skills, experience, projects, and social links.
• 🎓 Skill Exchange: A marketplace where mentors can list skills they teach, and students can enroll to learn.
• 🤝 Project Collaboration: A dedicated space for users to post project ideas, form teams, and collaborate.
• 👨‍🏫 Mentorship Program: A streamlined system for students to find and send mentorship requests to experienced mentors.
• 💬 Real-time Communication: Integrated chat functionality for seamless interaction (feature to be implemented).
• 📈 Personalized Dashboards: Intuitive dashboards for users to track their learning progress, mentorship requests, and project activities.

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🛠️ Tech Stack

Category	Technology
Backend	Node.js, Express.js, MongoDB, Mongoose, JWT, Cloudinary, Zod
Frontend	React, Vite, React Router, Zustand, TanStack Query, Tailwind CSS, Axios, React Hook Form
DevOps	ESLint, Vite

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🚀 Getting Started

Follow these instructions to get a copy of the project up and running on your local machine.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16 or later)
• npm
• MongoDB instance (local or cloud)

Installation & Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/Skill-Bridge.git
   cd Skill-Bridge

2. Backend Setup:

   cd Backend
   npm install

   • Navigate to the src directory and create a .env file by copying example.env.
   • Update the .env file with your credentials:

     PORT=8000
     ORIGIN=http://localhost:5173
     MONGO_URL=your_mongodb_connection_string
     JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret
     CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your_cloudinary_name
     CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your_cloudinary_api_key
     CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your_cloudinary_api_secret

3. Frontend Setup:

   cd ../Frontend
   npm install

   • In the Frontend root, create a .env file by copying Example.env.
   • Update it with your backend API URL:

     VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:8000

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🏃 Running the Application

1. Start the Backend Server:

   • From the Backend directory:

   npm run nd

   The API server will be running at http://localhost:8000.

2. Start the Frontend Client:

   • From the Frontend directory:

   npm run dev

   The application will be available at http://localhost:5173.

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🔌 API Endpoints

The backend provides the following RESTful API endpoints. All protected routes require a Bearer token in the Authorization header.

Method	Endpoint	Description	Protected
POST	/api/Authentication/signup	Register a new user (student or mentor)	No
POST	/api/Authentication/signin	Log in a user	No
GET	/api/User/Profile	Get the profile of the logged-in user	Yes
PUT	/api/User/Profile	Update the user's profile	Yes
GET	/api/Skill-Exchange	Get all available skills	Yes
POST	/api/Skill-Exchange	Create a new skill (mentors only)	Yes
GET	/api/Collaboration	Get all available projects	Yes
POST	/api/Collaboration	Create a new project	Yes
GET	/api/Mentor-Match	Get all mentors	Yes
POST	/api/Mentor-Match/request	Send a mentorship request to a mentor	Yes

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📁 Project Structure

The project follows a monorepo structure with two main packages: Frontend and Backend.

Skill-Bridge/
├── 📁 Backend/
│   ├── 📁 src/
│   │   ├── 📁 config/       # DB, Cloudinary configuration
│   │   ├── 📁 controllers/  # Business logic for routes
│   │   ├── 📁 middleware/   # Express middleware (auth, error handling)
│   │   ├── 📁 models/       # Mongoose database schemas
│   │   └── 📁 routes/       # API route definitions
│   └── package.json
└── 📁 Frontend/
    ├── 📁 src/
    │   ├── 📁 api/          # Axios instances and React Query hooks
    │   ├── 📁 components/   # Reusable UI components
    │   ├── 📁 pages/        # Application pages
    │   ├── 📁 store/        # Zustand global state stores
    │   └── App.jsx         # Main component with routing
    └── package.json

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are what make the open-source community such an amazing place to learn, inspire, and create. Any contributions you make are greatly appreciated.

1. Fork the Project
2. Create your Feature Branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your Changes (git commit -m 'feat: Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the Branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

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📄 License

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for more information.