Blog Express.js API

A RESTful API built with Express.js for managing a blog platform with authentication, posts, comments, and categories.

Features

• User authentication (signup/login) with JWT
• Post management (create, read, list, filter by tags/categories)
• Comment system
• Category management
• Role-based access (admin, author, reader)
• MongoDB integration with Mongoose
• Redis caching for improved performance
• AI-powered content generation
• Input validation
• Protected routes with Passport.js
• Comprehensive test suite
• Docker containerization

Prerequisites

• Node.js
• MongoDB
• npm or yarn

Installation

Using Docker (Recommended)

1. Clone the repository

git clone [repository-url]
cd blog-expressjs-api

2. Create a .env file (optional, default values are provided in docker-compose.yml)

PORT=3001
MONGO_URI=mongodb://mongodb:27017
MONGO_DB_NAME=blog
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret

3. Build and start the containers

# Build and start all services in detached mode
docker-compose up -d

# View the logs
docker-compose logs -f web

4. Verify the installation

• API Server: http://localhost:3001
• MongoDB Express UI: http://localhost:8081

Managing Docker Containers

# Stop all services
docker-compose down

# Rebuild and restart services
docker-compose up -d --build

# View logs of specific service
docker-compose logs -f [service-name]  # web, mongodb, redis, or mongo-express

# Reset data (removes volumes)
docker-compose down -v

Troubleshooting Docker Setup

1. If ports are already in use:

# Check which process is using the port
lsof -i :3001
# or
netstat -ano | grep 3001

# Kill the process
kill -9 <PID>

2. If MongoDB fails to start:

# Remove existing volume
docker-compose down -v
# Restart services
docker-compose up -d

3. Check service status:

docker-compose ps

Local Development Setup

1. Clone the repository

git clone [repository-url]
cd blog-expressjs-api

2. Install dependencies

npm install

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

PORT=3000
MONGO_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017
MONGO_DB_NAME=blog_db
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret

Running the Application

Development mode:

npm run dev

Production mode:

npm start

Test Coverage

• Authentication (signup/login)
• Post operations (CRUD)
• Comment management
• Category management
• Protected routes
• Input validation
• Error handling
• Cache operations

API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /api/v1/auth/signup - Register a new user
  • Required fields: firstName, lastName, email, password, role
• POST /api/v1/auth/login - Login user
  • Required fields: email, password
  • Returns: JWT token

Posts

• GET /api/v1/posts - List all posts
• GET /api/v1/posts/:id - Get single post
• POST /api/v1/posts - Create new post
  • Required fields: title, content, categories, tags, author
• GET /api/v1/posts?tags=[]&categories=[] - Filter posts
• PUT /api/v1/posts/:id/published - Publish a post
• PUT /api/v1/posts/:id/draft - Move post to draft
• POST /api/v1/posts/generate - Generate AI content
  • Required field: category

Comments

• POST /api/v1/posts/:postId/comments - Add comment
  • Required fields: content, author
• GET /api/v1/posts/:postId/comments - Get comments
• DELETE /api/v1/posts/:postId/comments/:commentId - Delete comment

Categories

• GET /api/v1/categories - List categories
• POST /api/v1/categories - Create category
  • Required field: label
• PUT /api/v1/categories/:id - Update category
• DELETE /api/v1/categories/:id - Delete category

Caching Strategy

Redis caching implementation:

• Post data cached for 1 hour by default
• Automatic cache invalidation on updates
• Cached data includes:
  • Individual posts
  • Post listings
  • Filtered results
• Cache keys format: {prefix}:{identifier}

AI Content Generation

The API includes AI-powered content generation:

• Generates blog posts based on categories
• Creates SEO-friendly titles
• Includes relevant tags
• Structures content with proper formatting
• Returns JSON-formatted content ready for posting

Project Structure

blog-expressjs-api/
├── src/
│   ├── controllers/     # Route controllers
│   ├── middleware/      # Custom middleware
│   ├── mongoose/        # Database models and schemas
│   ├── router/         # Route definitions
│   ├── services/       # Business logic
│   ├── strategies/     # Passport.js strategies
│   ├── test/          # Test suites
│   ├── utils/         # Utility functions
│   ├── index.js       # App configuration
│   └── server.js      # Server entry point
├── docker-compose.yml  # Docker services configuration
├── Dockerfile         # API container configuration
├── .env               # Environment variables
└── package.json       # Project dependencies

Technologies Used

• Express.js - Web framework
• MongoDB with Mongoose - Database
• Redis - Caching layer
• JWT - Authentication
• Passport.js - Route protection
• Express Validator - Input validation
• Bcrypt - Password hashing
• Jest - Testing framework
• Supertest - HTTP testing
• MongoDB Memory Server - Testing database
• Ollama - AI content generation
• Docker - Containerization
• Docker Compose - Multi-container orchestration

Error Handling

The API uses standard HTTP response codes:

• 200: Success
• 201: Created
• 400: Bad Request
• 401: Unauthorized
• 403: Forbidden
• 404: Not Found
• 500: Internal Server Error

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch
3. Commit your changes
4. Push to the branch
5. Create a new Pull Request

License

ISC

Services

The application runs with the following services:

• API Server: Express.js application (Port 3001)
• MongoDB: Database (Port 27017)
• Redis: Caching layer (Port 6379)
• Mongo Express: Database management UI (Port 8081)

Running the Application

Docker Environment