ShareCode

ShareCode is a web application that allows users to instantly share code snippets. Users can write/paste code, share it to generate a unique link, and edit existing snippets.

The repository is structured as follows:

• backend: Node.js backend built with Express and Mongoose (connected to MongoDB).
• frontend: React frontend built with Vite and Tailwind CSS.

Snippets automatically expire and are cleaned up from the database 24 hours after creation using a 24-hour MongoDB TTL index.

---

Project Structure

sharecode/
├── backend/          # Express Node.js backend (Port 8000)
├── frontend/         # React + Vite frontend (Port 5173)
├── .gitignore        # Root Git ignore rules
└── README.md         # Project documentation (this file)

---

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18 or higher)
• MongoDB (running locally or a MongoDB Atlas URI)

---

Environment Variables

Copy the .env.example in the backend folder to .env and fill in the values.

Backend (backend/.env)

Variable	Description	Default / Example
MONGODB_URL	MongoDB connection URI with DB name	mongodb://localhost:27017/sharecode
PORT	Port the Node server listens on	8000

---

Setup & Running

1. Backend (backend)

1. Navigate to the directory:

   cd backend

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Copy the environment variables template and configure it:

   cp .env.example .env

4. Start the server (development mode with hot-reloading):

   npm run dev

   The backend will run at http://localhost:8000.

2. Frontend (frontend)

1. Navigate to the directory:

   cd frontend

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Start the Vite development server:

   npm run dev

   The React app will run at http://localhost:5173.

---

Git Workflow & Best Practices

To keep the repository clean and record changes correctly:

1. Branching Strategy

• main: The stable branch. Do not commit directly to main for major changes.
• Feature Branches: Create descriptive branch names for new features or fixes, e.g., feature/add-syntax-highlighting or bugfix/connection-timeout.

2. Making Commits

We follow the Conventional Commits standard:

• feat: ... — for new features.
• fix: ... — for bug fixes.
• docs: ... — for documentation additions/changes.
• chore: ... — for project setup, dependency updates, or configuration.

Example commit command:

git commit -m "docs: add root README and gitignore config"