Reddit Clone

A simple Reddit clone built using Spring Boot, featuring secure user authentication, a RESTful API, and database integration. The application demonstrates the use of Spring Security with JPA Authentication, Spring Data JPA with MySQL, and Spring MVC to create a robust backend for a social platform.

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Features

• User Authentication: Sign up, log in, and account verification via email.
• Token-based Security: Secure access using JWT tokens and refresh tokens.
• Post Management: Create, read, and interact with posts.
• Subreddit Management: Create and manage subreddits to organize posts.
• Commenting: Engage with posts via a comments section.
• Vote System: Upvote or downvote posts and comments.
• Database Integration: Persist data using MySQL with Spring Data JPA.
• RESTful API: Well-structured endpoints for integration with frontend applications.
• Modular Design: Clean architecture with services, repositories, and DTOs.

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Tech Stack

Frameworks & Libraries

• Spring Boot 3.3.5: Core framework for building the application.
• Spring Security: Implements secure authentication and authorization.
• Spring Data JPA: Simplifies database access with a repository-based approach.
• Spring MVC: Implements RESTful endpoints.
• Spring Mail: Handles email-based account verification.
• MapStruct: Java bean mapping for DTOs and entities.

Database

• MySQL: Relational database for data persistence.

Utilities

• Lombok: Reduces boilerplate code in models and services.
• Jakarta Validation: Ensures input validation in DTOs.
• TimeAgo: Formats date-time into user-friendly strings.

Testing

• JUnit: Unit testing framework.
• Spring Security Test: Tools for security testing.

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Prerequisites

1. Java 17 or higher
2. Maven: For dependency management.
3. MySQL: Set up a local database.
4. Postman or any REST client: For API testing.

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Getting Started

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/your-username/spring-reddit-clone.git
cd spring-reddit-clone

2. Configure the Database

1. Create a new MySQL database:

   CREATE DATABASE spring-reddit-clone;

2. Update the database configuration in src/main/resources/application.properties:

   spring.datasource.driver-class-name=com.mysql.cj.jdbc.Driver
   spring.datasource.url=jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/spring-reddit-clone
   spring.datasource.username=your-username
   spring.datasource.password=your-password
   
   spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto=update
   spring.jpa.show-sql=true

3. Build and Run

1. Install dependencies and package the application:

   mvn clean install

2. Start the application:

   mvn spring-boot:run

3. Access the application API at http://localhost:8080.

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API Endpoints

Authentication

• Sign Up: POST /api/auth/signup
• Log In: POST /api/auth/login
• Account Verification: GET /api/auth/accountVerification/{token}
• Refresh Token: POST /api/auth/refresh/token
• Log Out: POST /api/auth/logout

Posts

• Create Post: POST /api/post
• Get All Posts: GET /api/post
• Get Post by ID: GET /api/post/{id}
• Get All Posts by Subreddit: GET /api/post/{subredditId}
• Get All Posts by User: GET /api/post/{username}

Subreddits

• Create Subreddit: POST /api/subreddit
• Get All Subreddits: GET /api/subreddit
• Get A Subreddit by ID: GET /api/subreddit/{id}

Comments

• Add Comment: POST /api/comment
• Get Comments by Post: GET /api/comment/{postId}
• Get Comments by User: GET /api/comment/{userName}

Voting

• Vote on Post: POST /api/vote

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Maven Dependencies

Key dependencies used in pom.xml:

<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-data-jpa</artifactId>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-security</artifactId>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>com.mysql</groupId>
        <artifactId>mysql-connector-j</artifactId>
        <scope>runtime</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.projectlombok</groupId>
        <artifactId>lombok</artifactId>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.mapstruct</groupId>
        <artifactId>mapstruct</artifactId>
        <version>1.5.3.Final</version>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

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Folder Structure

src
├── main
│   ├── java/com/example/springredditclone
│   │   ├── config       # Security configuration classes
│   │   ├── controller   # REST controllers
│   │   ├── dto          # Data Transfer Objects
│   │   ├── exceptions   # Custom exceptions
│   │   ├── mapper       # MapStruct interfaces
│   │   ├── model        # Entity classes
│   │   ├── repository   # JPA repositories
│   │   ├── security     # Security configurations
│   │   ├── service      # Business logic
│   │   └── SpringRedditCloneApplication.java  # Main application entry point
│   └── resources
│       ├── app.key  # Private RSA Key
│       ├── app.pub  # Public RSA Key
│       ├── application.properties  # Configuration file
│       └── static  # Static resources (if applicable)
└── test
    └── java/com/example/springredditclone  # Unit and integration tests

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Testing

1. Use Postman to test the API endpoints.

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Future Enhancements

• Add frontend integration with React or Angular.
• Implement full-text search functionality.
• Deploy the application to a cloud platform (e.g., AWS or GCP).