CollabTask - MERN Stack Team Collaboration Platform

Streamline team collaboration with intelligent project management

🚀 Project Overview

CollabTask is a comprehensive team collaboration platform built with the MERN stack (MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node.js) that addresses the fragmentation problem in modern project management tools. It provides real-time collaboration, unified project management, and intelligent insights for small to medium-sized teams.

🎯 Key Features

• Real-time Collaboration: Instant updates and notifications across all project activities
• Unified Project Management: Consolidate task management, file sharing, and communication in one platform
• Intelligent Project Insights: Data-driven insights for better project decision making
• Seamless Integration Experience: Minimal friction in team adoption and daily usage
• Mobile-First Design: Responsive interface optimized for all devices
• Robust Security: JWT-based authentication with role-based access control

🏗️ Technology Stack

Frontend

• React 18 with TypeScript
• Redux Toolkit for state management
• Socket.io Client for real-time features
• Material-UI for consistent design system
• React Query for data fetching and caching

Backend

• Node.js with Express.js framework
• MongoDB with Mongoose ODM
• Socket.io for real-time communication
• JWT for authentication
• Redis for session management and caching

Infrastructure

• Frontend Deployment: Vercel/Netlify
• Backend Deployment: Vercel/Render/Heroku
• Database: MongoDB Atlas with global clusters
• Real-time: Redis Cloud for WebSocket scaling
• Monitoring: Sentry for error tracking

📁 Project Structure

collabtask/
├── 📁 backend/                 # Express.js API server
│   ├── 📁 src/
│   │   ├── 📁 controllers/     # Route handlers
│   │   ├── 📁 models/          # Mongoose schemas
│   │   ├── 📁 routes/          # API routes
│   │   ├── 📁 middleware/      # Custom middleware
│   │   ├── 📁 services/        # Business logic
│   │   ├── 📁 utils/           # Utility functions
│   │   └── 📁 socket/          # WebSocket handlers
│   ├── 📁 tests/               # Backend tests
│   ├── 📄 package.json
│   └── 📄 server.js            # Entry point
├── 📁 frontend/                # React application
│   ├── 📁 public/
│   ├── 📁 src/
│   │   ├── 📁 components/      # React components
│   │   │   ├── 📁 ui/          # Base UI components
│   │   │   ├── 📁 forms/       # Form components
│   │   │   ├── 📁 layout/      # Layout components
│   │   │   └── 📁 features/    # Feature components
│   │   ├── 📁 pages/           # Page components
│   │   ├── 📁 hooks/           # Custom hooks
│   │   ├── 📁 store/           # Redux store
│   │   ├── 📁 services/        # API services
│   │   ├── 📁 utils/           # Utility functions
│   │   ├── 📁 types/           # TypeScript types
│   │   └── 📁 styles/          # CSS and styling
│   ├── 📁 tests/               # Frontend tests
│   ├── 📄 package.json
│   └── 📄 index.tsx            # Entry point
├── 📁 shared/                  # Shared types and utilities
├── 📁 docs/                    # Documentation
├── 📄 .gitignore
├── 📄 .eslintrc.js
├── 📄 .prettierrc.js
├── 📄 package.json             # Root package.json
└── 📄 README.md                # This file

🚦 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18+ recommended)
• MongoDB (v6+)
• Git for version control

Installation

1. Clone the repository

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

2. Install dependencies

   # Install root dependencies
   npm install
   
   # Install backend dependencies
   cd backend
   npm install
   
   # Install frontend dependencies
   cd ../frontend
   npm install

3. Set up environment variables

   # Backend (.env)
   cd backend
   cp .env.example .env
   
   # Frontend (.env)
   cd ../frontend
   cp .env.example .env

4. Start development servers

   # Terminal 1: Start backend (port 5000)
   cd backend
   npm run dev
   
   # Terminal 2: Start frontend (port 3000)
   cd frontend
   npm start

5. Access the application

   • Frontend: http://localhost:3000
   • Backend API: http://localhost:5000
   • API Documentation: http://localhost:5000/api/docs

🧪 Testing

Backend Testing

cd backend
npm test                    # Run all tests
npm run test:watch         # Run tests in watch mode
npm run test:coverage      # Run tests with coverage report

Frontend Testing

cd frontend
npm test                   # Run all tests
npm run test:watch        # Run tests in watch mode
npm run test:coverage     # Run tests with coverage report
npm run test:e2e          # Run end-to-end tests

📦 Building for Production

Backend Build

cd backend
npm run build
npm start

Frontend Build

cd frontend
npm run build
npm run preview           # Preview production build

🚀 Deployment

Environment Setup

1. Backend Deployment

   • Configure environment variables on your hosting platform
   • Set up MongoDB Atlas connection
   • Configure Redis for real-time features

2. Frontend Deployment

   • Build the React application
   • Deploy to Vercel or Netlify
   • Configure environment variables

3. Database Setup

   • Set up MongoDB Atlas cluster
   • Create database collections
   • Run initial data migrations

📊 Development Workflow

Git Branch Strategy

We use GitFlow branching strategy:

• main - Production-ready code
• develop - Integration branch for features
• feature/* - Individual feature branches
• hotfix/* - Production hotfixes
• release/* - Release preparation branches

Commit Message Format

type(scope): description

[optional body]

[optional footer]

Types:

• feat: New feature
• fix: Bug fix
• docs: Documentation
• style: Code style changes
• refactor: Code refactoring
• test: Testing
• chore: Build/config changes

Examples:

feat(auth): add JWT token validation
fix(ui): resolve button hover state issue
docs(api): update endpoint documentation

Development Guidelines

1. Code Quality

   • Use ESLint and Prettier for code formatting
   • Write unit tests for all new features
   • Follow TypeScript best practices
   • Use meaningful variable and function names

2. Component Development

   • Create reusable, accessible components
   • Follow the established design system
   • Use semantic HTML and proper ARIA labels
   • Implement responsive design patterns

3. API Development

   • Follow RESTful API design principles
   • Use proper HTTP status codes
   • Implement comprehensive error handling
   • Document all endpoints with Swagger

📈 Performance & Monitoring

Performance Targets

• Page Load Time: < 2 seconds
• API Response Time: < 200ms
• Real-time Update Latency: < 1 second
• Test Coverage: >80% backend, >75% frontend

Monitoring & Analytics

• Error Tracking: Sentry integration
• Performance Monitoring: Core Web Vitals
• User Analytics: Google Analytics
• API Monitoring: Response times and error rates

🛡️ Security

Security Features

• JWT Authentication: Secure token-based authentication
• Password Hashing: bcrypt for secure password storage
• Rate Limiting: API rate limiting to prevent abuse
• CORS Configuration: Proper cross-origin resource sharing
• Input Validation: Comprehensive input sanitization
• SQL Injection Prevention: MongoDB injection protection

📖 Documentation

API Documentation

• Swagger/OpenAPI: Interactive API documentation
• Postman Collection: Downloadable API collection
• Schema Documentation: Data model documentation

Component Documentation

• Storybook: Component library documentation
• Design System: UI component specifications
• Style Guide: CSS and design guidelines

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please read our Contributing Guidelines for details on:

• Code of conduct
• Development process
• Pull request guidelines
• Issue reporting

Development Setup

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
3. Make your changes
4. Run tests: npm test
5. Commit your changes: git commit -m 'feat: add amazing feature'
6. Push to the branch: git push origin feature/amazing-feature
7. Open a Pull Request

📄 License

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

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Design System: Material-UI components and design patterns
• Real-time Communication: Socket.io and WebSocket technologies
• Authentication: JWT and bcrypt security practices
• Testing: Jest, React Testing Library, and Cypress
• Deployment: Vercel, Render, and MongoDB Atlas

📞 Support

For support and questions:

• GitHub Issues: Create an issue
• Documentation: View docs
• Email: [email protected]

---

Built with ❤️ by the CollabTask Team

Making team collaboration simple and effective.