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Contributing to EduNode Server

Thanks for your interest in contributing! This document covers how to get set up, our conventions, and how to submit changes.

Code of Conduct

By participating, you are expected to uphold our Code of Conduct.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 22.x
  • A MongoDB instance (local or Atlas)
  • npm

Setup

git clone https://github.com/EduNodeOrg/server.git
cd server
npm install

Create config/config.env with the required environment variables — see the table in README.md. At minimum you need MONGO_URI, SESSION_SECRET, and JWT_SECRET. Never commit this file or any secrets.

Run

npm run dev        # nodemon with auto-reload
node server.js     # production-style start

The API listens on PORT (default 5001); a WebSocket server runs on 5002.

How to Contribute

Reporting Bugs

Open a GitHub issue with:

  • A clear, descriptive title
  • Steps to reproduce
  • Expected vs. actual behavior
  • Relevant logs, request/response samples, or stack traces

Do not file public issues for security vulnerabilities — see SECURITY.md.

Suggesting Features

Open a GitHub issue describing the problem you're solving and your proposed approach before writing large amounts of code — it may save you rework.

Submitting Pull Requests

  1. Fork the repo and create a branch from master (git checkout -b my-change).
  2. Make your changes following the conventions below.
  3. Verify the server starts and the affected endpoints work — see Testing.
  4. Commit with a clear message describing why the change is needed.
  5. Open a PR against master with a summary of the change and how you verified it.

Keep PRs focused — one fix or feature per PR makes review much faster.

Conventions

  • Modules: CommonJS (require/module.exports) throughout — do not introduce ESM or TypeScript.
  • Routes: handlers live in routes/ and are registered in server.js; business logic belongs in services/ or controllers/.
  • Models: Mongoose schemas in models/.
  • Style: match the surrounding code — compact error handling at route boundaries, existing async/callback patterns.
  • Comments: don't add comments to code you didn't change; keep new comments minimal and only where they add real clarity.

Security Requirements

  • Never commit secrets, API keys, or .env files.
  • Preserve the security middleware — Helmet, express-rate-limit, and the CORS allowlist must stay enabled.
  • The Stripe webhook (/api/stripe/webhook) requires raw request bodies — do not place a JSON body parser in front of it.
  • Validate and sanitize user input before it reaches Mongoose queries, file handling, or email templates.
  • Be careful touching auth code — sessions and JWTs coexist; check which mechanism a route uses before editing.

Testing

There is currently no automated test suite. test.js is a scratch file, not a test runner. To verify a change:

  1. Start the server (npm run dev) and confirm it boots without errors.
  2. Exercise the affected endpoints manually (curl, Postman, or the frontend).
  3. For auth or payment changes, test the full flow including failure cases.

If you add a test framework, please document how to run it here.

Project Layout

server.js      Express app entry (security, DB, route registration)
routes/        API route handlers
models/        Mongoose models
controllers/   Route controllers
middleware/    Auth/security middleware
services/      Business logic
config/        DB connection, env config
scripts/       One-off maintenance scripts
utils/         Helpers

License

By contributing, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.