🚀 Prerequisites

Ensure the following tools are installed on your system:

Node.js (v18.x or higher recommended)

npm or yarn

Git

📂 Project Structure

/project-root

├── backend/ # Node.js Backend

│ ├── data/

│ ├── package.json

│ └── index.js

│

└── frontend/ # Next.js Frontend

├── src/

├── package.json

└── .env.local

🛠️ 1. Backend Setup

➡️ Navigate to Backend Directory

cd backend

➡️ Install Dependencies

npm install

or if using yarn

yarn install

➡️ Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the backend folder and add:

➡️ Start the Backend Server

node index.js

The backend server will run at: http://localhost:8081

💻 2. Frontend Setup

➡️ Navigate to Frontend Directory cd ../frontend

➡️ Install Dependencies npm install

or

yarn install ➡️ Configure Environment Variables Create a .env.local file in the frontend folder and add: NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:3000

➡️ Start the Frontend Server

For development mode:

npm run dev

or

yarn dev

For production build:

npm run build

npm start

or

yarn build yarn start By default, the frontend server will run at: http://localhost:3000

🔗 3. Connect Frontend and Backend Restart both backend and frontend servers if you made changes.

✅ 4. Verify Everything is Working Backend API Test: Visit http://localhost:8081. Frontend App Test: Visit http://localhost:3000 in your browser. Ensure the frontend is able to fetch data from the backend.

📚 Available Scripts Backend node index.js → Start backend. Frontend npm run dev → Start frontend in development mode. npm run build → Build the frontend for production. npm start → Start the frontend in production mode.

🐞 5. Troubleshooting 🔹 Port Conflicts Ensure ports 8081 (backend) and 3000 (frontend) are not already in use.

🔹 Environment Variables Not Loading Check .env (backend) and .env.local (frontend) files for correctness.

🔹 Dependency Issues Remove node_modules and reinstall dependencies:

rm -rf node_modules npm install

🤝 6. Contribution Fork the repository. Create a new branch (git checkout -b feature/your-feature). Commit your changes (git commit -m "Add your feature"). Push to the branch (git push origin feature/your-feature). Open a Pull Request.

📄 7. License This project is licensed under the MIT License.