MERN Social

A social networking application built using the MERN stack (MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node.js).

Project Structure

• mern-social/ - Root directory
  • social_frontend/ - Contains the React frontend code
  • social_backend/ - Houses the Express.js backend server

Prerequisites

• Node.js and npm: Make sure you have Node.js and npm installed on your machine.
• MongoDB: You'll need a running MongoDB instance.

Getting Started

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/brett-buskirk/mern-social.git
   cd mern-social
   

2. Install dependencies:

   • Frontend:

     cd social_frontend
     npm install

   • Backend:

     cd ../social_backend
     npm install

3. Set up environment variables:

   Create a .env file in the social_backend directory.

   touch .env

   Add your MongoDB connection string and any other necessary configuration variables.

   Example .env file used for this project:

   MONGODB_URI=mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017/social_backend
   # Add other variables as needed
   

4. Start the application:

   • Backend: Make sure you're still in social_backend and run:

     npm start

   • Frontend: Open a new terminal window/tab and run:

     cd social_frontend
     npm start

     This should open your default browser and display the MERN Social application.

Using the App

When the app first loads, it won't have any posts yet:

Start by clicking on Create Post:

Create a post and upload an image if you want:

Click Post and then click on Home to see your post:

At the bottom of your post, you can click the Like button or even add a comment:

Make it Your Own

Remember that this is only a basic example of a MERN application. Feel free to experiment and make your own changes as you explore how this code works.

License

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