CodeHarbor

CodeHarbor is a GitHub-inspired full-stack developer platform for creating repositories, tracking issues, adding comments, viewing contribution activity, and connecting local projects through a custom CLI workflow.

Live Website: https://bhushan-codeharbor.netlify.app/

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Overview

CodeHarbor was built to understand how developer platforms like GitHub work behind the scenes. It includes a web application, backend API, database, file storage system, and command-line interface.

The project supports repository creation, issue tracking, comments, contribution activity, and a CLI-based local workflow for initializing, staging, committing, pushing, pulling, and reverting files.

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Features

• User authentication
• Repository creation and management
• Repository detail pages
• Issue creation, editing, closing, reopening, and deletion
• Comment system for individual issues
• Profile page with contribution activity heatmap
• Dashboard with repository overview
• Documentation page for CLI usage
• Custom CodeHarbor CLI workflow
• AWS S3-based file storage for pushed commits
• Deployed frontend and backend

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Tech Stack

Frontend

• React
• Vite
• React Router
• Axios
• CSS

Backend

• Node.js
• Express
• MongoDB
• Mongoose
• Native MongoDB Driver
• JWT
• bcryptjs
• Socket.IO
• AWS SDK
• Yargs CLI

Deployment

• Frontend: Netlify
• Backend: Railway
• Database: MongoDB Atlas
• File Storage: AWS S3

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Project Structure

CodeHarbor/
├── backend/
│   ├── config/
│   ├── controllers/
│   ├── models/
│   ├── routes/
│   ├── cli.js
│   ├── index.js
│   └── package.json
│
├── frontend/
│   ├── public/
│   │   └── _redirects
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── assets/
│   │   ├── components/
│   │   ├── api.js
│   │   ├── Routes.jsx
│   │   └── main.jsx
│   └── package.json
│
└── README.md

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How It Works

React frontend
↓
Express backend
↓
MongoDB Atlas + AWS S3

The frontend sends requests to the backend for users, repositories, issues, comments, and profile activity.

MongoDB stores application data such as users, repositories, issues, comments, and activity-related data.

AWS S3 stores repository files pushed through the CodeHarbor CLI workflow.

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Local Setup

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/BhushanSah/CodeHarbor.git
cd CodeHarbor

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Backend Setup

Go to the backend folder:

cd backend
npm install

Create a .env file inside the backend folder:

MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
JWT_SECRET_KEY=your_jwt_secret
AWS_REGION=us-east-2
S3_BUCKET=your_s3_bucket_name
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your_aws_access_key
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your_aws_secret_key

Run the backend:

npm start

The backend should run on:

http://localhost:3000

For deployment platforms like Railway, the app uses:

process.env.PORT || 3000

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Frontend Setup

Open a new terminal:

cd frontend
npm install

Create a .env file inside the frontend folder:

VITE_API_BASE_URL=http://localhost:3000

Run the frontend:

npm run dev

The frontend should run on:

http://localhost:5173

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API Base URL

The frontend uses frontend/src/api.js to decide which backend URL to call.

const API_BASE_URL =
  import.meta.env.VITE_API_BASE_URL || "http://localhost:3000";

export default API_BASE_URL;

For local development:

VITE_API_BASE_URL=http://localhost:3000

For production:

VITE_API_BASE_URL=https://adventurous-passion-production-6861.up.railway.app

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CLI Usage

CodeHarbor includes a custom CLI for local repository actions.

From the backend folder:

npm link

Then move to any local project folder and run:

codeharbor init
codeharbor add <file>
codeharbor commit -m "your commit message"

To connect a local project to an online CodeHarbor repository:

codeharbor remote add origin <repository-id>

To push committed files:

codeharbor push

To pull files:

codeharbor pull

To revert to a specific commit:

codeharbor revert <commit-id>

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CLI Workflow

Local project folder
↓
codeharbor init
↓
.CodeHarbor folder is created
↓
codeharbor add <file>
↓
file goes into staging
↓
codeharbor commit -m "message"
↓
commit snapshot is saved locally
↓
codeharbor remote add origin <repoId>
↓
local project is linked to online repository
↓
codeharbor push
↓
files are uploaded to AWS S3

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Backend Environment Variables

Variable	Purpose
MONGODB_URI	MongoDB Atlas connection string
JWT_SECRET_KEY	Secret key for JWT authentication
AWS_REGION	AWS region for S3
S3_BUCKET	S3 bucket name
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID	AWS access key
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY	AWS secret key
FRONTEND_URL	Deployed frontend URL for CORS
PORT	Provided automatically by Railway or other hosting platforms

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Frontend Environment Variables

Variable	Purpose
VITE_API_BASE_URL	Backend API URL used by the React frontend

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Deployment

The deployed version uses:

Frontend → Netlify
Backend → Railway
Database → MongoDB Atlas
Storage → AWS S3

Frontend Deployment

Netlify settings:

Base directory: frontend
Build command: npm run build
Publish directory: dist

Frontend environment variable:

VITE_API_BASE_URL=https://adventurous-passion-production-6861.up.railway.app

The frontend also includes a Netlify redirect file:

frontend/public/_redirects

Content:

/* /index.html 200

This allows React routes like /profile, /docs, and /repo/:id to work after page refresh.

Backend Deployment

Railway backend uses the backend folder.

The backend start script is:

"scripts": {
  "start": "node index.js start"
}

Railway environment variables include:

MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_atlas_uri
JWT_SECRET_KEY=your_jwt_secret
AWS_REGION=us-east-2
S3_BUCKET=your_s3_bucket
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your_aws_access_key
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your_aws_secret_key
FRONTEND_URL=https://bscodeharbor.netlify.app

The backend listens using:

const port = process.env.PORT || 3000;

httpServer.listen(port, "0.0.0.0", () => {
  console.log(`Server is running on ${port}`);
});

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Production URLs

Frontend:

https://bhushan-codeharbor.netlify.app/

Backend:

https://adventurous-passion-production-6861.up.railway.app

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Current Limitations

• The CLI currently works through a source-based setup using npm link.
• Public CLI distribution through npm is not added yet.
• AWS SDK v2 is currently used and can be migrated to AWS SDK v3 later.
• More authentication checks can be added for repository ownership and comment permissions.
• Activity tracking can be improved by tying issue/comment activity directly to authenticated user IDs.
• The project is still being improved toward a more production-ready developer platform.

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Future Improvements

• Publish the CLI as an npm package
• Add stronger repository permissions
• Add branch support
• Add commit history UI
• Add file diff views
• Improve S3 file browsing
• Add user profile customization
• Add better activity tracking by author
• Add tests for backend routes
• Improve mobile responsiveness
• Migrate AWS SDK v2 to AWS SDK v3
• Add better error handling for deployment and API failures

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Security Notes

Do not commit .env files or secret keys to GitHub.

Make sure .gitignore includes:

.env
node_modules

Deployment secrets should be stored in the hosting platform environment variables, not in the codebase.

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