EdTech API

A RESTful back-end API for an online learning platform built with Node.js, Express, and MongoDB.
The system supports two roles — instructors who create and manage courses, and students who enroll and track their progress.

production : https://edtech-api-production.up.railway.app

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👥 User Seeding Cardinalities

Role	Count	Example Credentials
Super Admin	1	admin@admin.com / 123456
Admins	5	kenji.nakamura.instructor1@example.com / 123456
Instructors	50	ava.ahmed.instructor1@example.com / 123456
Students	100	kenji.ahmed.student1@example.com / 123456

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Table of Contents

• Features
• Tech Stack
• Project Structure
• Getting Started
• Environment Variables
• API Reference
• Authentication

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Features

• User registration and login with JWT authentication
• Role-based access control (Instructor / Student)
• CRUD operations for Courses and Lessons
• Student enrollment system
• Per-lesson progress tracking with completion percentage
• Input validation with express-validator
• Centralized error handling

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Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Runtime	Node.js
Framework	Express.js v5
Database	MongoDB + Mongoose
Auth	JSON Web Tokens (JWT)
Passwords	bcryptjs
Validation	express-validator

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Project Structure

edtech-api/
├── server.js               # Entry point – connects DB and starts server
├── src/
│   ├── app.js              # Express app setup and route mounting
│   ├── config/
│   │   └── db.js           # MongoDB connection
│   ├── controllers/        # Business logic for each resource
│   │   ├── user.controller.js
│   │   ├── course.controller.js
│   │   ├── lesson.controller.js
│   │   └── progress.controller.js
│   ├── middleware/
│   │   ├── auth.js         # JWT verification (protect)
│   │   ├── role.js         # Role-based access guard
│   │   ├── validate.js     # express-validator error handler
│   │   ├── validateId.js   # MongoDB ObjectId format check
│   │   └── error.js        # Global error handler
│   ├── models/             # Mongoose schemas
│   │   ├── user.model.js
│   │   ├── course.model.js
│   │   ├── lesson.model.js
│   │   └── progress.model.js
│   ├── routes/             # Route definitions
│   │   ├── user.routes.js
│   │   ├── course.routes.js
│   │   ├── lesson.routes.js
│   │   └── progress.routes.js
│   ├── validators/         # Input validation rules
│   │   ├── user.validators.js
│   │   ├── course.validators.js
│   │   ├── lesson.validators.js
│   │   └── progress.validators.js
│   └── utils/
│       ├── asyncHandler.js # Wraps async controllers to forward errors
│       └── AppError.js     # Custom operational error class
└── public/                 # Static front-end files

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js v18+
• MongoDB running locally (or a MongoDB Atlas URI)

Installation

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone <your-repo-url>
cd edtech-api

# 2. Install dependencies
npm install

# 3. Set up environment variables
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your values

# 4. Start the development server
npm run dev

# Or for production
npm start

The server will start on http://localhost:5000.

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Environment Variables

Copy .env.example to .env and fill in the values:

Variable	Description	Example
PORT	Port the server listens on	5000
MONGO_URI	MongoDB connection string	mongodb://localhost:27017/edtech
JWT_SECRET	Secret key used to sign JWTs	a_long_random_string
JWT_EXPIRE	JWT expiry duration	30d

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API Reference

All responses follow this shape:

{ "success": true, "data": ... }
{ "success": false, "message": "..." }

Users

Method	Endpoint	Access	Description
POST	/api/users/register	Public	Register a new user
POST	/api/users/login	Public	Login and get a JWT
GET	/api/users/me	Private	Get your own profile

Register body:

{
  "username": "John",
  "email": "john@example.com",
  "password": "secret123",
  "is_instructor": false
}

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Courses

Method	Endpoint	Access	Description
GET	/api/courses	Public	List all courses
GET	/api/courses/:courseId	Public	Get a single course
POST	/api/courses	Private/Instructor	Create a course
POST	/api/courses/:courseId/enroll	Private/Student	Enroll in a course
GET	/api/courses/me/courses	Private	Get courses you are enrolled in

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Lessons

Method	Endpoint	Access	Description
GET	/api/courses/:courseId/lessons	Private	List lessons (content locked if not enrolled)
POST	/api/courses/:courseId/lessons	Private/Instructor	Add a lesson to a course

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Progress

Method	Endpoint	Access	Description
GET	/api/courses/:courseId/progress	Private	View progress (students: own; instructor: all)
POST	/api/courses/:courseId/progress/:lessonId	Private	Mark a lesson complete / incomplete

Update progress body:

{ "completed": true }

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Authentication

Protected routes require a JWT in the Authorization header:

Authorization: Bearer <your_token>

You get a token from /api/users/register or /api/users/login.