A modern, minimal question-and-answer platform built with the MERN stack, designed for collaborative learning and structured knowledge sharing.

• User Authentication - Register, login with JWT
• Rich Text Editor - Full-featured editor with formatting, images, links
• Question & Answers - Post questions and answers with voting
• Tagging System - Organize questions with tags
• Notification System - Real-time notifications for interactions
• Responsive Design - Mobile-first design with TailwindCSS
• Role-based Access - Guest, User, and Admin roles

• Frontend: React 18, Vite, TailwindCSS, React Router
• Backend: Node.js, Express.js, MongoDB, Mongoose
• Authentication: JWT (JSON Web Tokens)
• File Upload: Multer
• Rich Text: React Quill

• Node.js (v16 or higher)
• MongoDB (local or MongoDB Atlas)
• npm or yarn

1. Navigate to the backend directory: ```bash cd backend ```

2. Install dependencies: ```bash npm install ```

3. Create a `.env` file in the backend directory with the following variables: ```env PORT=5000 MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/stackit JWT_SECRET=your_super_secret_jwt_key_here_make_it_long_and_random NODE_ENV=development ```

4. Start the backend server: ```bash npm run dev ```

The backend will run on http://localhost:5000

1. Navigate to the frontend directory: ```bash cd frontend ```

2. Install dependencies: ```bash npm install ```

3. Create a `.env` file in the frontend directory with: ```env VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:5000/api ```

4. Start the frontend development server: ```bash npm run dev ```

The frontend will run on http://localhost:5173

• `PORT` - Server port (default: 5000)
• `MONGODB_URI` - MongoDB connection string
• `JWT_SECRET` - Secret key for JWT tokens
• `NODE_ENV` - Environment (development/production)

• `VITE_API_URL` - Backend API URL

• `POST /api/auth/register` - Register new user
• `POST /api/auth/login` - Login user

• `GET /api/questions` - Get all questions
• `POST /api/questions` - Create new question
• `GET /api/questions/:id` - Get question by ID
• `PUT /api/questions/:id` - Update question
• `DELETE /api/questions/:id` - Delete question

• `POST /api/answers` - Create new answer
• `PUT /api/answers/:id/vote` - Vote on answer
• `PUT /api/answers/:id/accept` - Accept answer

• `GET /api/users/profile` - Get user profile
• `PUT /api/users/profile` - Update user profile

• `GET /api/notifications` - Get user notifications
• `PUT /api/notifications/:id/read` - Mark notification as read

• Question listing with search and filters
• Rich text editor for questions and answers
• Voting system with upvote/downvote
• User authentication forms
• Notification dropdown
• Responsive navigation

1. Users can browse questions as guests
2. Registration required for posting questions/answers
3. JWT tokens stored in localStorage
4. Protected routes for authenticated users
5. Role-based permissions (User/Admin)

• Mobile-first approach (using tailwind css)
• Responsive navigation
• Optimized for all screen sizes
• Touch-friendly interface

1. Set production environment variables
2. Build and deploy to your preferred platform (Heroku, Railway, etc.)

1. Update `VITE_API_URL` to production backend URL
2. Build the project: `npm run build`
3. Deploy to Vercel, Netlify, or your preferred platform

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Commit your changes
4. Push to the branch
5. Open a Pull Request

This project is licensed under the MIT License.