CU Denver AI Association Official - Production Branch

Welcome to the CUDenver AI Association Official Website. This repository contains the codebase for both the back-end (ExpressJS) and front-end (React) applications.

Table of Contents

• Before Contributing
  • Branching Strategy
  • Pull Requests
  • Prerequisites
• Setup and Development
  • Running the Setup Script
• Deployment
• Documentation
• Key Files
  • Front-End
  • Back-End
• Additional Resources
• Important Notes
• Contact Information

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Before Contributing

Branching Strategy

• Create Separate Branches: Always create a separate branch for your changes.
• No Direct Push to Main: Never push your changes directly to the main branch.
• Branch Naming: Use descriptive names (e.g., feature-login-page, bugfix-api-endpoint).

Pull Requests

• Mandatory Pull Requests: All changes must go through a pull request.
• Review and Approval: Pull requests must be reviewed and approved by at least one other team member.
• Communication: Feel free to ask questions or seek clarification.

Prerequisites

• Node.js / npm: Node.js version 22 or higher. Use nvm for managing Node.js versions.
• Git: For version control.

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Setup and Development

Running the Setup Script

1. Clone the Repository:

git clone [email protected]:cudenver-ai/OfficialCUDenverAI.git
cd OfficialCUDenverAI

2. Run the Setup Script:

You can now set up both the back-end and front-end automatically using the provided setup.sh script.

./setup.sh

For Mac User

chmod +x setup.sh
./setup.sh

This script will:

• Set up nvm and install Node.js version 22.
• Install front-end and back-end dependencies.

3. Running Express and React:

To start Express (API) in the back-end:

cd backend
node index.ts

To start the React frontend:

cd frontend
npm start

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Deployment

For detailed deployment instructions, refer to production-server.md.

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Documentation

• Server Architecture: See /docs/Server.md for an overview.
• Development Setup: See /docs/development-server.md for detailed instructions.
• Production Deployment: See /docs/production-server.md for deployment steps.

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Key Files

Frontend

• src/App.tsx: Main entry point for the React app.
• src/config.js: Contains global variables like API_BASE_URL.
• package.json: Frontend dependencies and scripts.
• tsconfig.json: Type configuration
• .env: Environment variables.

Backend

• index.ts: Main Flask application file.
• tsconfig.json: Type configuration.
• .env: Environment variables.
• package.json: backend dependencies and scripts.

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Additional Resources

• Node.js and npm:

  • Node.js Official Site
  • npm Documentation
  • nvm GitHub Repository

• Frameworks and Libraries:

  • React Documentation
  • Typescript Documentation

• Deployment Tools:

  • Docker

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Important Notes

• Environment Variables:

  • Keep sensitive information out of version control.
  • Add .env* to your .gitignore.

• Switching Environments:

  • Development:
    • Use FLASK_DEBUG=1 in .flaskenv.
    • Run npm start for the frontend.
  • Production:
    • Set FLASK_DEBUG=0 or remove it.
    • Build the frontend with npm run build.
    • Deploy using Docker.

• Code Formatting:

  • Configure your editor to format on save for a better development experience.

• Team Collaboration:

  • Document changes and use comments within configuration files to guide team members.
  • Ensure all team members run npm install at the root.

• Testing:

  • Always test both development and production setups after making changes.

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By following this README and the accompanying documentation, you should be able to set up, develop, and deploy the application. Please let me know if you encounter any issues.