🎓 SkillNova EdTech Platform

SkillNova is a full-fledged MERN-based E-learning platform that bridges the gap between students and instructors through an intuitive UI/UX, secured backend services, and seamless video course delivery. It also integrates secure payment processing and follows modern development workflows with Docker support.

---

🚀 Tech Stack

• Frontend: React.js (Vite), Tailwind CSS
• Backend: Node.js, Express.js
• Database: MongoDB (Mongoose)
• Authentication: JWT (Cookies Based)
• Emails: Nodemailer with Gmail SMTP
• Payments: Razorpay (Test Mode)
• Containerization: Docker, Docker Compose

---

✨ Features

✅ Authentication & Authorization

• Role-based login: Instructor & Student
• JWT-based session management via secure HTTP-only cookies
• Email verification & password reset using Nodemailer with OTP
• Protected routes for role-specific access

📚 Course Management

• Instructors can:

  • Create, update, and delete courses
  • Add lectures, manage content
  • View enrolled students and revenue

• Students can:

  • Browse, purchase, and access video-based courses
  • Rate and review enrolled courses

💳 Payment Gateway

• Razorpay Test Mode integration
• Order creation, payment verification
• Handles success/failure flows gracefully

🖥️ Responsive UI/UX

• Fully responsive layouts using Tailwind CSS
• Clean and accessible dashboards for both user types
• Toast notifications, custom loaders, OTP inputs, video previews

🐳 Dockerized Architecture

• Uses 3 containers: frontend, backend, and mongo
• Clean and scalable Docker + Docker Compose setup
• Ideal for local development and production CI/CD setups

---

🛠️ Local Development Setup

✅ Ensure Docker is installed and running 👉 https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop/

🔗 Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/Bhivanshu45/skillnova_edtech_platform.git
cd skillnova_edtech_platform

⚙️ Create Environment Files

📦 /backend_server/.env

PORT=8000
MONGODB_URL=mongodb://mongo:27017/skillnova
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret
COOKIE_SECRET=your_cookie_secret

RAZORPAY_KEY=your_test_key_id
RAZORPAY_SECRET=your_test_secret_key

MAIL_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
MAIL_USER=your_email@gmail.com
MAIL_PASSWORD=your_app_password

🌐 /frontend_skillnova/.env

VITE_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8000/api/v1

💡 Gmail SMTP Note: Enable 2-Step Verification and generate App Password

---

▶️ Run via Docker (Recommended)

docker-compose up --build

• Frontend: http://localhost:3000
• Backend: http://localhost:8000

---

🔁 Run Manually (Without Docker)

# Step 1: Start MongoDB locally or use cloud DB

# Step 2: Run Backend
cd backend_server
npm install
npm run dev

# Step 3: Run Frontend
cd ../frontend_skillnova
npm install
npm run dev

---

🚀 Deployment (Live Links)

Service	Link
Frontend	Vercel
Backend	Render

📌 Add respective environment variables in Vercel & Railway dashboard for production.

---

⚙️ Scripts

# Frontend Setup
cd frontend_skillnova && npm install

# Backend Setup
cd backend_server && npm install

# Run both (from frontend folder)
npm run dev

Or using Docker:

docker-compose up --build

---

🧠 Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
❌ Emails not received	Check MAIL_USER and MAIL_PASSWORD (Use App Password)
💳 Razorpay not working	Use correct Test Mode keys + ensure Test Mode enabled in dashboard
🐳 Docker Errors	Run docker system prune or restart Docker
🔁 Frontend not calling backend	Check VITE_BASE_URL in .env file

---

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. Feel free to fork, contribute, and build upon it!

---

👨‍💻 Author

Built with ❤️ by Bhivanshu Lawaniya

---

💬 Support

For issues, open an Issue Or DM on LinkedIn