Meeting Time Finder

A full-stack web application that eliminates the back-and-forth of scheduling — helping teams instantly find meeting times that work for everyone.

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Overview

Meeting Time Finder lets users create scheduling sessions, submit their availability, and automatically surface the optimal meeting times for the entire group. Built as a portfolio project with production-grade architecture: deployed on AWS, secured with JWT authentication, rate-limited, and covered end-to-end with automated tests.

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Features

• User Authentication — Secure registration and login using JWT access/refresh tokens and bcrypt password hashing
• Session Management — Create or join scheduling sessions via unique invite codes
• Availability Input — Submit available time slots through an intuitive interface
• Optimal Time Finder — Algorithm automatically identifies the best meeting times across all participants
• Admin Dashboard — Full admin interface for managing users, sessions, and schedules
• Rate Limiting — API and auth-specific rate limiting to protect against abuse
• RESTful API — Versioned API (/api/v1) with consistent error handling

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Tech Stack

Frontend

Technology	Purpose
React 18	UI framework
React Router v6	Client-side routing
Bootstrap	Responsive styling
Axios	HTTP client
Context API	Global state management
Cypress	End-to-end testing

Backend

Technology	Purpose
Node.js + Express	REST API server
PostgreSQL	Relational database
JWT (jsonwebtoken)	Stateless authentication
Passport.js	Auth middleware
bcrypt	Password hashing
express-rate-limit	API rate limiting
PM2 (ecosystem.config.js)	Process management
Docker Compose	Local database setup

Cloud & Deployment

Service	Purpose
AWS EC2	Backend API hosting
AWS Amplify	Frontend hosting & CI/CD
AWS API Gateway	API routing
AWS SDK	Cloud service integration

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Architecture

┌─────────────────────┐       ┌──────────────────────────┐
│   AWS Amplify        │       │   AWS EC2 (Node/Express)  │
│   React Frontend     │──────▶│   REST API  /api/v1       │
│ freetimefinder.click │       │   PM2 Process Manager     │
└─────────────────────┘       └────────────┬─────────────┘
                                            │
                               ┌────────────▼─────────────┐
                               │      PostgreSQL DB         │
                               └──────────────────────────┘

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Project Structure

web_development_project/
├── client/                  # React frontend
│   ├── src/                 # Components, pages, context
│   ├── cypress/             # E2E test suites
│   ├── sample env file      # Environment variable template
│   └── package.json
├── server/                  # Node.js/Express backend
│   ├── routes/              # API route handlers
│   ├── middleware/          # Auth, rate limiting
│   ├── config/              # Database configuration
│   ├── db/                  # SQL init scripts
│   ├── utils/               # Helper functions
│   ├── __tests__/           # Jest test suites
│   ├── docker-compose.yml   # Local PostgreSQL setup
│   ├── ecosystem.config.js  # PM2 config
│   ├── sample env file      # Environment variable template
│   └── index.js             # App entry point
└── amplify.yml              # AWS Amplify build config

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js v14+
• npm
• Docker (for local PostgreSQL via Docker Compose)

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/ecrent/web_development_project.git
cd web_development_project

2. Configure Environment Variables

Copy the sample env files and fill in your values:

# Server
cp "server/sample env file" server/.env

# Client
cp "client/sample env file" client/.env

Server .env variables:

NODE_ENV=development
PORT=3000

DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:password@localhost:5432/mydb
DB_QUERY_TIMEOUT=5000
DB_CRITICAL_TIMEOUT=15000

JWT_SECRET=your-secret-here
JWT_EXPIRES_IN=24h
REFRESH_TOKEN_SECRET=your-refresh-secret
REFRESH_TOKEN_EXPIRES_IN=7d

API_URL=http://localhost:3000
CLIENT_URL=http://localhost:3001

DB_POOL_MAX=30
DB_POOL_IDLE_TIMEOUT=30000
DB_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT=15000

3. Start the Database

cd server
docker-compose up -d

4. Initialize the Database Schema

psql -U user -d mydb -f db/db_init.sql

5. Install Dependencies & Run

# Server
cd server
npm install
npm start        # Starts on http://localhost:3000

# Client (in a new terminal)
cd client
npm install
npm start        # Starts on http://localhost:3001

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API Overview

All endpoints are prefixed with /api/v1.

Resource	Endpoint	Description
Auth	POST /users/register	Register a new user
Auth	POST /users/login	Login and receive JWT
Sessions	GET/POST /sessions	List or create sessions
Schedules	GET/POST /schedules	Manage availability
Optimal Times	GET /optimal-times	Get best meeting times
Admin	GET /admin/*	Admin management routes

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Testing

Backend (Jest)

cd server
npm test                    # Run all tests
npm run test:coverage       # With coverage report
npm run test:integration    # Integration tests only
npm run test:security       # Security tests only
npm run test:database       # Database tests only

Frontend (Cypress E2E)

cd client
npm run cypress:open        # Interactive mode
npm run cypress:run         # Headless mode
npm run test:e2e            # Start app + run E2E tests

E2E test coverage:

• auth.cy.js — Registration, login, and auth flows
• session-flow.cy.js — Creating and joining sessions
• schedule.cy.js — Managing availability
• results.cy.js — Viewing optimal meeting times
• admin-flows.cy.js — Admin functionality

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Deployment

The application is deployed on AWS:

• Frontend — Hosted on AWS Amplify with automatic CI/CD triggered on pushes to the production branch (configured via amplify.yml)
• Backend — Hosted on AWS EC2, managed with PM2 for process persistence and auto-restart
• API Gateway — AWS API Gateway routes traffic to the EC2 backend
• Database — PostgreSQL instance connected via DATABASE_URL

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Copyright (c) 2025 ecrent