💡 DevTinder – A Developer Matchmaking Platform

Description:
DevTinder is a full-stack web application inspired by Tinder, but tailored for developers. The idea is to create a platform where developers can connect, collaborate, and network based on shared interests, skills, and projects.

This project was built while learning Namaste Node.js (by Akshay Saini) and is divided into two major seasons:

Season 1: Deep dive into Node.js internals – V8 engine, libuv, event loop, threading, async I/O, and how Node.js works under the hood.

Season 2: End-to-end project development – building DevTinder from scratch with proper planning (features, HLD, LLD), Express server setup, authentication, database design, API development, and frontend integration.

Key Features:

🔹 Authentication & Authorization → Secure login system with JWT & cookies.

🔹 Profile Management → Developers can create and update their profiles.

🔹 Swipe & Match System → Similar to Tinder, enabling devs to “like” or “pass” on profiles.

🔹 Feed API with Pagination → Optimized data loading for scalability.

🔹 Database Modeling with MongoDB & Mongoose → Schema design, relationships (ref & populate), indexing for performance.

🔹 Secure Data Handling → Password encryption, input sanitization, and validations.

🔹 Frontend Integration → React-based UI connected to backend APIs.

🔹 Error Handling & Middlewares → Robust Express.js architecture for production-ready code.

Tech Stack:

Frontend: React.js

Backend: Node.js, Express.js

Database: MongoDB with Mongoose

Authentication: JWT, Cookies

Other: REST APIs, Middleware, Error Handling

Learning Outcome:

Understood the internals of Node.js (event loop, libuv, V8 engine).

Learned how to design scalable backend systems with proper HLD/LLD.

Gained hands-on experience in building a full-stack application from scratch with real-world practices (auth, APIs, DB schema design).