Thriftkart – Detailed Project Description
Full-stack, AI-ready e-commerce platform built with React, Node.js, and MongoDB
Overview
Thriftkart is a full-stack e-commerce platform designed to deliver a smooth,
modern, and scalable online shopping experience. Built using React.js,
Node.js (Express), and MongoDB, it provides a secure and responsive
interface for both customers and administrators, focusing on efficiency, modularity, and user experience
— from product discovery to order fulfillment.
Key Features
- Browsing & Discovery: Category & subcategory navigation, smart filters, featured items, and dynamic home banners.
- Cart & Checkout: Seamless cart flow with Razorpay integration for secure payments.
- Performance UX: React hooks, Context API, and lazy loading for fast, mobile-friendly rendering.
- Media Management: Image uploads via Cloudinary or Google Drive.
- Security: JWT-based auth, password hashing, CORS/Helmet hardening.
Backend Architecture
The Node.js + Express API follows a modular structure for core domains:
users, products, categories, carts, orders, and media. Mongoose enforces schema and validation,
while Multer handles uploads. Authentication and authorization use JWT.
Highlighted Capabilities
- Authentication: Login/registration with JWT; role-aware authorization.
- Product & Catalog: CRUD for products, categories, sub-categories, and banner assets.
- Orders: Order creation, status updates, and history tracking.
- Integrations: Cloudinary/Google Drive for images; Razorpay for payments; Nodemailer (optional) for emails/OTP.
Admin Panel
A React + MUI dashboard enables efficient store operations with role-based access and secure CRUD.
Admins can manage products, categories, orders, and promotional banners with near real-time feedback.
- Inventory, pricing, and catalog controls.
- Order oversight and status workflows.
- Banner and homepage content management.
Deployment & DevOps
- Hosting: Ubuntu VPS (Hostinger/DigitalOcean).
- Runtime: PM2 for process management; Node 20.
- Edge: NGINX as reverse proxy with Let’s Encrypt SSL (Certbot).
- CI/CD: GitHub Actions for automated build and deploy.
- Security: UFW firewall; environment-specific
.envfor staging/production.
AI-Driven Vision
Thriftkart’s roadmap evolves into an intelligent shopping ecosystem with
personalized recommendations, cross-vendor price comparison,
AI chatbot support, and dynamic search insights powered by the OpenAI API and analytics tools.
Technology Stack
Frontend (Client)
- React.js (v18/19), React Router DOM
- Axios / Fetch API
- Material UI (MUI), React Icons, Swiper.js
- Context API, React Hooks
- Tailwind CSS / Custom CSS
Backend (Server)
- Node.js (v20), Express.js
- Mongoose (MongoDB ODM)
- JWT (jsonwebtoken), Bcrypt.js
- Multer (uploads), Cloudinary SDK / Google Drive API
- CORS, Helmet, Dotenv, Nodemailer (optional)
Database
- MongoDB Atlas / Self-hosted MongoDB
- Mongoose models & validation
Payment & Transactions
- Razorpay API (primary)
- Future: Stripe/PayPal (international)
DevOps & Deployment
- Ubuntu VPS, NGINX reverse proxy
- PM2 process manager
- GitHub Actions (CI/CD)
- Certbot (Let’s Encrypt) SSL, UFW Firewall
- Environment-based
.env(staging & production)
Admin Panel
- React + MUI Dashboard
- JWT Auth Guard, secure CRUD APIs
Additional Tools
- Cloudinary / Google Drive (media), Postman/Thunder Client (API testing)
- Git & GitHub (version control), Docker (optional)
Planned AI & Analytics
- OpenAI API (chatbot, recommendations)
- Google Analytics / Mixpanel
- AI-powered price comparison & dynamic search