Open sourceBackend API implementation
social media api
A backend API for social interactions, profiles, friend requests, comments, and authentication.
Problem
Social apps need many related workflows: users, relationships, comments, and protected actions. The goal was to design a clear REST API around those moving parts.
Architecture
- Express exposes REST endpoints for users, profiles, friend requests, and comments.
- MongoDB stores user and social graph data.
- JWT protects authenticated routes.
- Password hashing and auth middleware secure account flows.
Key decisions
- Separated route concerns by social domain to keep the API easier to scan.
- Used middleware for authentication instead of repeating checks in controllers.
- Modeled friend requests separately from accepted relationships.
Tradeoffs
- REST keeps the API straightforward, but graph-heavy queries can become complex over time.
- MongoDB supports flexible documents, but relationship modeling still needs discipline.
What I learned
- Social APIs become complicated at the boundaries: permissions, pending states, and duplicate actions.
- Clear controller structure matters once endpoints multiply.
Stack
ExpressJSMongoDBJWTREST APIPassword HashingAuthentication