README

DevExchange API is a powerful and secure Rails backend, backed by PostgreSQL, designed to fuel an engaging, Stack Overflow-inspired platform. With seamless Devise-JWT authentication. This API empowers frontend clients with rich features, including user profiles, dynamic question-and-answer interactions, versatile tagging, lively comment threads, and intuitive voting capabilities—all the essential tools to create a vibrant and collaborative Q&A community.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Ruby version: 3.2.4
• Rails version: 7.1.3
• PostgreSQL

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/aneldanza/dev-exchange-api.git
   cd dev-exchange-api

2. Set up database passwords:

   Ensure you have your database passwords set up in your environment variables. Update database.yml file accordingly.

3. Install dependencies:

   bundle install

4. Set up the database:

   rails db:create
   rails db:migrate
   rails db:seed

5. Start the Rails server:

   rails server

API Documentation

Authentication

JWT Token Authentication Devise and devise-jwt

This application uses devise-jwt for authentication, and the tokens are stored in HTTP-only cookies to enhance security.

How It Works

• Login: When a user logs in, the server generates a JWT token and sends it back to the client.
• Authenticated Requests: The client includes a header containing the JWT token for subsequent requests. The server verifies the token to authenticate the user.
• Logout: The client can clear the token from local-storage to log out.