⚙️Backend API

Quick Start Guide

Jump to

• Running Locally

• Prerequisites

• Environment Variables

• Deployment

Running Locally

Running this application requires Node.js (Version 20+).

To run the application, fulfill all prerequisites and cd into the /backend folder.

Add a .env file with all the requisite environment variables - you don't need to specify the HOST and PORT variables to run the app locally.

Install dependencies, by running:

npm install

Run the app, using the following command:

node app

Please ensure that port 8080 is available and that you are not connected to a VPN before you run the app.

Prerequisites

Setting up the Backend API requires an instance of MongoDB Atlas, Clerk, Cloudflare Images and an API key for the OpenAI Platform.

Setup up a MongoDB Atlas instance

The project uses MongoDB Atlas as its datastore.

This tutorial provides guidance on setting up a database on MongoDB Atlas. You do not need to create collections once your database is setup - this will be done automatically when the application connects with the database.

Make sure to name the database "ninjarecipes".

Using any instance of MongoDB, other than MongoDB Atlas, will break the search feature and the scheduled workers used for cleaning submission tracking logs.

Setup up a Clerk instance

Clerk is used as the authentication service for the project.

Thus, setting up a Clerk account and obtaining an API key is a mandatory requirement for running the application.

This tutorial provides a detailed walkthrough of setting up an account and obtaining a Clerk Secret Key.

Configure Cloudflare Images

The API is designed to use Cloudflare Images as the CDN for image delivery. Documentation for Cloudflare Images is available here.

Once your account is setup and you've obtained your Cloudflare Account ID and API key. You'll need to configure the following image variants in your dashboard:

Property	Value
Variant Name	ncHeader
Width	1366
Height	768
Fit	Cover
Metadata	Strip All
Make Public	Yes
Blur	0

Property	Value
Variant Name	ncThumbnail
Width	405
Height	300
Fit	Cover
Metadata	Strip All
Make Public	Yes
Blur	0

Get an OpenAI Platform Key

All AI features in the application have been built on top of the OpenAI SDK and require an API Key to access models hosted by OpenAI. You can obtain an API key by following this guide.

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Purpose
MONGODB_SRV	API Key to communicate with MongoDB Atlas Instance.	Auth
CLERK_API_KEY	API Key to authenticate and communicate with Clerk.	Auth, Session Management
OPENAI_KEY	API Key to authenticate with OpenAI Models.	Auth
CLOUDFLARE_ID	Cloudflare Account ID	Auth
CLOUDFLARE_TOKEN	API key to access Cloudflare Images	Auth
HOST	Host for binding the runtime process, 127.0.0.1 if unspecified.	Config
PORT	Port for binding the runtime process, 8080 if unspecified.	Config

Deployment

The application can be simply deployed by specifying its configuration details and adding environment variables, when you use modern app hosting services such as Railway and DigitalOcean App Platform.

You may refer to these guides, for such services:

• Deploy Node.js app on DigitalOcean App Platform.

• Deploy Node.js app on Railway.

If you wish to manually deploy this application on a server, please follow these guides:

• Deploy Node.js app on a Linux server (Debian-based).

• Deploy Node.js app on a Windows server.

Configuration Details

Property	Value	Addl. Details
Runtime	Node.js	Version 20
Build Command	None
Build output directory	None
Install Command	npm install
Start Command	node app	Default HOST is 127.0.0.1, Default PORT is 8080. Change using environment variables.
Root directory	/backend
Entrypoint	./app.js