🌍 WanderLust

A full-stack Node.js/Express application for creating and browsing travel listings. Built with the MVC pattern, WanderLust supports user authentication, CRUD listings with images (Cloudinary), reviews, maps (Leaflet/Mapbox), and robust server-side validation.

⚡ Overview

Tech Stack: Node.js · Express · MongoDB (Mongoose) · EJS · Passport · Cloudinary · Leaflet/MapTiler

Key Features:

• User signup/login with sessions
• CRUD listings with image uploads and geolocation
• Review system
• Owner-based edit/delete
• Flash messages & error handling
• Server-side validation

🧩 Project Structure (MVC)

• Model: /models/ — Mongoose schemas for listings, reviews, users
• View: /views/ — EJS templates & layouts
• Controller: /controllers/ — route logic for listings, reviews, users

Other folders:

• /routes/ — Express routers
• /middleware/ — authentication & authorization
• /utils/ — helpers (validation, Cloudinary config, custom errors)
• /public/ — static assets
• /init/ — seeding or setup scripts

app.js — main entry point and Express setup

🚀 Getting Started (Local) Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16+)
• npm or yarn
• MongoDB (local or Atlas) -- Optional: Cloudinary & MapTiler accounts

Installation

# Clone repo & install dependencies
git clone https://github.com/abhi-2028/WanderLust.git
cd WanderLust
npm install

Environment Setup

Create a .env file in the root directory:

MONGO_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/wanderlust
PORT=3000
SECRET=your-session-secret
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your-cloud-name
CLOUDINARY_KEY=your-cloud-key
CLOUDINARY_SECRET=your-cloud-secret
MAPTILER_KEY=your-maptile-api-key

(Cloudinary/Mapbox are optional — provide mock values for local testing.)

🧠 Run the App

Development:

npm run dev

Production:

npm start

The app runs at http://localhost:3000 by default.

You can also inline environment variables (PowerShell example):

$env:MONGO_URI="mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017/wanderlust"; npm run dev

🗺️ Routes Summary

Below is a concise summary of the main routes. The Auth column indicates whether the route typically requires a logged-in user (Auth) or owner privileges (Owner).

Listings

Method	Path	Description	Auth
GET	/listings	View all listings	No
GET	/listings/new	Form to create a new listing	Yes
POST	/listings	Create a new listing	Yes
GET	/listings/:id	Show a single listing	No
GET	/listings/:id/edit	Form to edit a listing	Owner
PUT	/listings/:id	Update a listing	Owner
DELETE	/listings/:id	Delete a listing	Owner

Reviews

Method	Path	Description	Auth
POST	/listings/:id/reviews	Add a review to a listing	Yes
DELETE	/listings/:id/reviews/:reviewId	Delete a review	Owner / Author

Users

Method	Path	Description	Auth
GET	/register	Show registration form	No
POST	/register	Register a new user	No
GET	/login	Show login form	No
POST	/login	Log in	No
GET	/logout	Log out current user	Yes

For exact implementations and middleware checks see the routes/ and controllers/ folders.

🧰 Troubleshooting

Issue	Fix
MongoNetworkError	Check MONGO_URI and MongoDB service
Cloudinary upload fails	Verify CLOUDINARY_* credentials
Map not showing	Ensure MAPTILER_KEY (if using MapTiler) or Leaflet tile provider setup; check public/JS/map.js for the tile URL and key placement
Sessions not persisting	Confirm SECRET and session store config

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repo
2. Create a feature branch
3. Commit and test your changes
4. Submit a PR with a clear description

Small, incremental PRs preferred.

📄 License

Licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

👤 Author

Repository Owner: @abhi-2028

For questions or feature requests, open an issue on GitHub.