📦 BoxSwap

Simplifying the moving process for students, one box at a time.
An innovative platform for buying, selling, and exchanging essential item boxes.

About • Features • Tech Stack • Getting Started • Contributing

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🚀 About The Project

BoxSwap is a web platform designed to simplify the moving process for university students, especially those on Erasmus programs. It allows students to buy, sell, and exchange complete boxes of essentials (kitchen, bedding, bathroom, etc.), promoting a circular economy and helping students save time and money.

The goal is to create a seamless and trustworthy experience for students, reducing the hassle of acquiring basic necessities for their new homes.

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✨ Key Features

• 🏠 Informative Landing Page: A welcoming homepage that explains the concept.
• 🔍 Browse Listings: View available boxes with details like price, city, and contents.
• 📦 Post a Box: An easy-to-use form for users to sell their own boxes.
• 🏷️ Categorization: Boxes are tagged by category (kitchen, bedding, etc.) for easy filtering.
• 📱 Responsive Design: Looks great on both desktop and mobile devices.
• 🔒 User Authentication: Secure user registration and login.
• 💬 Private Messaging: Communicate with other users to arrange swaps.

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🛠️ Tech Stack

This project is built using the MERN stack with modern tools.

Category	Technologies
Frontend
Backend
DevOps

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🏁 Getting Started

To get a local copy up and running, follow these simple steps.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16 or higher)
• Git
• A MongoDB Atlas account for the database.

Installation & Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/alejandrodoncel/boxswap.git
   cd boxswap

2. Setup Backend:

   cd backend
   npm install

   • Create a .env file in the backend folder and add your environment variables:

     MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
     JWT_SECRET=your_super_secret_key

3. Setup Frontend:

   cd ../frontend
   npm install

4. Run the Application:

   • In one terminal, run the backend server:

     # from the 'backend' folder
     npm start

   • In a second terminal, run the frontend client:

     # from the 'frontend' folder
     npm run dev

Open http://localhost:5173 to view the application in your browser.

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🖼️ Screenshots

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