CrewUp

CrewUp is a collaborative networking platform designed to connect individuals based on their skills and project requirements. It maps the traditional "looking for a group" experience into a highly structured web environment, enabling students and professionals to instantiate teams, manage project files, and communicate in real-time.

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Core Concept

The core idea behind CrewUp is to eliminate the friction in finding the right collaborators. Whether entering a hackathon, starting a senior capstone project, or building a startup, users often struggle to find partners with the exact technical or creative skills required. CrewUp solves this by acting as a specialized matching engine: it analyzes a user's profile against open project demands, suggesting highly compatible opportunities.

How It Works

The application follows a streamlined user flow moving from individual registration to team-based project management:

1. User Sign Up: Individuals create an authenticated profile detailing their specific skills (e.g., React, Python, Data Science) and general interests.
2. Project Creation & Exploration: Users can post new project opportunities detailing exactly what roles they need filled, or they can browse an explore feed of currently open teams.
3. Matching Engine: The system algorithmically suggests open projects to users based on an intersection between the user's declared skills and the project's missing roles.
4. Collaboration Workspace: Once a user joins a team, they gain access to a dedicated Team Workspace.
5. Real-time Chat & Asset Management: Inside the workspace, teams can utilize a persistent Socket.IO chat room for live updates and a centralized cloud-storage file repository to share and track project resources.

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Project Structure

CrewUp is architected as a monorepo containing two dedicated environments.

/backend

A standard Node.js/Express REST API heavily integrated with MongoDB (Mongoose) for schema validation.

• Manages strict authentication using JSON Web Tokens (JWT).
• Hosts the Socket.IO server to orchestrate live chat rooms.
• Connects directly to AWS S3 buckets to handle cloud file staging and retrieval.

/frontend

A React.js Single Page Application scaffolded with Vite.

• Employs a robust Context API for global state management.
• Handles protected routing layouts to securely map authenticated users to their dashboards.
• Utilizes CSS variables and flexbox grids to maintain a clean, minimalist design standard.

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Setup Instructions

1. Prerequisites (Cloud Services)

Before running CrewUp locally, you must provision two external cloud services:

• MongoDB Atlas: Create a free cluster on MongoDB Atlas. Once deployed, retrieve your connection URI string.
• AWS S3 (Amazon Web Services): Create an S3 Bucket to handle file uploads. You will need to generate IAM User Credentials (Access Key & Secret Key) with AmazonS3FullAccess permissions targeting this bucket.

2. Backend Configuration

Navigate to the backend directory. Create a .env file containing the following variables gathered from your prerequisites:

• MONGO_URI: Your MongoDB Atlas connection string (e.g., mongodb+srv://<username>:<password>@cluster0...).
• JWT_SECRET: A cryptographic randomized key for generating session tokens.
• AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: Your exact AWS IAM identifier.
• AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: Your exact AWS IAM secret password.
• S3_BUCKET_NAME: The string name of your target S3 bucket (e.g., crewup-project-bucket).

Install dependencies and start the local development server:

cd backend
npm install
npm run dev

Frontend Configuration

Navigate to the frontend directory. Ensure the backend server is actively running on port 5000, as the React UI targets http://localhost:5000/api for all data fetching.

Install dependencies and start the Vite client:

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev