geocrop-platform./apps/nextgen

Africa Alert - Smart School PWA

Modern React PWA school management system with Node.js backend, containerized for easy Docker deployment.

Features

• 📱 Progressive Web App - Installable on any device, works offline
• 🐳 One-Click Docker Setup - Single docker-compose up to get started
• 👨‍🎓 Student Management - Enrollment, profiles, attendance
• 👩‍🏫 Teacher Management - Staff profiles, assignments
• 📚 Class Management - Subjects, schedules, grading
• 💰 Fee Management - Invoices, payments, reporting
• 📊 Dashboard - Real-time analytics and insights

Quick Start

# Clone and start
cd africa-alert-pwa
docker-compose up -d

# Access the app at http://localhost:3000

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React 18 + Vite + TypeScript
• Backend: Node.js + Express
• Database: SQLite (file-based, easy backups)
• Container: Docker + Docker Compose

Project Structure

africa-alert-pwa/
├── client/          # React frontend
├── server/          # Node.js backend
├── docker-compose.yml
├── Dockerfile.client
└── Dockerfile.server

Development

# Frontend (client folder)
cd client && npm install && npm run dev

# Backend (server folder)
cd server && npm install && npm run dev

# Docker
docker-compose up --build

Default Login

• Admin: admin@school.com / admin123

Production deployment security checklist

Before going live, ensure every item below is set. The server will refuse to start in production (NODE_ENV=production) if any of the required items are missing.

• NODE_ENV=production is set in the environment
• JWT_SECRET is set to a 48-byte random value. Generate one with:

  node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(48).toString('hex'))"
  

• ALLOWED_ORIGINS is set to the school domain only (comma-separated if multiple). Example: ALLOWED_ORIGINS=https://school.example.com
• DB_PATH points to a persistent volume mount, not ./data/school.db in a transient container
• ALLOW_CLIENT_OFFLINE_MINT is set to false unless you specifically need offline auth. The dev default is true so the offline flow can be tested.
• PAYNOW_* env vars are set if the school is collecting fees. Sync will no-op without SUPABASE_* env vars.
• No .env file is committed to git. The repo's .gitignore covers it.
• A SQLite backup cron is running (every 12h) to defend against power-loss corruption during load-shedding
• The Docker compose mounts data/, uploads/, and backups/ as named volumes, not bind mounts

Environment variables reference

See server/.env.example for the full list with comments. The required-in-prod set is enforced by server/src/config/index.js — the server crashes with a FATAL log line if any are missing.