EntreHive Backend

Django REST API powering the EntreHive social platform for students, professors, and investors.

Links

Live Site: https://entrehive.ca
Frontend Repository: EntreHive Frontend
Backend Repository: EntreHive Backend

Overview

EntreHive Backend is a comprehensive Django REST API that powers the EntreHive platform. It provides a robust, scalable backend with role-based access control, real-time notifications, messaging system, and social networking features tailored for the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Features

Authentication & Authorization

JWT-based authentication with refresh tokens
Email verification system
Password reset functionality
Role-based access control (Student, Professor, Investor)
Permission-based API endpoints

User Management

User profiles with customizable information
Profile pictures and banners
University affiliation
Bio and social links
Follow/unfollow system
Public/private profile settings

Social Features

Post creation with rich content
Image uploads for posts and projects
Comment and reply system
Like functionality
Post sharing
Hashtag support
Visibility controls (public/university-only)

Project Management

Create and manage entrepreneurial projects
Project types: Startup, Research, Social Impact, Tech Innovation
Team management and invitations
Project status tracking
Rich project profiles with banners
Project discovery and search
Categories and tagging system

Messaging System

Direct Conversations: 1-on-1 messaging
Group Conversations: Team-based messaging for projects
Project View Requests: Permission-based access system
Message read receipts
Unread message tracking
Permission management for messaging

Notifications

Real-time notification system
Notification types:
- Likes and comments
- New followers
- Project invitations
- Messages
- Project view requests
Read/unread status
Bulk operations

Search & Discovery

Global search across users, posts, and projects
Advanced filtering
Hashtag search
Category-based project search
University-based filtering

Tech Stack

Core Framework

Django 5.2.6 - Web framework
Django REST Framework 3.16.1 - API framework
Python 3.10+ - Programming language

Authentication

djangorestframework-simplejwt 5.5.1 - JWT authentication
dj-rest-auth 7.0.1 - REST auth endpoints
django-allauth 65.11.2 - Authentication system

Database

PostgreSQL - Production database (via psycopg 3.2.10)
SQLite - Development database

Additional Libraries

django-cors-headers 4.8.0 - CORS handling
django-filter 25.1 - Advanced filtering
Pillow 11.3.0 - Image processing
python-dotenv 1.1.1 - Environment variable management

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Python 3.10 or higher
PostgreSQL (for production) or SQLite (for development)
pip package manager
Virtual environment (recommended)

Installation

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/Aadit-Chadda/EntreHive_backend.git
cd EntreHive_backend

Create a virtual environment

python -m venv venv

# Activate virtual environment
# On macOS/Linux:
source venv/bin/activate

# On Windows:
venv\Scripts\activate

Install dependencies
```
pip install -r requirements.txt
```

Set up environment variables

Create a .env file in the root directory:

# Django Settings
SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key-here
DEBUG=True
ALLOWED_HOSTS=localhost,127.0.0.1

# CORS Settings
CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:3000,http://127.0.0.1:3000

# Database (PostgreSQL for production)
# DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/entrehive

# Email Configuration
EMAIL_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
EMAIL_PORT=587
EMAIL_USE_TLS=True
EMAIL_HOST_USER=[email protected]
EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD=your-app-password
DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL=[email protected]

# Frontend URL
FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:3000

Run database migrations

python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate

Create a superuser (optional)
```
python manage.py createsuperuser
```
Run the development server
```
python manage.py runserver
```
Access the API

Navigate to http://localhost:8000/api/

Running Tests

# Run all tests
python manage.py test

# Run specific app tests
python manage.py test accounts
python manage.py test posts
python manage.py test projects

Project Structure

entrehive_backend/
├── accounts/                    # User management app
│   ├── models.py               # UserProfile, Follow models
│   ├── views.py                # User endpoints
│   ├── serializers.py          # User serializers
│   └── urls.py                 # User routes
├── posts/                       # Social posts app
│   ├── models.py               # Post, Comment, Like models
│   ├── views.py                # Post endpoints
│   ├── serializers.py          # Post serializers
│   └── urls.py                 # Post routes
├── projects/                    # Project management app
│   ├── models.py               # Project, ProjectInvitation models
│   ├── views.py                # Project endpoints
│   ├── serializers.py          # Project serializers
│   └── urls.py                 # Project routes
├── messaging/                   # Messaging system app
│   ├── models.py               # Conversation, Message, GroupConversation models
│   ├── views.py                # Messaging endpoints
│   ├── serializers.py          # Messaging serializers
│   └── urls.py                 # Messaging routes
├── notifications/               # Notification system app
│   ├── models.py               # Notification model
│   ├── views.py                # Notification endpoints
│   ├── serializers.py          # Notification serializers
│   └── urls.py                 # Notification routes
├── feed/                        # Feed algorithm app
│   ├── views.py                # Feed endpoints
│   └── utils.py                # Feed scoring logic
├── universities/                # University data app
│   ├── models.py               # University model
│   └── admin.py                # Admin interface
├── contact/                     # Contact form app
│   ├── models.py               # ContactSubmission model
│   └── views.py                # Contact endpoints
├── entrehive_backend/          # Project settings
│   ├── settings.py             # Django settings
│   ├── urls.py                 # Main URL configuration
│   └── wsgi.py                 # WSGI configuration
├── media/                       # User-uploaded files
├── static/                      # Static files
├── manage.py                    # Django management script
├── requirements.txt             # Python dependencies
├── .env                         # Environment variables (create this)
└── README.md                    # This file

Django Apps

accounts

User authentication, profiles, and social features

User profile management
Email verification
Follow/unfollow system
Profile customization
User search

posts

Social networking features

Post creation and management
Comments and replies
Like system
Post sharing
Hashtag support
Feed integration

projects

Entrepreneurial project management

Project CRUD operations
Team management
Project invitations
Project search and discovery
Categories and tags
Status tracking

messaging

Communication system

Direct messaging (1-on-1)
Group conversations (team chats)
Project view requests
Message permissions
Read receipts
Unread counts

notifications

Real-time notification system

Multiple notification types
Read/unread tracking
Bulk operations
User preferences

feed

Curated content feed

Engagement-based scoring
User preferences
University-based filtering
Personalized recommendations

universities

University data management

University information
Student affiliation
University-based filtering

contact

Contact form handling

Contact submissions
Admin management

Environment Variables

Create a .env file with the following variables:

# Django Core
SECRET_KEY=your-django-secret-key
DEBUG=True
ALLOWED_HOSTS=localhost,127.0.0.1

# Database (PostgreSQL for production)
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://username:password@localhost:5432/entrehive
# Or use SQLite for development (default)

# CORS Configuration
CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:3000,http://127.0.0.1:3000

# Email Configuration
EMAIL_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
EMAIL_PORT=587
EMAIL_USE_TLS=True
EMAIL_HOST_USER=[email protected]
EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD=your-app-password
DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL=[email protected]

# Frontend URL
FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:3000

# Optional: AWS S3 Configuration for media files
# AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-access-key
# AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-secret-key
# AWS_STORAGE_BUCKET_NAME=your-bucket-name
# AWS_S3_REGION_NAME=us-east-1

Database Models

accounts.UserProfile

Extended user profile with additional information

- user (OneToOne -> User)
- profile_picture (ImageField)
- banner_image (ImageField)
- bio (TextField)
- university (ForeignKey -> University)
- user_role (CharField: student/professor/investor)
- linkedin_url, github_url, website_url
- is_profile_public (Boolean)
- email_verified (Boolean)

posts.Post

Social media posts

- author (ForeignKey -> User)
- content (TextField)
- image_url (URLField)
- visibility (CharField: public/university)
- tagged_projects (ManyToMany -> Project)
- created_at, updated_at

projects.Project

Entrepreneurial projects

- owner (ForeignKey -> User)
- title, summary (CharField, TextField)
- project_type (CharField: startup/research/social_impact/tech_innovation)
- status (CharField: planning/active/completed/on_hold)
- team_members (ManyToMany -> User)
- banner_image, preview_image (ImageField)
- categories, tags, needs (JSONField)
- visibility (CharField)
- university (ForeignKey -> University)

messaging.Conversation

Direct 1-on-1 conversations

- participant_1, participant_2 (ForeignKey -> User)
- initiated_by (ForeignKey -> User)
- related_project (ForeignKey -> Project, optional)
- status (CharField: active/archived)
- created_at, updated_at, last_message_at

messaging.GroupConversation

Team-based group messaging

- project (ForeignKey -> Project)
- created_by (ForeignKey -> User)
- participants (ManyToMany -> User)
- created_at, updated_at, last_message_at

notifications.Notification

User notifications

- recipient (ForeignKey -> User)
- sender (ForeignKey -> User)
- notification_type (CharField)
- post, project, comment (ForeignKey, optional)
- message (TextField)
- is_read (Boolean)
- created_at

API Endpoints

Authentication

POST   /api/auth/registration/              # Register new user
POST   /api/auth/login/                      # Login
POST   /api/auth/logout/                     # Logout
POST   /api/auth/password/reset/             # Request password reset
POST   /api/auth/password/reset/confirm/     # Confirm password reset
POST   /api/auth/token/refresh/              # Refresh JWT token
GET    /api/accounts/verify-email/<key>/    # Verify email

User Profiles

GET    /api/accounts/profile/                # Get current user profile
PUT    /api/accounts/profile/                # Update profile
GET    /api/accounts/profile/<username>/     # Get user by username
POST   /api/accounts/follow/<username>/      # Follow user
DELETE /api/accounts/unfollow/<username>/    # Unfollow user
GET    /api/accounts/followers/              # Get followers
GET    /api/accounts/following/              # Get following
GET    /api/accounts/search/                 # Search users, posts, projects

Posts

GET    /api/posts/                           # List posts
POST   /api/posts/                           # Create post
GET    /api/posts/<id>/                      # Get post detail
PUT    /api/posts/<id>/                      # Update post
DELETE /api/posts/<id>/                      # Delete post
POST   /api/posts/<id>/like/                 # Toggle like
GET    /api/posts/<id>/likes/                # Get likes
POST   /api/posts/<id>/share/                # Share post
GET    /api/posts/feed/                      # Get curated feed
GET    /api/posts/my_posts/                  # Get user's posts
GET    /api/search/                          # Search posts

Comments

GET    /api/posts/<post_id>/comments/        # List comments
POST   /api/posts/<post_id>/comments/        # Create comment
PUT    /api/posts/<post_id>/comments/<id>/   # Update comment
DELETE /api/posts/<post_id>/comments/<id>/   # Delete comment

Projects

GET    /api/projects/                        # List projects
POST   /api/projects/                        # Create project
GET    /api/projects/<id>/                   # Get project detail
PUT    /api/projects/<id>/                   # Update project
DELETE /api/projects/<id>/                   # Delete project
GET    /api/projects/my_projects/            # Get user's projects
POST   /api/projects/<id>/add_team_member/   # Add team member
DELETE /api/projects/<id>/remove_team_member/ # Remove team member
GET    /api/projects/search/                 # Search projects

Messaging

GET    /api/messaging/conversations/         # List conversations
POST   /api/messaging/conversations/create/  # Create conversation
GET    /api/messaging/conversations/<id>/    # Get conversation detail
POST   /api/messaging/conversations/<id>/messages/create/ # Send message
GET    /api/messaging/group-conversations/   # List group conversations
POST   /api/messaging/group-conversations/create/ # Create group
GET    /api/messaging/group-conversations/<id>/ # Get group detail
POST   /api/messaging/group-conversations/<id>/messages/create/ # Send group message
GET    /api/messaging/project-view-requests/ # List view requests
POST   /api/messaging/project-view-requests/create/ # Create request
POST   /api/messaging/project-view-requests/<id>/respond/ # Respond to request

Notifications

GET    /api/notifications/                   # List notifications
GET    /api/notifications/<id>/              # Get notification detail
POST   /api/notifications/<id>/mark_as_read/ # Mark as read
POST   /api/notifications/mark_all_as_read/  # Mark all as read
GET    /api/notifications/unread_count/      # Get unread count

Feed

GET    /api/feed/                            # Get curated feed
GET    /api/feed/trending/                   # Get trending topics

Authentication

The API uses JWT (JSON Web Tokens) for authentication:

Register: POST /api/auth/registration/
Login: POST /api/auth/login/ - Returns access and refresh tokens
Use Token: Include in headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>
Refresh: POST /api/auth/token/refresh/ - Get new access token

Example Authentication Flow

# Register
POST /api/auth/registration/
{
  "username": "johndoe",
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "password1": "securepassword123",
  "password2": "securepassword123"
}

# Login
POST /api/auth/login/
{
  "username": "johndoe",
  "password": "securepassword123"
}

# Response
{
  "access": "eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGc...",
  "refresh": "eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGc...",
  "user": {...}
}

# Use token in subsequent requests
GET /api/accounts/profile/
Headers: Authorization: Bearer eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGc...

Deployment

Production Checklist

Environment Variables
- Set DEBUG=False
- Configure ALLOWED_HOSTS
- Set strong SECRET_KEY
- Configure production database
- Set up email service
- Configure AWS S3 for media files
Database
- Run migrations: python manage.py migrate
- Create superuser: python manage.py createsuperuser
Static Files
```
python manage.py collectstatic
```
Security
- Enable HTTPS
- Configure CORS properly
- Set secure cookie settings
- Enable CSRF protection
Server
- Use gunicorn or uwsgi
- Set up nginx reverse proxy
- Configure SSL certificates

Example Gunicorn Configuration

gunicorn entrehive_backend.wsgi:application \
  --bind 0.0.0.0:8000 \
  --workers 4 \
  --timeout 120

Contributing

We welcome contributions to EntreHive Backend!

Development Workflow

Fork the repository

Create a feature branch

git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

Make your changes
Run tests
```
python manage.py test
```

Commit with clear messages

git commit -m "Add feature: your feature description"

Push to your fork

git push origin feature/your-feature-name

Create a Pull Request

Code Style

Follow PEP 8 guidelines
Use meaningful variable and function names
Add docstrings to classes and methods
Write unit tests for new features
Keep functions focused and modular

Database Migrations

Always create migrations when modifying models:

python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate

Admin Interface

Access the Django admin panel at /admin/:

# Create superuser
python manage.py createsuperuser

# Access admin panel
http://localhost:8000/admin/

Manage:

Users and profiles
Posts and comments
Projects and teams
Messages and conversations
Notifications
Contact submissions

License

This project is part of EntreHive platform.

Acknowledgments

Built with Django and Django REST Framework
Authentication powered by SimpleJWT
Image handling with Pillow
Database powered by PostgreSQL

Questions or Issues? Please open an issue in the GitHub repository.

Frontend Repository: EntreHive Frontend

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 21 Commits
accounts		accounts
contact		contact
entrehive_backend		entrehive_backend
feed		feed
messaging		messaging
notifications		notifications
posts		posts
projects		projects
universities		universities
.gitignore		.gitignore
ADMIN_INTERFACE_GUIDE.md		ADMIN_INTERFACE_GUIDE.md
API_GUIDE.md		API_GUIDE.md
README.md		README.md
manage.py		manage.py
requirements.txt		requirements.txt
search_views.py		search_views.py

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EntreHive Backend

Links

Table of Contents

Overview

Features

Authentication & Authorization

User Management

Social Features

Project Management

Messaging System

Notifications

Search & Discovery

Tech Stack

Core Framework

Authentication

Database

Additional Libraries

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Installation

Running Tests

Project Structure

Django Apps

accounts

posts

projects

messaging

notifications

feed

universities

contact

Environment Variables

Database Models

accounts.UserProfile

posts.Post

projects.Project

messaging.Conversation

messaging.GroupConversation

notifications.Notification

API Endpoints

Authentication

User Profiles

Posts

Comments

Projects

Messaging

Notifications

Feed

Authentication

Example Authentication Flow

Deployment

Production Checklist

Example Gunicorn Configuration

Contributing

Development Workflow

Code Style

Database Migrations

Admin Interface

License

Acknowledgments

About

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