PetMate

A pet adoption management platform connecting rescue organizations, pet centers, volunteers, and adopters. React frontend, Express + MySQL backend, JWT-based role authentication (admin / rescue organization / pet center).

Tech stack

Layer	Technology
Frontend	React 18 (Create React App), React Router, Font Awesome
Backend	Node.js, Express
Database	MySQL (via mysql2, all queries parameterized)
Auth	JWT, bcrypt password hashing

Project structure

petmate/
├── client/          # React frontend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── api.js            # Single centralized API client (all requests go through here)
│   │   ├── login.js           # Login screen
│   │   ├── AdminDashboard.js  # Admin role dashboard
│   │   ├── RescueDashboard.js # Rescue organization role dashboard
│   │   ├── CenterDashboard.js # Pet center role dashboard
│   │   ├── Pet.js, Adopter.js, Volunteers.js, PetCentre.js, RescueOrganisation.js
│   │   │                      # Standalone CRUD screens for each entity
│   │   └── App.js             # Routes
│   └── .env.example           # REACT_APP_API_URL override (optional)
└── server/          # Express backend
    ├── server.js     # All API routes
    ├── schema.sql     # MySQL schema + seed data
    └── .env.example   # Copy to .env and fill in your local MySQL credentials

Getting started (local MySQL)

1. Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• MySQL Server (running locally)

2. Set up the database

mysql -u root -p -e "CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS petmate"
mysql -u root -p petmate < server/schema.sql

This creates all tables and seeds demo data, including three login accounts (all use password password123):

Username	Role	Notes
admin	admin	Full system access
rescue1	rescue_org	Manages "Happy Paws Rescue"
center1	pet_center	Manages "Austin Pet Haven"

3. Configure the backend

cd server
cp .env.example .env

Edit .env and fill in your local MySQL credentials:

DB_HOST=localhost
DB_PORT=3306
DB_USER=root
DB_PASSWORD=your_local_mysql_password
DB_NAME=petmate
JWT_SECRET=<generate one - see comment in .env.example>

4. Install and run

# Terminal 1 - backend
cd server
npm install
npm start          # runs on http://localhost:9800

# Terminal 2 - frontend
cd client
npm install
npm start           # runs on http://localhost:3000

Open http://localhost:3000 and log in with one of the demo accounts above.

Running without a database

If you skip the .env setup, the server automatically falls back to an in-memory demo mode (same three demo accounts, small fixed dataset) so the app is still explorable without MySQL configured. You'll see this logged on startup: Running in demo mode with mock data...

Security notes

• No credentials are hardcoded anywhere in this codebase — everything sensitive comes from server/.env, which is git-ignored and never committed.
• All SQL queries use parameterized statements (? placeholders via mysql2), so there's no SQL injection surface.
• Passwords are hashed with bcrypt; plaintext passwords are never stored.
• Every protected route requires a valid JWT, checked server-side, with role-based authorization on admin-only and role-specific endpoints.

Project docs

• CONTRIBUTING.md — how to set up a dev environment and submit changes
• CHANGELOG.md — release history
• SECURITY.md — vulnerability reporting and security practices
• CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
• docs/ — deeper architecture notes and diagrams

License

See LICENSE.