recicar.es - European Car Parts Marketplace

A multi-vendor e-commerce platform connecting customers with junkyards and car parts sellers across Europe. Buy new and used automotive parts with advanced search, secure checkout, and multi-region support.

Overview

recicar.es serves customers in 10 European countries (Spain, Germany, France, Poland, Italy, Finland, Romania, UK, Lithuania, Latvia) with a modern, responsive marketplace for car parts discovery and purchase.

• Customers: Search, filter, and purchase parts by vehicle compatibility
• Sellers: Manage inventory, monitor sales, and grow their business
• Platform: Secure multi-vendor marketplace with real-time inventory tracking

Technology Stack

Layer	Technology
Backend	Spring Boot 3.2.0 (Java 21)
Frontend	Thymeleaf, HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript
Database	PostgreSQL 15+
Caching	Redis
Build Tool	Gradle 8.5
Deployment	Docker, Docker Compose, Northflank
Security	Spring Security, HTTPS, PCI DSS

Development Approach

Built using Spec-Driven Development (SDD) with OpenSpec for structured feature planning. Each feature includes:

• proposal.md — Why and what changes
• design.md — Technical decisions and architecture
• specs/*.md — Detailed requirements with testable scenarios
• tasks.md — Implementation checklist (~40-104 tasks per feature)

Implementation Phases

Phase	Focus	Timeline
Phase 1	Product catalog, search, shopping cart	2-4 months
Phase 2	Seller management, inventory, analytics	3-4 months
Phase 3	Multi-vendor marketplace, advanced features	3-4 months

Estimated Timeline: 6-12 months for a team of 5 developers

Core Features (15)

1. Portal Navigation — Header, hamburger menu, search, region/price selectors
2. Search & Filtering — Advanced search with 7+ filters, real-time suggestions
3. Product Listing — Gallery view with seller info, pricing, availability
4. Product Detail — Images, specs, compatibility, seller information
5. Authentication — Secure login/registration with role-based access
6. User Profiles — Wishlist, saved searches, purchase history
7. Shopping & Checkout — Cart management, multi-step checkout, payment integration
8. Policies — Shipping, returns, terms, privacy compliance
9. Categories — Hierarchical categories (20+) with auto-complete
10. Vendor Panel — Dashboard for sellers to manage inventory and orders
11. Support — Help center, FAQs, contact, email support
12. Content — Blog, parts codes database, tire equivalence
13. Trust & Ratings — Seller badges, customer ratings, service fees
14. Company Info — About us, contact details, social media
15. Technical — Responsive design, performance optimization, accessibility

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Java 21+
• PostgreSQL 15+
• Docker and Docker Compose
• Git

Local Development

# Clone and setup
git clone https://github.com/oricha/recicar.git
cd recicar

# Start services (database, Redis)
docker compose up -d

# Run application
./gradlew runLocal

Application runs at http://localhost:8080

Database Setup

PostgreSQL 15+ with schema recicar:

CREATE DATABASE marketplace_dev OWNER marketplace_user;

Run migrations:

./gradlew flywayMigrateDev

Testing

# Unit tests
./gradlew test

# Cucumber tests
./gradlew cukeLocalRun

Project Structure

recicar/
├── openspec/               # Feature definitions (SDD)
│   ├── config.yaml        # OpenSpec configuration
│   └── changes/           # 15 features with specs & tasks
├── src/main/java/         # Spring Boot application
├── src/main/resources/    # Thymeleaf templates, migrations
├── docs/                   # Architecture, API docs
├── scripts/               # Database scripts
└── docker-compose.yml     # Services configuration

Environments

Environment	Profile	Database	Command
Dev	local	Local PostgreSQL	./gradlew runLocal
Test	test	PostgreSQL (Dokploy/local)	./gradlew runTest
Prod	prod	Managed PostgreSQL	./gradlew runProd

Configure via .env with DATABASE_* variables.

API Reference

RESTful API with /api/v1/ versioning:

GET    /api/v1/categories              # List categories
GET    /api/v1/brands                  # List brands
GET    /api/v1/products                # Search products
POST   /api/v1/cart                    # Add to cart
POST   /api/v1/checkout                # Process order

See docs/api.md for complete documentation.

Performance Targets

• Home page load: < 4 seconds
• Search results: < 2 seconds
• API response: < 500ms (p95)
• Uptime: 99.9%

Security

• HTTPS/TLS encryption
• PCI DSS compliance
• SQL injection prevention
• XSS protection (Thymeleaf auto-escaping)
• CSRF tokens
• Spring Security + role-based access control

Contributing

1. Create feature branch: git checkout -b feature/description
2. Follow code standards and run tests
3. Commit with conventional commits
4. Create pull request with description
5. Ensure CI/CD passes and get approval

Team

• Tech Lead: Sarah Chen (@sarah.chen)
• Product Manager: Mike Johnson (@mike.j)
• DevOps: Alex Kim (@alex.k)

Documentation

• OpenSpec Quick Start — Features and tasks
• Architecture
• Database Schema
• API Standards
• PostgreSQL Setup

External References

• Vehicle Data: Smartcar API

License

Proprietary. All rights reserved.

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Last Updated: 2026-04-26
OpenSpec Version: 1.3.1
Current Phase: Phase 1 - Core Catalog & Checkout