SkillSwap (DurHack 2025)

SkillSwap is a peer-to-peer learning platform built at DurHack 2025. Users create a profile with what they can teach and what they want to learn, then the app recommends potential matches for 1:1 skill swaps. The project is split into a lightweight React frontend and a Node/Express REST API backend.

This repository was built as a hackathon project (fast iteration, small team). My main contribution was the backend: API design, endpoints, matching logic, Supabase integration, and database migrations.

Tech stack

• Frontend: React + Vite
• Backend: Node.js + Express (REST API)
• Database: Supabase (Postgres) + migrations in supabase/migrations
• AI (optional): Google Gemini for structured skill extraction and optional match ranking signals
• Chat (optional): TalkJS integration + DB support for conversations/unread counts

Repo structure

• backend/ Express API (routes, services, config)
• src/ React app source
• supabase/migrations/ Postgres schema + functions/triggers

Running locally

Prerequisites

• Node.js (recommended: Node 18+)
• A Supabase project (for SUPABASE_URL + keys)
• Optional: Gemini API key (to enable AI endpoints / AI-enhanced matching)
• Optional: TalkJS App ID + Secret (to enable TalkJS auth signature endpoint)

1) Install dependencies

npm install

2) Configure environment variables

Do not commit secrets. Create local env files from the examples:

• Frontend (Vite): copy .env.example → .env.local (recommended)
• Backend (Express): copy backend/.env.example → backend/.env

Backend env vars used:

• SUPABASE_URL (required)
• SUPABASE_SERVICE_KEY (required for backend server-side operations)
• GEMINI_API_KEY (optional)
• TALKJS_APP_ID (optional)
• TALKJS_SECRET_KEY (optional)
• PORT (optional, defaults to 3000)

3) Run the app

Run both frontend + backend:

npm run dev

Or run just the backend:

npm run dev:backend

Backend health check:

• GET http://localhost:3000/health

What’s interesting in the code

• Matching logic (reciprocal skills + simple compatibility, AI optional): backend/services/matchingService.js
• Skill extraction + learning plan generation (Gemini): backend/services/aiService.js
• Chat endpoints + TalkJS signature generation: backend/routes/chat.js
• Database schema, triggers, and helper RPC functions (unread counts, last message previews): supabase/migrations/

Testing

There is a lightweight API test suite covering routing and common edge cases (validation errors, missing resources, etc.). Tests run without real Supabase/Gemini keys by stubbing external calls.

npm test

Notes / security

• This repo includes example env files only. Real API keys should never be committed.
• The backend uses a Supabase service role key for server-side operations; treat it like a secret.