VideoTube

A Node.js backend API for a video hosting platform, modeled after YouTube. Supports user authentication, profile management, media uploads via Cloudinary, and core social features such as subscriptions. Built with Express, MongoDB, and JWT-based security.

Features

• User registration and login with email or username
• Secure password hashing (bcrypt)
• Access and refresh token authentication (JWT)
• Protected routes with middleware
• Avatar and cover image upload (Multer + Cloudinary)
• Account details update and password change
• Token refresh and logout
• Subscription model (subscriber/channel relationship)
• Video model with aggregation pagination support
• Standardized API responses and error handling

Tech Stack

• Runtime: Node.js (ES Modules)
• Framework: Express 5
• Database: MongoDB with Mongoose
• Authentication: JWT + bcrypt
• File Upload: Multer + Cloudinary
• Other: cookie-parser, cors, dotenv, mongoose-aggregate-paginate-v2

Prerequisites

• Node.js >= 18
• MongoDB instance (local or Atlas)
• Cloudinary account

Installation

git clone https://github.com/SupriyoP09/VideoTube.git
cd VideoTube
npm install

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root directory:

PORT=8000
MONGODB_URI=
CORS_ORIGIN=

ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET=your_access_token_secret
ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRY=1d
REFRESH_TOKEN_SECRET=your_refresh_token_secret
REFRESH_TOKEN_EXPIRY=10d

CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your_cloud_name
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your_api_key
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your_api_secret

Running the Server

npm run dev

The server starts on the port defined in .env (default 8000).

API Endpoints

Base path: /api/v1/user

Method	Endpoint	Auth Required	Description
POST	/register	No	Register a new user
POST	/login	No	Login and receive tokens
POST	/logout	Yes	Logout and clear cookies
POST	/refresh-token	No	Refresh access token

Additional controller methods exist for password change, current user retrieval, and profile/image updates. These can be wired to routes as needed.

Project Structure

src/
├── app.js                 # Express app setup and middleware
├── index.js               # Entry point and DB connection
├── constants.js           # Application constants
├── controllers/           # Route handlers
├── db/                    # Database connection
├── middlewares/           # Auth and Multer middleware
├── models/                # Mongoose schemas (User, Video, Subscription)
├── routes/                # API route definitions
└── utils/                 # ApiError, ApiResponse, asyncHandler, Cloudinary helper
public/
└── temp/                  # Temporary upload directory

Notes

• Avatar is required on registration; cover image is optional.
• Refresh tokens are stored in the database and validated on refresh.
• Temporary files are cleaned after successful or failed Cloudinary uploads.
• The Video and Subscription models are defined and ready for expansion.