IRCTC API

A Flask based API that allows users to register, login & book train tickets along with API key-based authentication for admins.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Technologies Used
• Setup Instructions
• API Endpoints

Features

• Admin privileges - Add, Update, Delete train/s
• User privileges - Register, Login, Check Seat Availability, Book Seat/s, Check Booking info
• Optimized for handling race conditions by holding a lock for ongoing transaction
• Admin API endpoints are secured by API Key which are known to Admin and Host
• JWT-based authentication token system for user login with 1 hour expiration window

Technologies Used

• Python3 (Prerequisite)
• Flask
• Flask-SQLAlchemy
• Flask-JWT-Extended
• MySQL (Prerequisite)
• dotenv for environment variable management

Setup Instructions

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/BelieveInTheLimitless/IRCTC-API
cd IRCTC-API

2. Creating the Database

#Login to the database
mysql -u root -p
#Create database
CREATE DATABASE railway_db;
#Create user
CREATE USER 'user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
#Grant privileges
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON railway_db.* TO 'user'@'localhost';
#Update privileges
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
#Exit
EXIT;

3. Creating a virtual environment

# Common
python3 -m venv .venv
# For Linux
source .venv/bin/activate
# For Windows
.venv\Scripts\activate

4. Installing the required packages

pip3 install -r requirements.txt

5. Running the application

python3 app.py

API Endpoints

Admin API Endpoints

• Add Train
  POST /admin/add_train

  • Request Headers
    ADMIN-API-KEY: <API_KEY>
  • Request Body

    {
      "name": "Express Train",
      "source": "Pune",
      "destination": "Thane",
      "total_seats": 100
    }

  • Response

    {
      "message": "Train added successfully"
      "train_id": 1
    }

• Update Train
  PUT /admin/update_train/<train_id>

  • Request Headers
    ADMIN-API-KEY: <API_KEY>
  • Request Body

    {
      "name": "New Express Train",
      "source": "Mumbai",
      "destination": "Delhi",
      "total_seats": 200
    }

  • Response

    {
      "message": "Train updated successfully"
    }

• Delete Train
  DELETE /admin/delete_train/<train_id>

  • Request Headers
    ADMIN-API-KEY: <API_KEY>
  • Response

    {
      "message": "Train deleted successfully"
    }

  • Error Response (if train not found)

    {
      "message": "Train not found"
    }

User API Endpoints

• Register User
  POST /register

  • Request Body

    {
      "username": "john_doe",
      "password": "securepassword"
    }

  • Response

    {
      "message": "User registered successfully"
    }

• Login User
  POST /login

  • Request Body

    {
      "username": "john_doe",
      "password": "securepassword"
    }

  • Response

    {
      "access_token": "<JWT_TOKEN>"
    }

• Check Seat Availability
  GET /trains/availability

  • Request Headers
    Authorization: Bearer <JWT_TOKEN>
  • Request Params
    • source: "Pune"
    • destination: "Thane"
  • Response

    [
      {
        "train_id": 1,
        "train_name": "Express Train",
        "available_seats": 50
      }
    ]

• Book Seat
  POST /user/bookings

  • Request Headers
    Authorization: Bearer <JWT_TOKEN>
  • Request Body

    {
      "train_id": 1
    }

  • Response

    {
      "message": "Seat booked successfully",
      "booking_id": 101
    }

• Get User Bookings
  GET /user/bookings/info

  • Request Headers
    Authorization: Bearer <JWT_TOKEN>
  • Response

    [
      {
        "booking_id": 101,
        "train_name": "Express Train",
        "source": "Pune",
        "destination": "Thane",
        "seat_number": 50
      }
    ]