Project Nexus

A lightweight collaboration platform for research & project teams.

Note

Due to economic reason, I have turned off the database for this project which lead to the shutdown of backend so that I can spend them on my recent project. However, the demo for this application still function and have been moved to "https://thanhvinhtong.github.io/project-nexus/", feel free to clone and then tailor this project to your taste. Best wish from the author - Vincent Tong - and happy coding!

Overview

Project Nexus is a full-stack collaboration platform designed to help teams manage projects, tasks, activities, references, and research notes in one place.
Think of it as a lightweight Notion/Trello for researchers — with project management, user collaboration, activity tracking, and versioned notes.

This project features a comprehensive backend API with 8 controllers and 8 data models, supporting complex project workflows with user permissions, task assignments, and activity logging.

---

Tech Stack

• Frontend: Next.js + TailwindCSS + TypeScript
• Backend: ASP.NET Core Web API (.NET 9)
• Database: PostgreSQL + Entity Framework Core
• Authentication: User management with roles and permissions
• API Documentation: Swagger/OpenAPI
• CORS: Configured for frontend-backend communication
• Deployment: Docker (optional) + Supabase support

---

Project Structure

project-nexus/
├── frontend/ # Next.js app (UI, pages, components)
├── backend/ # ASP.NET Core Web API (controllers, models, migrations)
└── README.md # You are here

---

Architecture Overview

Backend Implementation

• 8 Controllers: Users, Projects, Tasks, Notes, Activities, References, ProjectUsers, UserTasks
• 8 Data Models: Complete entity relationships with timestamps
• Database: PostgreSQL with Entity Framework Core migrations
• API: RESTful endpoints with Swagger documentation
• Authentication: User management with roles and permissions

Frontend Implementation

• Next.js: React-based frontend with TypeScript
• UI Components: TailwindCSS for styling
• Pages: Dashboard, projects, tasks, notes, and user management
• State Management: Component-based state with API integration

---

Database Schema

Core Tables

• User → id, legalName, userName, email, hashedPassword, role, createdAt, updatedAt
• Project → id, title, description, deadline, status, createdAt, updatedAt
• Task → id, projectId, title, type, priority, dueDate, createdAt, updatedAt
• Note → id, projectId, content, createdAt, updatedAt
• Activity → id, projectId, message, createdAt, updatedAt
• Reference → id, projectId, referenceName, url, description, authors, createdAt, updatedAt

Relationship Tables

• ProjectUser → id, projectId, userId, userPermission, createdAt, updatedAt
• UserTask → taskId, userId, comment, createdAt, updatedAt

---

Setup Instructions

Backend (ASP.NET Core API)

cd backend/ProjectNexus.API
dotnet restore
dotnet ef database update
dotnet run

• API runs on: http://localhost:5160
• Swagger UI: http://localhost:5160/swagger
• See backend/README.md for detailed setup

Frontend (Next.js + Tailwind)

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev

• Frontend runs on: http://localhost:3000
• Configured to connect to backend API

API Endpoints

Users
    GET /api/users
    POST /api/users
Projects
    GET /api/projects
    POST /api/projects
    GET /api/projects/{id}
Tasks
    GET /api/tasks
    POST /api/tasks
    GET /api/tasks/{id}
    PUT /api/tasks/{id}
Notes
    GET /api/notes
    POST /api/notes
    GET /api/notes/{id}
Activities
    GET /api/activities
    POST /api/activities
References
    GET /api/references
    POST /api/references
Project Users
    GET /api/projectusers
    POST /api/projectusers
User Tasks
    GET /api/usertasks
    POST /api/usertasks

Current Features

Implemented & Working:

• User management with roles and permissions
• Project creation and management
• Task management with assignments
• Notes system with versioning
• Activity logging and tracking
• Reference management
• User-project relationships
• User-task assignments
• Full REST API with Swagger documentation
• Database migrations and seeding

Future Extensions

• Authentication: Real OAuth login (Google/Microsoft)
• File Management: File upload and storage system
• Notifications: Rich notifications (email + in-app)
• Research Integration: PubMed/ORCID API integration
• Advanced Features: Real-time collaboration, advanced permissions
• Deployment: Docker + AWS/GCP deployment
• Mobile: React Native mobile app