MentorSpace

A 1-on-1 Mentorship & Advisory Platform connecting aspiring software engineers, students, and professionals with verified senior industry mentors for personalized guidance across frontend, backend, AI/ML, system design, and competitive programming.

🔗 Live Client: https://mentor-space-phi.vercel.app
📡 Live Backend API: https://mentorspace-backend-p9t8.onrender.com

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1. Project Overview & Architecture

MentorSpace solves the guidance gap in tech education by providing a structured, secure, and frictionless marketplace for booking 1-on-1 mentorship sessions.

High-Level Architecture Diagram

┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   React 18 Single Page App                │
│       (Vite + Tailwind CSS + Lucide Icons + Axios)        │
└───────────────┬───────────────────────────▲───────────────┘
                │ HTTP Requests (REST)      │ JSON Responses
                ▼                           │
┌───────────────────────────────────────────┴───────────────┐
│                 Express.js REST API Server                │
│    ├── JWT Authentication & Role Guards (Student/Mentor)  │
│    ├── Express Rate Limiting & Security Middlewares       │
│    ├── Razorpay SDK & HMAC-SHA256 Signature Verification  │
│    └── Mongoose ORM Layer                                 │
└───────────────┬───────────────────────────▲───────────────┘
                │ Queries & Updates         │ Documents
                ▼                           │
┌───────────────────────────────────────────┴───────────────┐
│                     MongoDB Database                      │
│        (Users, Mentors, Students, Appointments, Payments) │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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2. Core Features & User Workflows

A. Student / Mentee Experience

• Domain-Based Mentor Discovery: Filter mentors across 10+ core tech specializations (React, Node.js, Python, Java, AI/ML, System Design, DevOps, Cloud Architecture, etc.).
• Rich Mentor Profiles: View verified experience, industry background, pricing rates, bio, rating metrics, and scheduled availability.
• Interactive Slot Booking: Visual calendar picker for selecting available date and time slots with session objective notes.
• Razorpay Checkout: Secure in-app checkout with automated order generation and cryptographically verified payment receipts.
• Student Dashboard: Manage upcoming and past appointments, access meeting links, and track booking statuses.

B. Mentor Workspace

• Mentor Console: Dedicated dashboard to view incoming session requests with status transitions (Pending → Accepted / Completed / Rejected).
• Availability Management: Toggle active status, configure weekly availability slots, and set custom pricing.
• Earnings & Analytics: Track completed sessions, student feedback, and revenue metrics.

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3. Data Models & Database Schema

The database is structured into 5 core collections with relational references:

┌─────────────────┐       1:1       ┌──────────────────┐
│      User       ├─────────────────┤  Mentor/Student  │
│ (Auth & Role)   │                 │ (Role Profiles)  │
└────────┬────────┘                 └────────┬─────────┘
         │                                   │
         │ 1:N                               │ 1:N
┌────────▼────────┐                 ┌────────▼─────────┐
│   Appointment   │◄────────────────┤     Payment      │
│(Booking Status) │                 │(Razorpay Orders) │
└─────────────────┘                 └──────────────────┘

1. User (userModel.js): Base credentials, email, hashed password (bcrypt), role (student | mentor), and profile avatar.
2. Mentor (mentorModel.js): References User, includes bio, company, experience years, domain tags, hourly rate, availability slots, and ratings.
3. Student (studentModel.js): References User, educational details, career goals, and enrolled appointment IDs.
4. Appointment (appointmentModel.js): Tracks session lifecycle between a student and mentor (status: PENDING | ACCEPTED | COMPLETED | CANCELLED), date, timeSlot, session notes, and meeting link.
5. Payment (paymentModel.js): Records Razorpay orderId, paymentId, signature hash, amount (INR), currency, and status (created | captured | failed).

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4. API Endpoints Specification

Authentication & User

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required
POST	/api/auth/register	Register new student or mentor	No
POST	/api/auth/login	Authenticate user & issue JWT token	No
GET	/api/auth/me	Fetch authenticated user profile	Yes (JWT)
GET	/api/user	Fetch basic user details	Yes (JWT)

Mentors & Discovery

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required
GET	/api/mentor/all	List all active mentors with filters	No
GET	/api/mentor/:id	Get detailed mentor profile & slots	No
PUT	/api/mentor/profile	Update mentor bio, pricing, and domains	Yes (Mentor)

Appointments & Booking

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required
POST	/api/appointment/book	Book a new mentorship session	Yes (Student)
GET	/api/appointment/student	Get logged-in student's bookings	Yes (Student)
GET	/api/appointment/mentor	Get incoming bookings for mentor	Yes (Mentor)
PATCH	/api/appointment/:id/status	Accept, reject, or complete session	Yes (Mentor/Student)

Payments & Razorpay

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required
POST	/api/payment/create-order	Initialize Razorpay payment order	Yes (Student)
POST	/api/payment/verify	Verify HMAC-SHA256 payment signature	Yes (Student)

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5. Technology Stack

• Frontend:
  • React 18 / React 19 (Hooks, Suspense, Lazy Routing)
  • Vite (Fast HMR & Optimized Bundling)
  • React Router v7 (Client-side routing with role-based ProtectedRoute wrappers)
  • Tailwind CSS (Modern responsive design system)
  • Lucide React (Clean iconography)
  • Axios (Centralized API client with JWT bearer interceptor)
• Backend:
  • Node.js (ES Modules syntax)
  • Express.js (Modular route controllers & middleware architecture)
  • MongoDB & Mongoose (Schema validation, indexes, and document relations)
  • JSON Web Tokens (jsonwebtoken) & bcrypt password hashing
  • Razorpay Node SDK & Node crypto for cryptographic verification
  • express-rate-limit for DDoS & brute-force mitigation

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6. Getting Started & Local Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js: v20.20.2 (use nvm use 20.20.2)
• MongoDB: Running locally on mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017 or MongoDB Atlas URI

1. Environment Configuration

Root / Server (.env):

PORT=5001
MONGO_URL=mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017/mentorspace
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_here
RAZORPAY_KEY_ID=your_razorpay_key_id
RAZORPAY_KEY_SECRET=your_razorpay_key_secret
RATE_LIMIT_ENABLED=true
RATE_LIMIT_LOGIN=100:15
RATE_LIMIT_REGISTER=100:15
RATE_LIMIT_PAYMENT=100:15

Client (client/vite.config.js or client/.env):

VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:5001/api
VITE_RAZORPAY_KEY_ID=your_razorpay_key_id

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2. Installation & Running

Step A: Backend Server (Terminal 1)

cd server
npm install
npm run seed     # Seeds 8 curated mentors across tech domains & students
npm start        # Starts server on http://localhost:5001

Step B: Frontend Client (Terminal 2)

cd client
npm install
npm run dev      # Starts client on http://localhost:5173 (or 5174)

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7. Sample Seed Credentials

All seeded test accounts use the universal password: Admin123@

Role	Email	Domain / Company
Mentor	sarahchen@mentorspace.com	React — Senior Frontend Engineer at Meta
Mentor	michaelchang@mentorspace.com	Node.js — Backend System Architect at Stripe
Mentor	davidmiller@mentorspace.com	Java — Principal Software Engineer at Oracle
Mentor	elenarostova@mentorspace.com	Python — Full Stack Python Lead at Spotify
Mentor	drandrewkim@mentorspace.com	Machine Learning — Staff AI Researcher at Google DeepMind
Mentor	jameswilson@mentorspace.com	DevOps — Senior DevOps Engineer at Amazon AWS
Mentor	emmawatson@mentorspace.com	UI/UX — Lead Product Designer at Airbnb
Mentor	priyasharma@mentorspace.com	Data Structures — Staff Software Engineer at Microsoft
Student	rahul@student.com	CS Student exploring Full-Stack Careers
Student	ananya@student.com	Final year student preparing for System Design
Student	karan@student.com	Self-taught developer focusing on Web Dev

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8. License

Distributed under the ISC License. Designed and developed by Sasank Reddy.