Chronicle

landing page
Browse/Create Albums
Edit Album and View Pictures
View Photo, Comment, or Create a Time Capsule
View Time Capsules
Opened Time Capsule

🌟 Inspiration

I created Chronicle because I often found myself forgetting the small moments in life that I often took for granted. I wanted a way to capture and revisit those memories, not just individually, but with friends and family too. The idea of shared albums and a time capsule feature felt like the perfect way to document experiences and relive them together.

📸 What it does

Chronicle is a photo-sharing app that allows users to create and contribute to shared albums, leave comments on photos, and store memories in a special time capsule—a feature that locks photos until a future date, bringing back memories in a meaningful way.

🛠️ How I built it

I built Chronicle using React for the frontend, Flask for the backend, and MongoDB as the database. Each component interacts to handle photo uploads, album management, commenting, and the time capsule feature. The app is structured to handle nested data within MongoDB, especially for features like album sharing and comment threads.

🧗‍♂️ Challenges we ran into

The biggest challenge was going solo for this hackathon. Building a full-stack app alone meant managing everything from UI/UX design to backend logic and database management. Time was tight, and balancing all the moving parts was tough. I also spent a good amount of time navigating complex nested data structures in MongoDB.

🏆 Accomplishments that we're proud of

I'm really proud of the design and how much I was able to build on my own in a limited timeframe. The shared album system, comments, and especially the time capsule feature all came together beautifully. It feels cohesive and user-friendly, which was really important to me.

📚 What we learned

I gained a much deeper understanding of MongoDB, especially how to work with nested documents and perform CRUD operations efficiently. I also improved my ability to manage a full-stack project solo, which taught me a lot about time management and prioritizing features under pressure.

🔮 What's next for Chronicle

The next big step is incorporating user login and authentication. I ran out of time to implement it during the hackathon, but it's essential for personalization and security. I’d also love to explore mobile responsiveness, better media storage options, and more interactive features to make memory sharing even more engaging.