Case 1 - Pawdium

Where pet posts become the leaderboard.

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Inspiration

Traditional leaderboard systems are effective at tracking scores, but they often feel static and disconnected from real user engagement. We wanted to build a leaderboard-first platform that feels more interactive, social, and fun. That led us to Pawdium, where themed pet posts and community likes turn everyday interaction into a live ranking experience.

What it does

Pawdium is an leaderboard platform where students and faculty can share themed pet posts, explore a community feed, and compete on a live monthly leaderboard. Users can upload posts based on a monthly theme, receive likes from others, and see rankings update dynamically based on engagement. To keep the competition fair, only each user’s highest-liked post is counted toward the monthly leaderboard.

How we built#

We built Pawdium using FastAPI as our backend framework with SQLite as the database. The server exposes a fully REST-compliant API, documented with OpenAPI 3.0 and accessible through Swagger UI. The frontend is built with vanilla HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — communicating with the server entirely through REST API calls

Live Demo

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Because it's free version, you have to click visit site to get in!

GitHub: https://github.com/gk11-creator/Pawdium

REST API Endpoints

Required Endpoints

Method Endpoint Description
POST /add Add or update a leaderboard entry
DELETE /remove Remove a user and all their posts
GET /leaderboard Returns top 10 leaderboard (HTML page)
GET /info Returns statistics: mean, median, Q1, Q3, IQR
GET /performance Returns average endpoint execution time (ms)

Additional Endpoints

Method Endpoint Description
POST /register Register a new user
POST /login Login with username and password
POST /upload Upload a pet photo post
GET /posts Get all posts (filterable by username)
POST /like/{post_id} Like or unlike a post (toggle)
GET /liked/{username} Get all post IDs liked by a user
POST /comment/{post_id} Add a comment to a post
GET /comments/{post_id} Get all comments for a post
DELETE /post/{post_id} Delete a post (owner only)
GET /missions Get today's daily missions
GET /missions/{username} Get missions with completion status
GET /api/leaderboard Get full leaderboard as JSON
GET /history Score submission history with timestamps and filtering
GET /profile/{username} Get user profile
PUT /profile/{username} Update user profile

Ranking System

Pawdium uses a multi-factor scoring system to rank pets:

Viral Score

Calculated on every like based on recent activity:

Likes within 1 hour Multiplier
10+ likes x1.5
20+ likes x2.0
50+ likes x3.0

Bonus Points

Earned by completing daily missions:

Mission Description Points
Daily Post Upload 1 post today +1
Like Spree Like 5 different posts today +1
Chatterbox Leave 3 comments today +1
Viral Star Get 5 likes within 1 hour +5
Fan Favorite Get 10 total likes on your post +7
Conversation King Get 5 comments on your post +3
Theme Champion Post with this month's theme +5
Theme Supporter Like 3 posts with this month's theme +1

Final Score = viral_score + bonus_points

Only the best post per user (most liked) is counted toward the leaderboard.

Statistics (/info)

Returns the following metrics for all posts:

  • Mean, Median, Min, Max
  • Q1, Q3, IQR
  • Average & Max Viral Score

Project Structure

Pawdium/
├── server.py            # FastAPI backend + all REST API endpoints
├── openapi.yaml         # OpenAPI 3.0 API specification
├── requirements.txt     # Python dependencies
├── pawrank.db           # SQLite database
├── uploads/             # Uploaded pet images
└── static/
    ├── login.html       # Login & register page
    ├── feed.html        # Community feed
    ├── post.html        # Upload post with crop tool
    ├── leaderboard.html # Real-time leaderboard + missions
    ├── profile.html     # User profile + mission status
    ├── style.css        # Global styles
    ├── feed.css         # Feed-specific styles
    └── images/
        ├── paw-heart.png
        ├── paw-heart-filled.png
        ├── pawdium-logo.png
        ├── home.png
        ├── ranking.png
        └── profile.png

Challenges we ran into

Profile images not showing up on feed posts — fixed by joining the users table when fetching posts Liked posts not persisting after page refresh — solved by adding a /liked/{username} endpoint Rankings were unfair for users with multiple posts — changed to only count each user's best post Database locking issues when multiple users interacted simultaneously

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Built a fully REST-compliant API with all required endpoints Implemented a multi-factor viral scoring algorithm that updates in real time Created a daily mission system that drives user engagement and generates richer data Built a photo crop and positioning tool from scratch with no libraries Designed a clean, cohesive UI with an earth-tone aesthetic

What we learned

How to design and implement a REST API following OpenAPI 3.0 standards How to manage real-time data updates with SQLite How to build a scoring algorithm that balances multiple factors How to handle concurrent database access in a web server

What's next for Pawdium

Docker containerization for reproducible deployment Monthly season resets with Hall of Fame for past winners Mobile app version More advanced scoring using the formula: popularity, momentum, consistency, quality, and diversity

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