PicFinds API

• 

  Single gallery images endpoint

• 

  All galleries endpoint

Inspiration

The PicFinds API was inspired by the need to provide students and creative professionals with a simple and effective way to manage and share their visual content. In campuses across Kenya, students often lack a dedicated platform to showcase their work, and existing solutions like social media don’t cater specifically to gallery management. This API fills that gap by offering a streamlined backend for applications where users can create and share their galleries.

What it does

The PicFinds API enables users to:

• Register and authenticate securely through Auth0.
• Create and manage galleries (public or private).
• Upload images to Cloudinary for seamless storage and retrieval.
• Follow other users and view shared galleries.
• Copy galleries to their collection.

How we built it

The API was built using:

• Express.js for the backend server.
• SQLite for lightweight and efficient database management.
• Auth0 for user authentication.
• Cloudinary for image storage and management.
• Railway for seamless deployment and scalability.

We utilized RESTful principles for designing the API endpoints and ensured integration with external services like Auth0 and Cloudinary to handle authentication and image management efficiently.

Challenges we ran into

We faced several challenges:

• Managing peer dependencies and ensuring smooth integration between modern libraries and tools.
• Setting up secure user authentication with Auth0 while maintaining session management across the app.
• Handling large image uploads and optimizing performance while storing images on Cloudinary.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud to have successfully integrated Auth0 for secure and scalable user authentication and Cloudinary for effortless image management. The API provides a smooth, user-friendly experience for gallery creation and management, ensuring that creative individuals can share their work without technical hurdles. Additionally, deploying the backend via Railway has allowed us to scale the app effortlessly.

What we learned

This project reinforced the importance of security and scalability in API design. We learned how to efficiently integrate external services like Auth0 and Cloudinary, which provide powerful features without overcomplicating the development process. We also gained insights into optimizing user experience and performance when dealing with large media files.

What's next for PicFinds API

The next steps for PicFinds API include:

• Adding more robust follower and notification systems to enhance community engagement.
• Implementing a more advanced search and filtering system for galleries.
• Optimizing the API for even larger datasets and high traffic.
• Expanding the integration of additional cloud storage solutions beyond Cloudinary.

Built With

• auth0
• cloudinary
• express.js
• railway
• sqlite
• typescript