Trace

Keep track of everything you've watched, read, and played — books, games, and movies in one place.

Stack

Layer	Tech
Frontend	React Native + Expo SDK 54, Expo Router, NativeWind v4
Backend	Express.js + TypeScript, MongoDB (Mongoose)
External APIs	TMDB (movies), Google Books, IGDB (games) — proxied through backend

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Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• npm
• MongoDB running locally on port 27017
• Expo Go (SDK 54) on your phone

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Setup

1. Clone

git clone git@github.com:Sunilpaul16/Trace.git
cd Trace

2. Backend

cd server
npm install

Copy the example env file and fill in your API keys:

cp .env.example .env

# server/.env
MOVIE_API_KEY=       # https://www.themoviedb.org/settings/api
GAME_API_KEY=        # Twitch Client-ID — https://api-docs.igdb.com
GAME_ACCESS_TOKEN=   # Twitch Bearer token
BOOK_API_KEY=        # https://console.cloud.google.com

Start the server:

npm run dev

The server runs on http://localhost:3000.

3. Frontend

cd Trace
npm install
npx expo start

Scan the QR code with Expo Go. No API keys needed on the frontend — all external calls go through the backend.

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Project structure

Trace/
├── server/                  # Express backend
│   ├── controllers/
│   │   ├── movies-controllers.ts       # saved items CRUD
│   │   ├── books-controllers.ts
│   │   ├── games-controller.ts
│   │   ├── browse-movies-controller.ts # TMDB proxy
│   │   ├── browse-books-controller.ts  # Google Books proxy
│   │   └── browse-games-controller.ts  # IGDB proxy
│   ├── database.ts          # Mongoose schemas
│   ├── router.ts            # all routes
│   └── index.ts             # entry point
│
└── Trace/                   # Expo app
    ├── app/
    │   ├── (tabs)/          # Home, Movies, Books, Games
    │   ├── (screens)/       # Detail screens
    │   └── (login)/         # Sign in / Sign up (UI only)
    ├── components/
    │   ├── movies/
    │   ├── books/
    │   ├── games/
    │   ├── profile/
    │   └── ui/
    ├── API/                 # fetch helpers (all call backend)
    └── config.js            # BACKEND_URL + CDN constants

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API routes

Browse (proxied to external APIs)

Method	Path	Returns
GET	/movies/popular	Popular movies from TMDB
GET	/movies/detail/:id	Movie detail from TMDB
GET	/movies/search?q=	Movie search results
GET	/books/popular	Popular books from Google Books
GET	/books/detail/:id	Book detail
GET	/books/search?q=	Book search results
GET	/games/popular	Top-rated recent games from IGDB
GET	/games/detail/:id	Game detail
GET	/games/search?q=	Game search results

Saved items (MongoDB)

Method	Path	Action
GET	/movies	Get saved movies
POST	/movies	Save a movie
DELETE	/movies/:id	Remove a movie
GET	/books	Get saved books
POST	/books	Save a book
DELETE	/books/:id	Remove a book
GET	/games	Get saved games
POST	/games	Save a game
DELETE	/games/:id	Remove a game

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Optional: MongoDB Compass

To visually browse the database, download MongoDB Compass and connect to mongodb://127.0.0.1/my-app-db.