https://github.com/martian56/book-explorer-api
Backend API for BookExplorer
https://github.com/martian56/book-explorer-api
api backend-api expressjs nodejs
Last synced: 12 days ago
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Backend API for BookExplorer
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/martian56/book-explorer-api
- Owner: martian56
- Created: 2025-06-26T12:32:23.000Z (10 months ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2025-06-26T15:27:39.000Z (10 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-12-28T12:40:53.072Z (4 months ago)
- Topics: api, backend-api, expressjs, nodejs
- Language: JavaScript
- Homepage: https://book-explorer-api-xo85.onrender.com
- Size: 110 KB
- Stars: 15
- Watchers: 1
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
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README
# 📚 Book Explorer API
Welcome to **Book Explorer API** – a modern, cloud-ready REST API for managing your starred books, built for the [Book Explorer](https://github.com/martian58/book-explorer) app and anyone who wants a simple way to save, unstar, and fetch favorite books using Open Library data.
---
## 🌟 Features
- **Star & Unstar Books:** Authenticated users can star or unstar any book by Open Library Work ID.
- **Get Starred Books:** Instantly fetch your personal list of favorites.
- **Authentication:** Secure endpoints with [Clerk](https://clerk.com/) JWT-based authentication.
- **CORS & Modern Security:** Safe for modern web frontends.
- **Express.js:** Fast, minimal, and easy to extend.
- **Beautiful Welcome Page:** Visit the root endpoint (`/`) for a delightful API splash.
---
## 🚀 Quick Start
### 1. **Clone & Install**
```bash
git clone https://github.com/martian58/book-explorer-api.git
cd book-explorer-api
npm install
```
### 2. **Environment Variables**
Create a `.env` file:
```env
DATABASE_URL=your_neon_serverless_connection_string
CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=your_publishable_key
CLERK_SECRET_KEY=your_secret_key
NODE_ENV=development
```
### 3. **Run the Server**
```bash
npm run dev
```
Your API is now live at `http://localhost:3000/` 🎉
---
## 🔑 Authentication
All star/unstar and favorites endpoints require a valid Clerk JWT in the `Authorization` header:
```
Authorization: Bearer
```
You can get this token from the Book Explorer frontend or directly from Clerk.
---
## 📖 API Endpoints
| Method | Endpoint | Auth Required | Description |
|--------|----------------------|---------------|-----------------------------------|
| GET | `/` | ❌ | Welcome page |
| GET | `/api/starred` | ✅ | List IDs of books you starred |
| POST | `/api/starred/:id` | ✅ | Star a book by work ID |
| DELETE | `/api/starred/:id` | ✅ | Unstar a book by work ID |
### Example: Star a Book
```http
POST /api/starred/OL82563W
Authorization: Bearer
```
---
## 🛠️ Tech Stack
- **Node.js** + **Express.js**
- **Clerk** for authentication
- **MongoDB** (or any supported store) for user favorites
- **Open Library** for book metadata
---
## 🌍 Deployment
- **Ready for Vercel, Railway, Render, Heroku, and more.**
- Just set your env vars and deploy!
---
## ⚡ Example Welcome Page
---
## 🤝 Contributing
Pull requests and issues are welcome!
See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for guidelines.
---
## 📄 License
MIT
---
## 💫 Credits
- API by [@martian58](https://github.com/martian58)
- Built for [Book Explorer](https://github.com/martian58/book-explorer)
- Book data: [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/)
- Auth: [Clerk](https://clerk.com/)
---