Address Book Backend

This is the backend codebase for the Address Book application, built with Node.js, Express, and MongoDB. The application provides a RESTful API for managing contacts, including creating, reading, updating, and deleting (CRUD) operations. Authentication is handled using IBM Cloud App ID.

Table of Contents

• Prerequisites
• Installation
• Configuration
• Running the Application
• API Endpoints
• Authentication
• Error Handling
• Testing
• Deployment
• Contributing
• License

Prerequisites

Before running the application, ensure you have the following installed:

• Node.js (v12 or higher)
• npm
• MongoDB (local or hosted instance)
• IBM Cloud Account with App ID service provisioned

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/your-username/address-book-backend.git
cd address-book-backend

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

Configuration

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root directory of the project and add the following environment variables:

PORT=5000
MONGODB_URI=<your-mongodb-connection-string>
APPID_ISSUER=<your-appid-issuer-url>
APPID_AUDIENCE=<your-appid-client-id>
APPID_JWKS_URI=<your-appid-jwks-uri>

• MONGODB_URI: Your MongoDB connection string.
• APPID_ISSUER: The issuer URL from IBM App ID (found in the discovery endpoint).
• APPID_AUDIENCE: Your App ID application client ID.
• APPID_JWKS_URI: The JWKS URI for IBM App ID (also found in the discovery endpoint).

IBM Cloud App ID Setup

1. Create an App ID service instance:

• Log in to your IBM Cloud account.
• Navigate to the App ID service.
• Create a new App ID instance.

2. Configure App ID for Backend:

• Go to your App ID service dashboard.
• Navigate to Applications and create a new Regular Web Application.
• Note down the Client ID and Discovery Endpoint.

3. Obtain Configuration Values:

• Issuer URL: Found under the discovery endpoint at issuer.
• JWKS URI: Found under the discovery endpoint at jwks_uri.

Running the Application

Start the server with the following command:

npm start

The server will start on the port specified in the .env file (default is 5000).

API Endpoints

Contacts

• GET /contacts: Retrieve all contacts.
• GET /contacts/:id: Retrieve a specific contact by ID.
• POST /contacts: Create a new contact.
• PUT /contacts/:id: Update an existing contact.
• DELETE /contacts/:id: Delete a contact.

Authentication Middleware

All /contacts endpoints are protected by JWT authentication using IBM App ID.

Authentication

Authentication is handled via JWT tokens issued by IBM App ID. The backend verifies the tokens using the express-jwt and jwks-rsa libraries.

Token Verification Middleware

const { expressjwt: jwt } = require('express-jwt');
const jwksRsa = require('jwks-rsa');

const authMiddleware = jwt({
  secret: jwksRsa.expressJwtSecret({
    cache: true,
    rateLimit: true,
    jwksUri: process.env.APPID_JWKS_URI,
  }),
  audience: process.env.APPID_AUDIENCE,
  issuer: process.env.APPID_ISSUER,
  algorithms: ['RS256'],
});

module.exports = authMiddleware;

This middleware is applied to the /contacts routes to ensure that only authenticated users can access them.

Error Handling

Errors are returned in JSON format with appropriate HTTP status codes.

• 400 Bad Request: Validation errors or malformed requests.
• 401 Unauthorized: Missing or invalid authentication token.
• 404 Not Found: Resource not found.
• 500 Internal Server Error: Server-side errors.

Testing

To run tests, use the following command:

npm test

Ensure you have set up your testing environment and have any necessary test configurations in place.

Deployment

For deployment to a production environment:

1. Set Environment Variables: Ensure all necessary environment variables are set in the production environment.
2. Use a Process Manager: Utilize a process manager like PM2 or forever to manage the application process.
3. Security Considerations:

• Ensure HTTPS is used in production.
• Validate all input data.
• Keep dependencies up to date.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new feature branch: git checkout -b feature/YourFeature.
3. Commit your changes: git commit -m 'Add some feature'.
4. Push to the branch: git push origin feature/YourFeature.
5. Open a pull request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please contact the owner.