MbendeStay: Modern Real Estate Platform

MbendeStay is a full-stack, Airbnb-inspired rental platform designed specifically for the Cameroonian market. It connects landlords with potential tenants through a modern, intuitive interface featuring advanced search, robust filtering, and a seamless user experience.

Features

For Tenants & Guests

• Advanced Property Search: Filter listings by city, price range, number of bedrooms/bathrooms, and property type.
• Interactive Map View: Visualize property locations for easier decision-making.
• Favorites System: Save interesting properties for later review.
• Responsive Design: Seamless experience on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.

For Landlords

• Streamlined Listing Management: Intuitive dashboard to add, edit, and manage property listings.
• High-Quality Media Upload: Support for multiple high-resolution images and virtual tours.
• Booking & Inquiry Management: Centralized hub to handle tenant communications and booking requests.

Technical Excellence

• Type-Safe Full-Stack: Built end-to-end with TypeScript for superior reliability and developer experience.
• Modern Build Tooling: Leverages Vite for lightning-fast development and builds.
• Performance Optimized: Code splitting, lazy loading, and optimized images for rapid page loads.
• Secure Authentication: Robust auth system protecting user data and transactions.

Architecture & Tech Stack

MbendeStay is built on a modern, scalable JAMstack architecture.

Frontend (Client):

• React 18 with TypeScript
• Vite for build tooling and dev server
• Tailwind CSS for utility-first styling
• Shadcn/UI for accessible, customizable components

Backend (Server):

• Node.js with Express.js or Hono
• TypeScript for type safety
• PostgreSQL with Drizzle ORM for robust data management
• JWT-based Authentication for secure sessions

Development & Deployment:

• Drizzle ORM for type-safe database interactions
• GitHub Actions for CI/CD (optional)
• Vercel/Netlify for frontend deployment
• Railway/Render for backend deployment

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• PostgreSQL 12+
• npm or yarn

Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/CHAFAH/mbendestay.git
   cd mbendestay

2. Install dependencies

   # Install root dependencies (if any)
   npm install
   
   # Install client dependencies
   cd client
   npm install
   
   # Install server dependencies
   cd ../server
   npm install

3. Set up environment variables

   # Create environment files
   cp .env.example .env

   Update the .env file with your database connection and other secrets:

   DATABASE_URL="postgresql://username:password@localhost:5432/mbendestay"
   JWT_SECRET="your-super-secret-jwt-key"
   

4. Set up the database

   # Run database migrations
   npm run db:push
   # or
   npx drizzle-kit push

5. Start the development servers

   # Start the backend server (from /server directory)
   npm run dev
   
   # Start the frontend server (from /client directory in a new terminal)
   npm run dev

6. Open your browser Navigate to http://localhost:5173 to view the application.

Testing

# Run frontend tests
cd client
npm run test

# Run backend tests
cd ../server
npm run test

📖 API Documentation

The MbendeStay API provides endpoints for:

• GET /api/properties - Retrieve properties with filtering options
• POST /api/properties - Create a new property listing (authenticated)
• GET /api/properties/:id - Get a specific property
• POST /api/auth/login - User authentication
• POST /api/auth/register - User registration

For detailed API documentation, see the API Docs.

🛠️ Deployment

Frontend Deployment (Vercel)

1. Connect your GitHub repository to Vercel
2. Set build command: cd client && npm run build
3. Set output directory: client/dist
4. Add environment variables for API endpoints

Backend Deployment (Railway)

1. Connect your GitHub repository to Railway
2. Set root directory to /server
3. Add environment variables for database and secrets
4. Deploy automatically on git push

Database

A cloud PostgreSQL provider like Neon.tech, Supabase, or Railway PostgreSQL is recommended for production.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

1. Fork the project
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

📄 License

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

Acknowledgments

• Inspired by the need for modern rental solutions in Cameroon
• Shadcn/UI for the excellent component library
• Vite team for the fantastic build tool
• Drizzle ORM for type-safe database interactions

Absolutely. Here is the contact section formatted exactly like the previous one, tailored for your MbendeStay project.

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📞 Contact

Sani Chafah - prsan@nebulancesystems.com

Project Link: https://github.com/CHAFAH/mbendestay

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