📚 BookSwapHub

👉 Live Site

BookSwapHub is a full-stack platform that enables readers to swap books effortlessly. The application encourages sustainable reading, reduces book acquisition costs, and builds a community of readers who love sharing stories. It integrates advanced features like real-time chat, AI-powered book recommendations, category filtering, return policy, and more.

HLD :

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🚀 Features

🔄 Seamless Book Swapping

• Users can securely request and exchange books with others without any financial transactions.
• A return policy ensures fair play and trust.

🧠 AI Recommendations (Gemini API)

• Integrated Gemini API to provide personalized book recommendations based on genre preferences.
• Smart AI agent responds to queries like "suggest me fantasy novels" or "books by Orwell".

💬 One-on-One Chat & Community Chat

• Built-in real-time chat system (via Firebase Realtime DB) for:
  • Direct messaging with book owners.
  • Community chat to engage with other readers.

🔍 Smart Filtering & Search

• Filter books by title or category.
• Intuitive search bar with fast results.

🪄 Responsive UI & Animations

• Sleek, modern, mobile-friendly interface powered by Chakra UI and Mantine UI.
• Clean animations and state indicators for intuitive UX.

🧾 Book Management

• Upload book details with images (front and back covers).
• Manage current holdings, requests, and swap history.
• Return or cancel requests through a robust dashboard.

🔐 Enhanced Security

• Role-based access and strict Firebase + backend rules to protect user and data integrity.

📦 Installation

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/dodomyg/BookSwapHub.git
cd BookSwapHub

2. Install Dependencies

npm install
# or
yarn install

3. Set Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root with the following keys:

MONGO_URI=your_mongo_connection_string
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret
FIREBASE_API_KEY=your_firebase_key
...

4. Start Development Server

npm start

Visit http://localhost:3000 to start using BookSwapHub locally.

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🧑‍💻 Usage Guide

• 🔐 Sign Up / Login – Start your book swapping journey.
• 📚 Browse – View all available books or filter by category.
• ✉️ Request – Initiate a book swap with a single click.
• 💬 Chat – Talk directly with the owner or ask in the community chat.
• 🔁 Return – Mark books returned once completed.
• 🧠 Ask AI – Use the smart assistant to get book reviews or suggestions.

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! 🙌

1. Fork the repo
2. Create a feature branch
3. Commit changes with meaningful messages
4. Submit a pull request