prodip-shadow/alum-net

Purpose and topology

AlumNet is a two-runtime alumni-network application: a Next.js frontend/BFF and a separate ASP.NET backend. The frontend provides public, authentication, and role-oriented dashboard routes; the backend currently exposes an announcement domain backed by MongoDB and protected by JWT middleware.

Next.js application entry and route structure

The primary frontend runtime starts from the App Router root at AlumNet/src/app/layout.jsx, with public landing content in AlumNet/src/app/(common)/page.jsx. Authentication screens are AlumNet/src/app/login/page.jsx and AlumNet/src/app/sign-up/page.jsx. Dashboard routing is grouped under AlumNet/src/app/(dashboard)/dashboard/layout.jsx, separating authenticated application views from common pages.

Identity and session boundary

NextAuth is mounted at AlumNet/src/app/api/auth/[...nextauth]/route.js and configured through AlumNet/src/lib/authOptions.js. Client-side session context is supplied by AlumNet/src/provider/NextAuthProvider.jsx. This is the frontend identity authority; server actions in AlumNet/src/actions/server/auth.js and AlumNet/src/actions/server/profile.js implement auth/profile mutations at the server boundary.

Backend-token bridge

The frontend has a dedicated endpoint at AlumNet/src/app/api/auth/backend-token/route.js plus token issuance logic in AlumNet/src/lib/issueBackendToken.js. This is the key trust boundary between NextAuth sessions and the ASP.NET API: frontend identity/session state is translated into a backend-consumable JWT rather than exposing frontend credentials directly to backend routes.

Dashboard and role-facing UI

Dashboard composition is centralized in AlumNet/src/components/layout/DashboardLayout.jsx and its route-level wrapper. Distinct role or audience pages exist for administrators, alumni, and students: AlumNet/src/app/(dashboard)/dashboard/admin/page.jsx, AlumNet/src/app/(dashboard)/dashboard/alumni/page.jsx, and AlumNet/src/app/(dashboard)/dashboard/student/page.jsx. Profile editing is a separate dashboard workflow at AlumNet/src/app/(dashboard)/dashboard/profile-update/page.jsx.

ASP.NET announcement service

The backend executable composition root is AlumNet.AspNetBackend/Program.cs. Announcement records are represented by AlumNet.AspNetBackend/Models/Announcement.cs; business/data access orchestration is in AlumNet.AspNetBackend/Services/AnnouncementService.cs. This backend is a bounded API service rather than part of the Next.js process.

Backend security and persistence

AlumNet.AspNetBackend/Middlewares/JwtVerificationMiddleware.cs guards requests using JWT verification, receiving tokens produced through the frontend bridge. MongoDB integration is encapsulated by AlumNet.AspNetBackend/Services/MongoDbService.cs, forming the persistence boundary used by announcement functionality. The system therefore depends materially on Next.js/Node.js, ASP.NET/.NET, NextAuth, JWT signing/verification, and MongoDB.

Primary request flow

Users enter public/auth routes, authenticate through NextAuth, and receive session-backed frontend access. Dashboard views and server actions operate under that session. When calling protected ASP.NET functionality, the frontend obtains a backend token through its bridge endpoint, then invokes the .NET API. The .NET JWT middleware validates the token before announcement services access MongoDB.