Session Plan Automation

Automate college session plans from syllabus text and lecture schedules.

Stack

• Frontend: React + Vite (apps/web) → Vercel
• Backend: Express + TypeScript (apps/api) → Render
• Database: MongoDB Atlas

Local development

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• MongoDB (local or Atlas)

Setup

npm install
cp apps/api/.env.example apps/api/.env
cp apps/web/.env.example apps/web/.env

Edit apps/api/.env:

MONGODB_URI=mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017/sessionplan
JWT_SECRET=dev-secret
CORS_ORIGIN=http://localhost:5173

Edit apps/web/.env:

VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:4000

Run

# Terminal 1 - API
npm run dev:api

# Terminal 2 - Web
npm run dev:web

• Web: http://localhost:5173
• API: http://localhost:4000

Deployment

MongoDB Atlas

1. Create a free M0 cluster.
2. Create database user and allow network access (0.0.0.0/0 for Render).
3. Use database name sessionplan (not other existing DBs).
4. Copy connection string to MONGODB_URI on Render and in local apps/api/.env for seeding.

Example:

mongodb+srv://USER:PASSWORD@cluster0.xxxxx.mongodb.net/sessionplan?retryWrites=true&w=majority

Render (API)

Dashboard: Render → Web Service → Environment → Add variables

Key	Value
NODE_ENV	production
MONGODB_URI	Atlas URI with /sessionplan
JWT_SECRET	Long random string (Render can generate)
CORS_ORIGIN	https://session-plan-automation-web.vercel.app (no trailing slash)

Service settings:

Field	Value
Root Directory	apps/api
Build Command	cd ../.. && npm install --include=dev && npm run build:api
Start Command	npm start

Or deploy via render.yaml at repo root.

Vercel (Web)

Dashboard: Vercel → Project → Settings → Environment Variables

Key	Value	Environments
VITE_API_URL	https://session-plan-api.onrender.com (no trailing slash)	Production, Preview

Project settings:

Field	Value
Root Directory	apps/web
Build	Uses apps/web/vercel.json

After changing VITE_API_URL, Redeploy (env vars are baked in at build time).

Do not put MONGODB_URI or JWT_SECRET on Vercel.

Admin account (seed)

Admin users are created in MongoDB, not via public registration. Run from your machine against the same MONGODB_URI as production:

1. Set MONGODB_URI in apps/api/.env to your Atlas production URI.
2. Run (PowerShell):

$env:ADMIN_NAME = "Admin"
$env:ADMIN_EMAIL = "your-admin@email.com"
$env:ADMIN_PASSWORD = "your-secure-password"
npm run seed:admin

3. Log in on the Vercel site with those credentials → lands on /admin (users list).

Re-running the seed updates password and promotes an existing email to admin.

Usage

Faculty

1. Register / login.
2. Step 1: Paste syllabus text and prepare lectures (Unit-1: ... starts a unit; each following line is a topic until the next Unit-).
3. Step 2: Enter AY, class, semester, divisions, lecture dates; uncheck holidays.
4. Step 3: Choose units.
5. Generate → preview/edit → Download DOCX.

Admin

1. Log in with seeded admin account.
2. View all faculty users and expand View plans for each user's session plans.

Sample files are in docs/ for reference.