🧠 Second Brain

Build your digital second brain to manage notes, bookmarks, tasks, and ideas — all in one immersive space.

Second Brain is a full-stack knowledge management application that helps you capture ideas instantly and access knowledge seamlessly. Think of it as your personal digital workspace where you can store, organize, and retrieve all your important content in one place.

✨ Features

Core Functionality

• 📝 Content Management: Save and organize notes, links, documents, and media
• 🏷️ Smart Tagging: Tag content for easy categorization and retrieval
• 🔍 Advanced Search: Find your content quickly with powerful search and filtering
• 📚 Content Types: Support for various content types (notes, URLs, documents, etc.)
• 🔄 Real-time Sync: Your content stays synchronized across sessions

Sharing & Collaboration

• 🔗 Content Sharing: Share individual pieces of content with others
• 🌐 Public Brain: Make your entire knowledge base publicly accessible
• 📤 Link Sharing: Generate shareable links for your content
• 🔒 Privacy Controls: Control what's public and what stays private

User Experience

• 🎨 Modern UI: Beautiful, responsive interface built with React and Tailwind CSS
• ⚡ Fast Performance: Optimized for speed with efficient data loading
• 📱 Mobile Friendly: Works seamlessly on desktop and mobile devices
• 🔐 Secure Authentication: JWT-based authentication system
• 💫 Loading States: Smooth loading experiences throughout the app

🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend

• React 19 - Modern React with hooks and context
• TypeScript - Type-safe JavaScript
• Tailwind CSS - Utility-first CSS framework
• React Router - Client-side routing
• Axios - HTTP client for API calls
• React Toastify - Elegant notifications
• Vite - Fast build tool and dev server

Backend

• Node.js - JavaScript runtime
• Express.js - Web application framework
• TypeScript - Type-safe server-side code
• MongoDB - NoSQL database with Mongoose ODM
• JWT - JSON Web Tokens for authentication
• Bcrypt - Password hashing
• Zod - Schema validation
• CORS - Cross-origin resource sharing

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18 or higher)
• MongoDB database
• npm or yarn package manager

Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/Ankushkr14/Second_Brain.git
   cd Second_Brain

2. Set up the Backend

   cd Backend
   npm install

   Create a .env file in the Backend directory:

   PORT=3000
   DB=your_mongodb_connection_string
   JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_key

3. Set up the Frontend

   cd ../frontend
   npm install

   Update src/config.ts with your backend URL:

   export const BACKEND_URL = "http://localhost:3000";

Running the Application

1. Start the Backend Server

   cd Backend
   npm run dev

   The backend will run on http://localhost:3000

2. Start the Frontend Development Server

   cd frontend
   npm run dev

   The frontend will run on http://localhost:5173

3. Access the Application Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:5173

📁 Project Structure

Second_Brain/
├── Backend/                 # Express.js backend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── config/         # Database and configuration
│   │   ├── controller/     # Request handlers
│   │   ├── middleware/     # Custom middleware
│   │   ├── routes/         # API routes
│   │   └── index.ts        # Entry point
│   ├── package.json
│   └── tsconfig.json
├── frontend/               # React frontend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/     # Reusable components
│   │   ├── pages/          # Page components
│   │   ├── context/        # React context
│   │   ├── assets/         # Static assets
│   │   └── App.tsx         # Main app component
│   ├── package.json
│   └── vite.config.ts
└── README.md

🎯 Usage

Creating Content

1. Sign up for an account or log in
2. Click the "+" button to create new content
3. Choose content type (note, link, etc.)
4. Add title, content, and tags
5. Save to add it to your Second Brain

Organizing Content

• Use tags to categorize your content
• Use the search function to find specific items
• Filter content by type or tags
• Access everything from your dashboard

Sharing Content

• Share individual content pieces with generated links
• Make your entire brain public for others to explore
• Control privacy settings for each piece of content

🔧 API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /auth/signup - Create new user account
• POST /auth/signin - User login

Content Management

• POST /content - Add new content
• GET /content - Get all user content
• GET /content/:id - Get specific content
• DELETE /content/:id - Delete content

Sharing

• POST /content/:id/share - Create shareable link
• GET /share/:linkId - Access shared content
• DELETE /share/:linkId - Revoke shared link

Brain Settings

• PUT /brain/toggle - Toggle brain public/private
• GET /brain/settings - Get brain settings

🤝 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 open source and available under the MIT License.

👨‍💻 Author

Ankush Kumar

• GitHub: @Ankushkr14
• LinkedIn: ankushkr14
• Email: me.ankushkr@gmail.com

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Thanks to all contributors who help improve this project
• Inspired by the concept of "Building a Second Brain" by Tiago Forte
• Built with modern web technologies for optimal performance

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Start building your Second Brain today! 🧠✨