Andrew Hermann Blog

A modern React blog application with admin interface for content management.

Features

• Frontend: React-based blog with responsive design
• Admin Interface: Full CRUD operations for blog posts
• Authentication: Secure admin login with session management
• Database: SQLite for data persistence
• Network: Accessible from LAN with dynamic API configuration

Quick Start

Environment Setup

IMPORTANT: Before running the application, you must configure your environment:

1. Copy Environment Template

   cp .env.example .env

2. Edit .env file with your settings:

   • Set ADMIN_PASSWORD to a secure password
   • Configure SERVER_IP for your network
   • Generate a secure SESSION_SECRET

3. Generate Session Secret (optional):

   node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(64).toString('hex'))"  

4. Install Dependencies

   npm install

5. Start the Application

   ./start-servers.sh

6. Access the Blog

Admin Access

• Admin Panel: http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:5000/admin
• Credentials: Set via environment variables (ADMIN_USERNAME and ADMIN_PASSWORD in .env)
• Default Username: admin (configurable in .env)
  • Website: http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:5000
  • Admin: http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:5000/admin

Architecture

• Frontend: React app served on port 5000
• Backend: Express.js API server on port 5001
• Database: SQLite (backend/blog.db)
• API Config: Dynamic hostname detection for LAN access

File Structure

/path/to/your/project/
├── backend/
│   ├── server.js          # Express API server
│   └── blog.db           # SQLite database
├── src/
│   ├── admin/            # Admin interface components
│   ├── components/       # React components
│   ├── views/            # Page components
│   └── config/
│       └── api.js        # API configuration
├── build/                # Production build
└── start-servers.sh      # Server startup script

Scripts

• npm run build - Build production version
• npm run serve - Serve production build
• npm start - Development server
• ./start-servers.sh - Start both servers

Database

The SQLite database contains:

• admin_users - Admin authentication
• blog_posts - Blog content

Network Configuration

The application uses dynamic API configuration:

• Detects current hostname automatically
• Works with both localhost and LAN access
• No hardcoded IP addresses

Security Features

• Password hashing with bcrypt
• Session-based authentication
• CORS protection
• SQL injection prevention

License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later - see the LICENSE file for details.

What this means:

• ✅ You can use, modify, and distribute this software
• ✅ You can use it for commercial purposes
• ✅ You can distribute modified versions
• ⚠️ Any derivative work must also be licensed under GPL v3+
• ⚠️ You must include the original license and copyright notice
• ⚠️ You must document any changes you make

For more information about GPL v3, visit: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html

Copyright

Copyright (C) 2024 Andrew Hermann

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.