Recollection

A full-stack web application for managing and receiving daily reminders of book highlights and personal quotes with Kindle import functionality.

Features

• User Authentication: Secure email/password registration and login with JWT sessions
• Highlight Management: Add, edit, delete, and organize your book highlights and quotes
• Kindle Import: Upload and parse Kindle highlight exports (.txt, .csv files)
• Favorites System: Mark highlights as favorites for prioritization in daily reminders
• Daily Email Reminders: Automated daily emails with up to 10 curated highlights
• Search & Filter: Find highlights by text, source, or tags
• Responsive Design: Mobile-friendly interface with dark mode support
• Settings Management: Configure email preferences and reminder timing

Tech Stack

Frontend

• React 18 with TypeScript
• Vite for build tooling
• TailwindCSS for styling
• Shadcn/ui component library
• Wouter for routing
• TanStack Query for data fetching
• React Hook Form with Zod validation

Backend

• Node.js with Express
• TypeScript
• MongoDB with Mongoose ODM
• JWT authentication with bcrypt
• File upload with Multer
• Email sending with Nodemailer
• Scheduled jobs with node-cron

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20 or higher
• npm or yarn

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone <your-repo-url>
cd recollection

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Set up environment variables:

# Database configuration (required)
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/recollection

# Email configuration (optional - for daily reminders)
SMTP_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
SMTP_PORT=587
[email protected]
SMTP_PASS=your-app-password
APP_URL=http://localhost:5000

4. Start MongoDB:

# Using MongoDB service
mongod

# Or using Docker
docker run -d -p 27017:27017 --name mongodb mongo:latest

5. Start the development server:

npm run dev

The application will be available at http://localhost:5000

Project Structure

├── client/                 # Frontend React application
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/     # Reusable UI components
│   │   ├── hooks/          # Custom React hooks
│   │   ├── lib/            # Utilities and configurations
│   │   ├── pages/          # Page components
│   │   └── main.tsx        # Application entry point
│   └── index.html
├── server/                 # Backend Express application
│   ├── middleware/         # Express middleware
│   ├── services/           # Business logic services
│   ├── utils/              # Utility functions
│   ├── index.ts            # Server entry point
│   ├── routes.ts           # API routes
│   └── storage.ts          # Data storage layer
├── shared/                 # Shared types and schemas
│   └── schema.ts           # Database schema and validation
└── package.json

API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /api/auth/register - Create new user account
• POST /api/auth/login - User login
• POST /api/auth/logout - User logout
• GET /api/auth/me - Get current user info

Highlights

• GET /api/highlights - Get user's highlights (paginated)
• POST /api/highlights - Create new highlight
• PATCH /api/highlights/:id - Update highlight
• DELETE /api/highlights/:id - Delete highlight
• POST /api/highlights/:id/favorite - Toggle favorite status
• GET /api/highlights/favorites - Get favorite highlights

Import

• POST /api/import/kindle - Import highlights from Kindle file

User Management

• GET /api/stats - Get user statistics
• PATCH /api/user/preferences - Update email preferences

Features in Detail

Kindle Import

The application supports importing highlights from Amazon Kindle:

1. Export your highlights from read.amazon.com
2. Save as .txt or .csv file
3. Upload through the import interface
4. Highlights are automatically parsed and deduplicated

Daily Email Reminders

• Configurable timing (6 AM - 8 PM)
• Prioritizes favorite highlights
• Sends up to 10 highlights per day
• Tracks sent highlights to avoid repetition
• Beautiful HTML email template

Data Management

• MongoDB database with Mongoose ODM
• Proper data validation with Zod schemas
• Type-safe API with TypeScript
• Schema validation and data modeling

Deployment

The application is designed to work seamlessly with:

• Replit Deployments
• Vercel
• Netlify
• Railway
• Any Node.js hosting platform

For production deployment:

1. Set up environment variables for email configuration
2. Configure database connection (if using PostgreSQL)
3. Build the application: npm run build
4. Start the production server: npm start

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature-name
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Commit your changes: git commit -m 'Add feature-name'
6. Push to the branch: git push origin feature-name
7. Submit a pull request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Support

For support, email [email protected] or create an issue in the GitHub repository.