OpenMark Blog Platform

Welcome to OpenMark, a modern, open-source blogging platform built with a powerful and scalable technology stack. This platform provides a rich-media editing experience, robust user management, and AI-powered features to enhance content creation.

✨ Features

• Article Management: Create, edit, and publish articles using a user-friendly editor that supports HTML, Markdown import, and custom components.
• User Authentication: Secure signup and login system with role-based access control.
• Dynamic User Roles:
  • ADMIN: Full control over the platform, including user management and site settings.
  • EDITOR: Can publish and manage any article.
  • AUTHOR: Can create and manage their own articles.
  • MODERATOR: Can manage user-submitted reports and suspend users.
  • READER: Default role for registered users.
  • SUSPENDED: A restricted state where users cannot post comments.
• Interactive Social Features:
  • Follow System: Users can follow their favorite authors.
  • Threaded Comments: Engage in discussions with nested replies.
  • Likes: Show appreciation for articles.
• Personalization:
  • "For You" Feed: The homepage features a personalized feed with the latest articles from followed authors.
  • AI Recommendations: A dedicated section recommends articles based on the user's reading history (tag-based).
• Gamification & Engagement:
  • XP and Leveling System: Authors gain XP for publishing, receiving likes, comments, and followers.
  • User Badges: Earn badges for milestones (e.g., "New Leaf", "Scribe").
• Admin & Moderation Panel:
  • Manage user roles and permissions.
  • Featured Article: Hand-pick an article to feature in the homepage hero section.
  • Reporting System: Review and act on user-submitted reports for articles and comments.
• Rich Content & Sharing:
  • Embeds: Easily embed content from external sources like YouTube.
  • Article Embedding: Allow your own articles to be embedded on other websites via an <iframe>.
  • Social Sharing: Quick-share buttons for X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and copying links.
• AI-Powered Content Tools:
  • Generate article summaries (TL;DR).
  • Get SEO-optimized title suggestions.
  • Receive relevant tag suggestions to improve discoverability.

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18 or later recommended)
• npm (or yarn/pnpm)

Installation & Local Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/softpython2884/OpenMark-Blog.git
   cd "OpenMark Blog"

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Set up environment variables: Create a .env file in the root of the project. This file is crucial for securing your application.

   # Generate a long, random, secret string for signing JWTs.
   # You can use an online generator or a command like:
   # openssl rand -base64 32
   JWT_SECRET=your-super-secret-key

   Important: The default JWT secret is insecure and for development only. You must change this for production.

4. Run the development server: The application uses a local SQLite database (local.db) which is created and seeded automatically on the first run.

   npm run dev

   The application will be available at http://localhost:9002.

🧑‍💻 Default User Accounts

The database is seeded with three default users to facilitate testing and development:

• Admin:
  • Email: admin@example.com
  • Password: admin
• Author:
  • Email: author@example.com
  • Password: author
• Reader:
  • Email: reader@example.com
  • Password: reader

⚙️ Configuration & Customization

Theming

The application uses ShadCN UI and Tailwind CSS. You can customize the theme by editing the CSS variables in src/app/globals.css. Modify the HSL values for --primary, --background, --accent, etc., to change the color scheme.

AI Configuration (Genkit)

The AI features are powered by Google's Genkit. The configuration is located in src/ai/genkit.ts. To use your own Google AI models, you'll need to set up a Google Cloud project and an API key.

1. Create a project on Google AI Studio.
2. Get your API key.
3. Add the API key to your .env file:

   GEMINI_API_KEY=your-google-ai-api-key

4. The Genkit configuration in src/ai/genkit.ts will automatically pick up this key.

Placeholder Images

Placeholder images are managed in src/lib/placeholder-images.json. You can replace these with your own high-quality default images from services like Unsplash.

☁️ Deployment

This Next.js application is configured for easy deployment on platforms that support Node.js.

Key Considerations:

1. Environment Variables: Ensure you set the JWT_SECRET and GEMINI_API_KEY environment variables in your hosting provider's dashboard.
2. Database: This project uses SQLite for local development.
3. Build Command: The standard build command is npm run build.
4. Start Command: The start command is npm start.

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