Smart Focus Tracker

Smart Focus Tracker is a full-stack task and focus-session tracking application built with Node.js, Express, and MongoDB.

The project demonstrates a clean backend architecture using RESTful API design, separation of concerns, persistent database storage, and scalable project structure.

Project Overview

The application provides a backend API for managing tasks and focus-related productivity data. It was built as a practical full-stack development project to demonstrate backend design, API development, database integration, and maintainable application structure.

Tech Stack

• Node.js
• Express.js
• MongoDB Atlas
• Mongoose
• JavaScript
• dotenv

Features

• Create tasks
• Retrieve all tasks
• Update existing tasks
• Delete tasks
• Store data persistently using MongoDB
• Structured backend architecture with routes, controllers, services, and models

Project Structure

backend/
├── src/
│   ├── controllers/      # Handles HTTP request logic
│   ├── services/         # Business logic and database operations
│   ├── models/           # Mongoose schemas
│   ├── routes/           # API route definitions
│   └── app.js            # Application entry point
├── package.json
├── package-lock.json
└── .env                  # Local environment variables, not committed

Setup Instructions

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/omerbar13/smart-focus-tracker.git
cd smart-focus-tracker/backend

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Configure environment variables

Create a .env file inside the backend/ folder:

MONGO_URI=mongodb+srv://<username>:<password>@cluster.mongodb.net/taskdb

4. Start the server

node src/app.js

The server runs locally at:

http://localhost:5000

API Endpoints

Get all tasks

GET /tasks

Example response:

[
  {
    "_id": "661f123abc...",
    "title": "Study backend architecture",
    "createdAt": "2026-04-30T10:00:00.000Z",
    "updatedAt": "2026-04-30T10:00:00.000Z"
  }
]

Create a task

POST /tasks

Request body:

{
  "title": "Study backend architecture"
}

Example error response:

{
  "error": "Title is required"
}

Update a task

PUT /tasks/:id

Request body:

{
  "title": "Updated task title"
}

Delete a task

DELETE /tasks/:id

Architecture

The backend follows a layered structure:

Routes -> Controllers -> Services -> Models

This structure separates API routing, request handling, business logic, and database interaction. The goal is to keep the codebase easier to maintain, test, and extend.

Current Status

The current version implements the backend API and MongoDB persistence layer. Future development could include authentication, user accounts, task categories, a React frontend dashboard, and deployment.

Future Improvements

• User authentication with JWT
• User accounts and protected routes
• Task categories or tags
• Focus-session analytics
• Frontend dashboard
• Deployment to a cloud platform

Author

Omer Bar