gutcheck

An app to track fiber variety. Read the science here.

Technologies

Gutcheck consists of a React client and a Node/Express backend with PostgreSQL. Additional technologies used include:

• Chart.js for data visualization
• Okta for authentication/authorization
• Sequelize (ORM)
• Material UI
• USDA API

Setting up the project

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/team-axolotl2021/gutcheck.git

2. Install dependencies

yarn

3. Run the dev server. (Note: Environment must be fully configured. See below.)

yarn dev

Environment

We must first establish the necessary environment variables in .env.example. This application requires several environment variables to contain valid values in order to properly function.

First, rename the .env.example file to .env so that it is readable by the dotenv library.

Authentication

Gutcheck uses Okta to provide authentication/authorization functionality.

1. Set up a free Okta developer account. https://www.okta.com/free-trial/
2. From the dashboard, select Applications in the left navigation menu.
3. Select Create App Integration and choose OIDC - Open ID Connect as the sign-in method.
4. Select Single Page Application as the Application Type
5. You will be taken to the Application Dashboard. Take the Client ID and supply it to the .env.example file in under the variable name OKTA_CLIENT_ID
6. On the same page, the first field under General Settings contains the Okta domain. Take this value and place it after the https:// in the environment variable OKTA_ORG_URL in .env.example.
7. In the Okta settings, ensure that the login section appears as follows:
8. In order to verify tokens, Okta requires an API token that allows the Express server to communicate with the Okta domain. From the dashboard, in the left navigation, locate the Security header and select the API link.
9. Under the tokens tab, select Create token. Give the token a descriptive name and click create. SAVE THIS TOKEN -- you will not see it again. Place the token in .env under the variable name OKTA_API_TOKEN.

Authentication should now be functional.

Database (PostgreSQL)

PostgreSQL may be setup locally or using a remote database solution. A popular, free solution can be found at https://www.elephantsql.com/.

Remote Database

Remote database setup will vary depending on the provider, but in all cases you should end up with a connection string that resembles the following format:

postgres://<username>:<password>@<postgres hostname>/<database>

1. Place the connection string in the PG_URL environment variable in the .env file.

Local Database

Local database setups will vary widely, but can be categorized into two general categories: containerized databases or local postgres service. In the containerized scenario, an important consideration will be to ensure that the service port is exposed. In either case, there are a number of variables that must be supplied instead of PG_URL. Further, a minor refactor of sql/sequelize.js is required.

1. Modify .env and supply the following environment variables:

PG_DATABASE=
PG_HOSTNAME=
PG_USERNAME=
PG_PASSWORD=

2. Modify sql/sequelize.js.

// replace this line
const sequelize = new Sequelize(process.env.PG_URL, { dialect: 'postgres' });

// with the following
const sequelize = new Sequelize(
  process.env.PG_DATABASE,
  process.env.PG_USERNAME,
  process.env.PG_PASSWORD,
  {
    host: process.env.PG_HOSTNAME,
    dialect: 'postgres',
  }
);