Project 1: Task Tracker with Node.js + MongoDB

In this project, you'll build a basic task tracker using Node.js and MongoDB. This real-world app helps you understand how to connect to a MongoDB database, design a schema, and implement CRUD operations in a Node.js environment.

What We'll Build

A minimal task manager that lets users:

Add a task
View all tasks
Mark a task as complete
Delete a task

Step 1: Initialize the Project

Create a new directory and initialize a Node.js project:

    mkdir task-tracker
    cd task-tracker
    npm init -y

Install the required packages:

    npm install express mongoose body-parser nodemon

Step 2: Create Project Structure

Set up your file structure like this:

    task-tracker/
    ├── models/
    │   └── Task.js
    ├── routes/
    │   └── tasks.js
    ├── server.js

Step 3: Connect to MongoDB

Edit server.js to set up Express and connect to MongoDB:


// server.js
const express = require('express');
const mongoose = require('mongoose');
const bodyParser = require('body-parser');
const taskRoutes = require('./routes/tasks');

const app = express();
app.use(bodyParser.json());
app.use('/api/tasks', taskRoutes);

mongoose.connect('mongodb://localhost:27017/taskdb', {
  useNewUrlParser: true,
  useUnifiedTopology: true
}).then(() => {
  console.log('Connected to MongoDB');
  app.listen(3000, () => console.log('Server running on port 3000'));
}).catch(err => console.error(err));

    Connected to MongoDB
    Server running on port 3000

Step 4: Define the Task Model

Create the file models/Task.js:


// models/Task.js
const mongoose = require('mongoose');

const TaskSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
  title: {
    type: String,
    required: true
  },
  completed: {
    type: Boolean,
    default: false
  }
});

module.exports = mongoose.model('Task', TaskSchema);

Q: Why use a schema if MongoDB is schema-less?

A: While MongoDB itself is flexible, using Mongoose schemas helps enforce structure and validation within our application logic.

Step 5: Create the Task Routes

Create routes/tasks.js to define all task-related routes:


// routes/tasks.js
const express = require('express');
const router = express.Router();
const Task = require('../models/Task');

// Add new task
router.post('/', async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const task = new Task({ title: req.body.title });
    await task.save();
    res.status(201).json(task);
  } catch (err) {
    res.status(400).json({ error: err.message });
  }
});

// Get all tasks
router.get('/', async (req, res) => {
  const tasks = await Task.find();
  res.json(tasks);
});

// Update task (mark as complete)
router.put('/:id', async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const task = await Task.findByIdAndUpdate(
      req.params.id,
      { completed: true },
      { new: true }
    );
    res.json(task);
  } catch (err) {
    res.status(400).json({ error: err.message });
  }
});

// Delete task
router.delete('/:id', async (req, res) => {
  try {
    await Task.findByIdAndDelete(req.params.id);
    res.json({ message: 'Task deleted' });
  } catch (err) {
    res.status(400).json({ error: err.message });
  }
});

module.exports = router;

Step 6: Run and Test the API

Start the server with nodemon:

    npx nodemon server.js

Use Postman or cURL to test the endpoints:

POST /api/tasks — Add a task

    curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/tasks -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"meta_title": "Learn MongoDB"}'

    {
      "_id": "664218c0a83dfb31c5ebd511",
      "meta_title": "Learn MongoDB",
      "completed": false,
      "__v": 0
    }

GET /api/tasks — Get all tasks

    curl http://localhost:3000/api/tasks

PUT /api/tasks/:id — Mark task as completed

DELETE /api/tasks/:id — Delete a task

Conclusion

You've successfully created a full CRUD application using Node.js and MongoDB. This task tracker taught you how to structure a backend app, use Mongoose for schema modeling, and interact with a database through API endpoints.

In the next project, we'll expand this knowledge by building a blog platform using Express and MongoDB with advanced features like user management and pagination.