Elbow Room - Full Stack Social Media App

Paperly.mp4

Frontend is built with Expo + TypeScript, backend will use FastAPI, and data is managed with PostgreSQL via Supabase.

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Tech Stack

Frontend

• React Native Expo
• TypeScript
• npm

Backend

• Python
• FastAPI
• PostgreSQL

Database

• Supabase (Cloud-hosted PostgreSQL)

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

Make sure you have installed:

• Node.js (recommended: latest LTS version)
• npm
• Python (recommended: 3.10+)

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Frontend Setup

Navigate to the frontend folder

cd front-end

Install dependencies

npm install

Create environment file

Create a .env file inside frontend/:

EXPO_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL=your_supabase_url
EXPO_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY=your_supabase_anon_key

!!! Put this file in your .gitignore file!

You can find these in your Supabase dashboard: Project Settings → API

Start development server

npx expo start

Frontend will run on:

http://localhost:8081

Backend Setup (FastAPI – Planned)

⚠️ Backend setup assumes FastAPI will be used.

Navigate to backend folder

cd back-end

Create virtual environment (recommended)

python -m venv venv

Project Setup Guide

Activate Virtual Environment

Mac/Linux

source venv/bin/activate

Windows

venv\Scripts\activate

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Install Dependencies

Once requirements.txt exists:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Expected packages will likely include:

• fastapi
• uvicorn
• psycopg2 or asyncpg
• python-dotenv

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Create Backend .env

Inside be/, create a .env file:

SUPABASE_URL=your_supabase_url
SUPABASE_KEY=your_supabase_key
SUPABASE_SERVICE_KEY=your_service_role_key

⚠️ Never commit .env files to GitHub.

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Run Backend

uvicorn main:app --reload --port 8000

Backend will run on: http://localhost:8000

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Connecting Frontend & Backend

Once backend is running:

• Frontend → 8081
• Backend → 8000

Development Workflow

Run Frontend

cd fe
npx expo start

Run Backend

cd be
uvicorn main:app --reload --port 8000

Make sure both are running at the same time.

For New Developers

If you're new:

1. Start with frontend only (front-end/).
2. Confirm Supabase connection works.
3. Then set up backend.
4. Run both servers simultaneously.