Node Inventory Application

An Express 5 + PostgreSQL inventory manager for tracking product categories, raw materials, and finished goods. The UI is rendered with EJS templates and enhanced with lightweight client-side scripts to prevent stock operations that would push quantities below zero.

Features

• Create, edit, protect, and delete category records with server-side validation and optional password protection.
• Manage raw materials with category tags, stock tracking, protected entries, and a purchase flow for replenishment.
• Build products with bill of materials definitions, produce finished goods when sufficient stock of components exists, and deduct stock on sales.
• Filter listings by category and get instant feedback on production/sales availability thanks to front-end checks.
• Centralized error handling, consistent validation feedback, and graceful handling of protected records.

Tech Stack

• Node.js with Express 5 (server, routing, middleware)
• PostgreSQL via pg (database + connection pooling)
• EJS templates and vanilla CSS/JS (presentation layer)
• express-validator (input validation)
• dotenv (environment management)

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ (tested with Node 20)
• PostgreSQL 14+ with a database dedicated to this app

Installation

npm install

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the project root with at least:

DB_URL=postgres://USER:PASSWORD@HOST:PORT/DATABASE
APP_PASSWORD=super-secret-password
# Optional
PORT=3000

• DB_URL is the connection string used by the server and seeding script.
• APP_PASSWORD gates changes to protected records (set is_protected in forms). Leave blank to disable password checks.
• PORT defaults to 3000 if omitted.

Database Setup

The project ships with a seed script that creates tables and injects sample data (categories, materials, products, and bill of materials). Run it once after configuring your database:

node seeds/seedDB.js
# or override the connection string for one-off runs
node seeds/seedDB.js postgres://USER:PASSWORD@HOST:PORT/DATABASE

Run the App

• Development (auto-restarts on change): npm run dev
• Production mode: npm start

Visit http://localhost:PORT once the server starts. The landing page links to category, material, and product dashboards.

Project Structure

• app.js – Express bootstrap, middleware, and router wiring.
• router/ – Route definitions for index, category, material, and product flows.
• controllers/ – Request handlers for CRUD operations, production/sales flows, and error rendering.
• db/ – PostgreSQL queries and transactional helpers, including bill-of-materials logic.
• validators/ – express-validator rule sets plus utilities to surface errors back into forms.
• views/ – EJS templates (with partials) powering the UI.
• public/ – Static assets (global styles plus scripts for production/sales availability checks).
• seeds/ – Table creation and sample data loader.

Key Workflows

• Protected Records – When is_protected is checked in a form, updates/deletes require the shared APP_PASSWORD. Attempts without the password re-render the form with inline feedback.
• Material Purchase – The “Buy” action increments stock; client-side checks ensure the quantity entered is valid.
• Product Production – The “Produce” action multiplies bill-of-material requirements against desired output, verifies stock for every component, and only deducts inventory when all materials are available.
• Product Sales – The “Sell” flow prevents overselling by comparing requested quantity to the current stock in hand.

NPM Scripts

• npm run dev – Start the server with file watching (node --watch).
• npm start – Launch the server without watching.
• npm test – Placeholder script; no automated tests are defined yet.

Attribution

User interface icons are provided by lucide-react (MIT License). Thank you to the Lucide contributors for the beautiful icon set.

License

This project is released under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.