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Silo

Silo

A batch-isolated academic collaboration platform built for students.
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Overview

Silo gives students a private, organized space to collaborate — no WhatsApp chaos, no scattered Google Docs, no cross-batch pollution. Every student only sees content from their specific year and branch, and anonymity is built in by default.

Built for students, by students.

Features

  • Q&A — Ask questions anonymously, upvote answers, mark best answers, react with emojis
  • Batch Chat — Real-time messaging with your batch via WebSocket, with GIF support and typing indicators
  • Direct Messages — Private one-on-one messaging between students
  • Channels — Public batch-scoped group channels (create, join, chat)
  • Notes Repository — Centralized study materials per batch
  • Articles — Write and read long-form posts within your batch
  • Leaderboard — Track top contributors in your batch
  • Notifications — In-app notification system with push support
  • Whitelist Access — Only verified students can register

Tech Stack

Backend

Package Version
Runtime Node.js >=18.0.0
Framework Express 4.18.2
Language TypeScript 5.3.3
Database PostgreSQL (Neon serverless) —
ORM Prisma 5.22.0
Auth JSON Web Token + bcryptjs 9.0.2 / 2.4.3
Real-time Socket.io 4.8.3
Validation Zod 3.22.4
Rate Limiting express-rate-limit 8.2.1
Email Nodemailer 8.0.1
Push Notifications web-push 3.6.7

Frontend

Package Version
Framework React 19.2.0
Language TypeScript 5.9.3
Build Tool Vite 7.2.4
Styling Tailwind CSS 3.4.19
State Management Zustand 5.0.10
Server State TanStack Query 5.90.20
HTTP Client Axios 1.13.4
Real-time Socket.io Client 4.8.3
Rich Text Editor TipTap 3.20.0
Routing React Router 7.13.0
Icons Lucide React 0.563.0
Avatars DiceBear API —

Infrastructure

Service
Frontend Vercel
Backend Render
Database Neon PostgreSQL
Version Control GitHub

Project Structure

silo/
├── client/                       # React frontend (Vite)
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── api/                  # API client functions
│   │   ├── components/           # Reusable UI components
│   │   │   ├── layout/           # BottomNav, NotificationBell, etc.
│   │   │   ├── channels/         # Channel list, create modal
│   │   │   └── ui/               # Button, Input, Dialog, Skeleton, etc.
│   │   ├── features/             # Feature modules
│   │   │   ├── auth/             # Login, Register
│   │   │   ├── chat/             # Batch chat (Socket.io)
│   │   │   ├── channels/         # Community channels
│   │   │   ├── dm/               # Direct messages
│   │   │   ├── qna/              # Q&A system
│   │   │   ├── notes/            # Notes repository
│   │   │   ├── articles/         # Articles / long-form posts
│   │   │   └── profile/          # User profile, edit, modals
│   │   ├── hooks/                # Custom React hooks
│   │   ├── layouts/              # DashboardLayout
│   │   ├── lib/                  # axios, identity, utils
│   │   ├── pages/                # Leaderboard, Settings, Landing
│   │   └── stores/               # Zustand auth store
│   └── public/                   # Static assets, PWA icons
│
├── src/                          # Express backend
│   ├── modules/
│   │   ├── identity/             # Auth, user management
│   │   ├── academic/             # Notes, Q&A, questions, answers, reactions
│   │   ├── comm/                 # Chat, DMs, channels, notifications
│   │   └── social/               # (planned) Follow system
│   └── shared/
│       ├── lib/                  # Prisma client, JWT helpers
│       ├── middleware/           # Auth guard, rate limiter
│       └── types/                # Shared TypeScript types
│
├── prisma/
│   ├── schema.prisma             # Database schema
│   └── seed.ts                   # Seed script for allowed emails
│
└── scripts/                      # Utility scripts (waitlist approval, etc.)

Getting Started

Prerequisites

  • Node.js >=18.0.0
  • npm >=9.0.0
  • PostgreSQL database (Neon recommended)

Installation

  1. Clone the repository

    git clone https://github.com/heyitsmohdd/silo.git
cd silo

  2. Install dependencies

    # Backend
npm install

# Frontend
cd client && npm install && cd ..

  3. Configure environment variables

    Backend .env:

    DATABASE_URL="postgresql://..."
JWT_SECRET="your-secret-key"
PORT=3000
CLIENT_URL="http://localhost:5173"

    Frontend client/.env:

    VITE_API_URL="http://localhost:3000"

  4. Initialize the database

    npx prisma generate
npx prisma db push

  5. Start development servers

    # Terminal 1 — Backend
npm run dev

# Terminal 2 — Frontend
cd client && npm run dev

Frontend: http://localhost:5173 · Backend: http://localhost:3000

API Reference

Authentication

Method Endpoint Description
POST /auth/register Register (requires whitelisted email)
POST /auth/login Login with email + password
GET /auth/me Get current user
PUT /auth/me Update profile
PUT /auth/change-password Change password

Q&A

Method Endpoint Description
GET /academic/questions List questions (batch-scoped, paginated)
POST /academic/questions Create question (rate-limited: 5/hr)
GET /academic/questions/:id Get question with answers
PUT /academic/questions/:id Update question (author only)
DELETE /academic/questions/:id Soft delete (author only)
POST /academic/questions/:id/answers Post an answer
POST /academic/questions/:id/vote Upvote / downvote question
PUT /academic/questions/:id/best-answer Mark best answer (author only)
POST /academic/reactions Toggle emoji reaction

Notes

Method Endpoint Description
GET /academic/notes List notes (batch-scoped)
POST /academic/notes Upload note (professor only)
GET /academic/notes/:id Get note details

Chat (Socket.io events)

Event Direction Description
connect Client → Server Authenticate and join batch room
sendMessage Client → Server Send message to batch
getMessages Client → Server Fetch message history
typing Client → Server Broadcast typing indicator
newMessage Server → Client Receive new message

User Management

Whitelist a User

Option 1 — Prisma Studio (GUI)

DATABASE_URL="your-production-url" npx prisma studio

Open AllowedEmail table → add email → save.

Option 2 — Seed Script

Edit prisma/seed.ts and add emails, then run:

npm run prisma:seed

Option 3 — Approve Waitlist

npm run approve-all

Deployment

Backend → Render

Push to main — Render auto-deploys. Set env vars in the Render dashboard.

Frontend → Vercel

Push to main — Vercel auto-deploys. Set env vars in the Vercel dashboard.

Database → Neon

Serverless PostgreSQL with connection pooling and automatic backups. Run migrations after schema changes:

npx prisma migrate deploy

Security

  • Whitelist-based registration — only approved emails can sign up
  • bcrypt password hashing (salt rounds: 10)
  • JWT authentication with expiration
  • Rate limiting: 5 questions/hour, 30 messages/minute
  • Batch isolation — all queries scoped by (year, branch)
  • Zod schema validation on all inputs
  • SQL injection prevention via Prisma ORM
  • CORS and environment variable protection

Known Limitations (Beta)

  • Professor accounts must be added manually via the database
  • No email notifications yet
  • No content moderation beyond rate limits
  • Manual user management required

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a PR.

Check open issues for things to work on — some are tagged good first issue.

License

MIT — see LICENSE for details.

Contact

Open an issue or email siloedu00@gmail.com.

version 1.0.0-beta · last updated April 2026

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A batch-isolated academic collaboration platform

siloedu.vercel.app

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