DEV Community

Cover image for 🚀 ProblemPad — The Game-Changing Platform Built for Real Problems, Real Voices, Real Solutions 🎤⚡
Puneet-Kumar2010
Puneet-Kumar2010

Posted on

🚀 ProblemPad — The Game-Changing Platform Built for Real Problems, Real Voices, Real Solutions 🎤⚡

#node #mongodb #webdev #startup

Hey dev fam 👋

Today I’m dropping something wild — a project built straight from real-world needs, tested in the field, and wrapped in clean Node.js engineering.

Introducing ProblemPad: a community-powered problem-solving platform designed for neighborhoods, societies, and professional workers.

Think of it like a digital notice board + service marketplace + community hub… all merged into one clean experience.

And yes — it’s built with zero bloat, no GridFS, and an audio system running on pure MongoDB binary power. ⚡

GitHub Repo 👉 https://github.com/DeveloperPuneet/ProblemPad

🌟 What ProblemPad Solves

Let’s be honest — everyone has daily issues:

  • Electrical faults ⚡
  • Plumbing breakdowns 💧
  • Device malfunctions 🔌
  • Community chaos 🏘️

But the real chaos?

No unified place to report these issues and get them solved quickly.

ProblemPad fixes that with one simple idea:

Let communities report problems, and let workers respond instantly.

A platform where:

  • Users post issues
  • Workers provide solutions
  • Communities stay organized
  • Everyone saves time

🧩 Core Features (The Fun Stuff)

👥 User Accounts

  • Mobile-based registration
  • Two roles: Users & Service Workers
  • Location-based community discovery
  • Skill-tagged worker profiles

🏘️ Community System

  • Create communities for buildings/neighborhoods
  • Invite users by phone
  • Real-time notifications for new problems
  • Member and role management

🆘 Problem Reporting

  • Text-based issue reporting

  • Audio Reporting 🎤

    • Uses MediaRecorder API
    • Encoded as Base64
    • Stored directly in MongoDB as Binary/BSON
    • No GridFS. No bulky pipelines. Clean and fast.

  • Categorized issues (electrical, technical, plumbing, etc.)

🔧 Problem Resolution

  • Workers get instant alerts
  • Can provide solution remarks
  • User confirms the fix
  • Rating system to validate worker quality

🔔 Notifications

  • New problem notifications
  • Community invites
  • Solution updates
  • Auto-cleanup alerts

🧹 Auto-Cleanup System (Your DB Will Thank You)

A literal lifesaver:

  • Solved + confirmed problems auto-delete after 30 days
  • Runs via daily cron job
  • Audio + problem data gets cleaned
  • Keeps MongoDB lean and happy 
cron.schedule("0 2 * * *", cleanupFunction);
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Set it and forget it. 🛏️

🔊 Audio Storage — No GridFS Needed

This is where ProblemPad goes brrrrr ⚡

How audio is handled:

  1. Record using browser’s MediaRecorder
  2. Convert to Base64
  3. Store as Buffer/Binary inside the Problem document
  4. Serve via a /problem-audio/:id route

It’s lightweight, effective, and perfect for short community audio clips.

🛠️ Tech Stack (Simple but Powerful)

Backend

  • Node.js + Express
  • MongoDB + Mongoose
  • express-session auth
  • node-cron
  • randomstring for unique IDs

Frontend

  • Pug Templates
  • Vanilla JS
  • Responsive UI
  • Dark-mode theme

Real-Time

  • Socket.io for instant sync

📦 Installation 

git clone https://github.com/DeveloperPuneet/ProblemPad.git
cd ProblemPad
npm install
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Create .env:

SESSION_SECRET=yourkey
MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://...
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Run:

npm start
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Open:

http://localhost:3000

🗂️ Project Structure 

ProblemPad/
│── controllers/
│── models/
│── routes/
│── views/
│── utils/
├── public/
└── app.js
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Clean, modular, and scalable.

🧪 Why This Project Matters

ProblemPad isn’t just “another MERN project.”

It’s built for real people, with real needs, and solves real community problems.

This platform can be used by:

  • RWAs
  • Colonies
  • Apartment complexes
  • Small towns
  • Service workers
  • Maintenance teams

Even defense housing communities 👀

(Yes — it was originally built for one.)

🔮 Future Upgrades

  • Mobile app (React Native / Flutter)
  • Payment gateway for premium services
  • Worker badges & ranking
  • Real-time chat
  • Advanced analytics

💬 Final Thoughts

ProblemPad isn’t just software — it’s community empowerment.

A tool for people to help each other, grow together, and solve problems with speed and clarity.

If you vibe with the mission:

⭐ Star the repo

🍴 Fork it

🛠️ Contribute

💬 Drop feedback

Made with ❤️ in India

By DeveloperPuneet

Top comments (0)