Over the past month, I rebuilt and upgraded my first job interview todo app into a production-ready, real-time, full-stack todo management system. What started as a simple CRUD project is now a complete application with authentication, analytics, security hardening, performance optimizations, PDF export, and a polished UI/UX.
โจ Whatโs New in This Version?
1. Modern UI with Light & Dark Themes
TaskFlow now offers a fully responsive interface with persistent theme mode, powered by Ant Design v5 and CSS variables.
2. JWT Authentication
A secure login & registration flow backed by Express and JWT, including protected routes and hashed passwords (bcrypt).
3. Dashboard Analytics
Users now see task completion stats, dynamic indicators, and visual status cues.
4. Real-Time Experience
Task updates instantly reflect across the app with themed notifications and optimized state flow.
5. Smart Date Handling
Day.js powers human-readable labels like Today, Tomorrow, and Overdue, each color-coded for clarity.
6. PDF Export
Download your tasks as a nicely formatted PDF in a single click.
๐ Security Improvements
- I treated security as a first-class requirement in this upgrade:
- Rate limiting (100 req/min general, 10 req/15min for auth)
- Strong security headers and referrer policy
- Request size limiting (10 KB)
- Input sanitization against SQL injection
- Secure bcrypt password hashing
- Short-lived JWTs for better token hygiene
These enhancements make TaskFlow safe to run in production environments.
โก Performance & Server Architecture
- One core part of this upgrade was shifting the backend toward a more optimized and scalable architecture:
- Clean MVC structure (Controllers, Routes, Middleware)
- Focused Express server with minimal overhead
- Selective attribute loading in Sequelize queries
- 24-hour CORS preflight caching
- Centralized error handling
- Trust proxy support for reverse proxies and serverless platforms
- This makes the app lightweight, efficient, and easy to deploy.
๐ GitHub Repository
Full source code available here:
Repo
Demo Link:
Live Demo
๐ฌ My Final Thoughts
This project upgrade was a great opportunity to demonstrate practical, real-world full-stack engineering:
- Clean Express server architecture
- Secure JWT auth
- PostgreSQL + Sequelize ORM
- Modern component-based UI
- PDF generation
- Deployment-ready configurations
If youโre preparing for interviews or building your portfolio, I highly recommend turning small CRUD projects into fully operational products like this. It showcases far more professional depth.
Feedback, issues, and feature requests are always welcome on GitHub.
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