StudyBuddy

A collaborative study platform where students can create topic-based study rooms, engage in discussions, and connect with others learning the same subjects.

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Features

• Study Rooms: Create, edit, and delete topic-based rooms for focused discussion
• Real-time Messaging: Send, edit, and delete messages within any room
• Topic Filtering: Browse and filter rooms by topic from the sidebar
• User Profiles: View any user's profile, their created rooms, and topics
• Authentication: Register and log in using email and password via a custom user model
• Avatar Support: Upload and display profile pictures
• REST API: Expose room data via a dedicated API using Django REST Framework
• Access Control: Only room hosts can edit or delete their rooms; only message authors can edit or delete their messages
• Responsive Design: Clean, minimal UI with light and dark mode support

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Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Backend	Python 3.12, Django 6.0
Database	SQLite
Frontend	HTML, CSS (custom), Django Templates
Authentication	Custom User model (AbstractUser): email & password login
API	Django REST Framework (DRF)
Media	Pillow : avatar image uploads
Environment	Anaconda (conda env: unity)

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Installation & Setup

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+
• pip or conda

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/16A9DA/studybuddy.git
cd studybuddy

2. Create and activate a virtual environment

# Using conda
conda create -n studybuddy python=3.12
conda activate studybuddy

# Or using venv
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate        # Mac/Linux
venv\Scripts\activate           # Windows

3. Install dependencies

pip install django djangorestframework Pillow

4. Apply migrations

python manage.py migrate

5. Create a superuser (optional)

python manage.py createsuperuser

6. Run the development server

python manage.py runserver

Visit http://127.0.0.1:8000 in your browser.

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Project Structure

StudyBuddy/
├── base/                   # Main Django app
│   ├── models.py           # User (custom), Rooms, Topic, Message models
│   ├── views.py            # All view functions
│   ├── forms.py            # RoomForm, MessageForm, UserForm
│   └── urls.py             # App-level URL patterns
├── api/                    # REST API app
│   ├── views.py            # API view functions
│   ├── serializers.py      # DRF serializers
│   └── urls.py             # API URL patterns
├── templates/
│   └── base/               # All HTML templates
├── static/                 # CSS files
├── media/                  # User uploaded files (not committed)
│   └── avatars/            # Profile pictures
├── StudyBuddy/             # Project settings
│   ├── settings.py
│   └── urls.py
├── .gitignore
└── manage.py

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API Endpoints

The project includes a REST API built with Django REST Framework.

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/	List all available API routes
GET	/api/rooms/	Return all study rooms
GET	/api/rooms/:id/	Return a single room by ID

Example Response — /api/rooms/

[
  {
    "id": 1,
    "name": "Python Study Room",
    "topic": "Python",
    "host": "rayyan",
    "description": "Let's learn Python together"
  }
]

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Custom User Model

This project uses a custom user model that extends Django's AbstractUser:

• Login is handled via username and password
• Users can upload a profile avatar
• Additional fields: bio, avatar, name

class User(AbstractUser):
    avatar = models.ImageField(upload_to='avatars/', null=True, blank=True)
    bio    = models.TextField(null=True, blank=True)
    name   = models.CharField(max_length=200, null=True, blank=True)

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Usage

1. Register an account or log in
2. Browse existing study rooms on the homepage
3. Filter rooms by topic using the sidebar
4. Click a room to join the discussion
5. Create your own room with a topic and description
6. Edit your profile via the navbar dropdown

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Preview

https://studdybuddy-production-a2ca.up.railway.app/

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License

This project is for educational purposes.