🛠️ Commons API Master

Commons API Master is an Express.js + PostgreSQL backend that powers the Commons Master React frontend. It provides secure, filtered access to Canadian federal legislative data, including bill status, sessions, and machine-learned categories via uClassify.

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🔗 Live App

Frontend: https://commons-app.netlify.app
Backend: (deployed via Render, Railway, or local environment)

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📦 Features

• 📜 Fetch Canadian federal bills from LegisInfo
• 🧠 Assign categories using uClassify API
• 🧮 Filter by status (active/passed), session, house, category
• 🔒 Secure login/registration via JWT
• 💾 PostgreSQL-backed storage
• 🌐 RESTful API used by the Commons Master frontend

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🧭 API Endpoints

🧪 Bills

GET /api/bills

Query parameters:

• status=active|passed
• session=43-1
• senateHouse=senate|commons
• category=<uClassify category>
• limit, offset

GET /api/bills/:id

Returns a single bill by its unique ID.

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🗂️ Categories

GET /api/categories

Returns a list of all available categories.

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🔐 Auth

POST /api/auth/register
POST /api/auth/login

Returns JWT on success.

Protected routes require:

Authorization: Bearer <token>

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🛠️ Tech Stack

• Node.js + Express
• PostgreSQL via pg
• Sequelize ORM
• JWT-based auth
• CORS + Helmet + Rate Limiters
• uClassify API for category classification

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🚀 Getting Started

1. Clone the Repo

git clone https://github.com/mxmitch/commons-api-master.git
cd commons-api-master
npm install

2. Configure Environment

Create a .env file in the root with:

PORT=5000
DATABASE_URL=postgres://<username>:<password>@<host>:<port>/<db>
JWT_SECRET=your_secret_key
UCLASSIFY_API_KEY=your_uclassify_api_key

3. Run Locally

npm run dev

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🧪 Testing

Tests coming soon.

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🌍 Deployment Notes

• Works well on Render, Railway, or Heroku
• Ensure the database is seeded before launch
• Add environment variables in the deploy settings

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📁 Project Structure

.
├── routes/           # billRoutes, authRoutes, categoryRoutes
├── models/           # Sequelize models (Bill, User)
├── middleware/       # Auth, rate limiting, etc.
├── services/         # uClassify integration
└── index.js          # Entry point

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📝 License

MIT — see LICENSE

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🙌 Credits

Built by @mxmitch as part of the Commons Master project
Original legislative source: parl.ca/legisinfo
Classification powered by uClassify