Travel Companion

Overview

Travel Companion allows you to manage every aspect of your travel, from transportation and lodging to daily activities and checklists. It features real-time collaboration, budget tracking, and offline support, making it the perfect tool for solo travelers and groups alike.

Key Features

• Trip Management: Create detailed itineraries with drag-and-drop organization using the timeline view.
• Collaborative Planning: Share trips with friends and family with granular permission controls (View/Edit).
• Budget & Expenses: Track spending in real-time with multi-currency support and categorical breakdowns.
• Documents: Store and link PDF tickets, reservations, and files directly to trip items.
• Offline Mode: Access your full itinerary and saved documents without an internet connection.
• Brainstorming: A collaborative canvas for ideas, notes, and locations before the plan is finalized.
• Calendar: Visual overview of all your upcoming trips.
• Mobile Friendly: Fully responsive design with a dedicated mobile experience, including map integration.

Technical Stack

• Frontend: React, Tailwind CSS, Zustand
• Backend: Node.js, Express
• Database: SQLite
• Infrastructure: Docker

Getting Started

Using Docker (Recommended)

1. Clone the repository.
2. Configure your environment variables in docker-compose.yml or create an .env file.
3. Run the start script:

   ./start.sh
   

   The application will be accessible at http://localhost:5000.

Local Development

1. Install dependencies:

   npm run install-all
   

2. Create a .env file in the server directory (or root, depending on setup) with the required variables.
3. Start the development server:

   npm run dev
   

   • Frontend: http://localhost:3000
   • Backend: http://localhost:5000

Configuration

To run the application, you must configure the following environment variables.

General

Variable	Description	Default	Required
NODE_ENV	Environment mode (production or development)	development	No
PORT	Port for the backend server	5000	No
JWT_SECRET	Secret key for session signing	-	Yes
FRONTEND_URL	Public URL of the app (used in emails)	-	Yes

Email Service (SMTP)

Required for sending invitations and trip updates.

Variable	Description	Example
EMAIL_HOST	SMTP server hostname	smtp.gmail.com
EMAIL_PORT	SMTP port	587 or 465
EMAIL_USER	SMTP username	user@gmail.com
EMAIL_PASS	SMTP password or App Password	secret
EMAIL_FROM	Sender address	Traveler <noreply@app.com>
EMAIL_QUEUE_DURATION_MS	Batch email notification delay (ms)	3600000 (1hr)
EMAIL_PROCESS_INTERVAL_MS	Notification processing interval (ms)	300000 (5min)

Client / Frontend

These variables must be available at build time (or runtime for Docker).

Variable	Description	Required
VITE_MAPBOX_TOKEN	Mapbox public token for map views	Yes (if using maps)
VITE_API_URL	Backend API URL (for local dev)	No (defaults to /api)

License

MIT License.