GitHub - nensii21/devlink: DevLink is an open-source platform where developers connect, collaborate, and build projects together. Discover opportunities, showcase your work, contribute to open source, and grow your network—all in one place.

DevLink

Open-source platform for developer collaboration, project discovery, and team formation.

Overview

DevLink is an open-source developer collaboration platform. Developers can create profiles, post and discover projects, apply to join teams, communicate in real time via WebSockets, follow contributors, and link their GitHub repositories.

Status: Active development. Open to contributors. See CONTRIBUTING.md to get started.

Documentation: Architecture · API Reference · Authentication Guide · Development Setup · Deployment Guide · Coding Standards · WebSockets

📸 Screenshots

Desktop

Dashboard	Features

Dashboard – Main dashboard displaying the application's overview.

Features – Highlights the core functionality available to users.

Pricing	Login

Pricing – Displays available pricing plans.

Login – User authentication page.

Mobile

Dashboard	Features

Mobile Dashboard – Responsive dashboard view.

Mobile Features – Responsive features page. M

React
TypeScript
Tailwind CSS
React Router
React Query

Features

Feature	Description
Developer Profiles	Portfolio pages with skills, GitHub repository links, experience, and social links
Project Marketplace	Browse, create, and apply to open-source projects and team openings
Team Applications	Role-based application submission with status tracking and owner review
Real-Time Messaging	WebSocket direct messaging with conversation threads and presence indicators
Notifications	Real-time event notifications for applications, messages, and activity
Builder Activity Feed	Community updates, project announcements, and contributor flares
Followers & Activity	Follow developers and track their public activity feed
Search & Discovery	Full-text search across developers, projects, issues, and skills
Saved Searches	Store and manage custom search queries with alert support
Bookmarks	Save projects to personal bookmark collections
Project Issues	Issue tracking linked to projects
Repository Linking	Connect GitHub repositories to project profiles with quality scoring
Organizations	Create and manage organization workspaces
Contributor Matching	Match contributors to projects based on skills and availability
Project Recommendations	Recommend relevant projects to developers based on their profile

Tech Stack

Frontend

Technology	Purpose
React 19	UI library
TypeScript 5.8	Type safety
Vite 8	Build tool and development server
Tailwind CSS v4	Styling
TanStack Router v1	Client-side routing
TanStack Query v5	Server state and data fetching
Framer Motion	Animations

Backend

Technology	Purpose
Python 3.11+	Runtime
FastAPI	REST API framework
Pydantic v2	Request validation and serialization
SQLAlchemy 2.0	ORM and async query engine
Asyncpg	Async PostgreSQL driver
Alembic	Database schema migrations

Database & Infrastructure

Technology	Purpose
PostgreSQL 15+	Primary relational database
Redis 7+	Caching and Pub/Sub broker
Celery	Asynchronous task processing

DevOps

Technology	Purpose
Docker & Docker Compose	Containerization and local environment
DevContainers	VS Code and GitHub Codespaces support
GitHub Actions	CI/CD pipelines

Architecture Overview

DevLink follows a client-server architecture where the React frontend communicates with the FastAPI backend through REST APIs and WebSockets. The backend stores persistent data in PostgreSQL while Redis is used for caching and Pub/Sub to support real-time communication.

flowchart LR
    User[User]
    Frontend[React Frontend]
    Backend[FastAPI Backend]
    DB[(PostgreSQL)]
    Redis[(Redis)]
    WS[WebSocket]

    User --> Frontend
    Frontend -->|REST API| Backend
    Backend --> DB
    Backend --> Redis
    Backend <-->|WebSocket| WS
    WS --> Frontend

Request Flow

Users interact with the React frontend.
The frontend sends HTTP requests to the FastAPI backend.
FastAPI processes business logic and reads/writes data in PostgreSQL.
Redis provides caching and Pub/Sub for faster responses and real-time events.
WebSockets deliver live notifications, messaging, and activity updates back to connected clients.

Getting Started

📖 Complete Setup & Troubleshooting Guide: See our detailed Environment Setup Guide for required software, environment variables, step-by-step onboarding, and common errors resolution matrix.

Prerequisites

Node.js 20+
Python 3.11+
Docker & Docker Compose (recommended)
PostgreSQL 15+ and Redis 7+ (if running without Docker)

Option 1 — Docker Compose (Recommended)

git clone https://github.com/nensii21/devlink.git
cd devlink
docker-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up --build

Service	URL
Frontend	`http://localhost:5173`
Backend API	`http://localhost:8000`
Swagger UI	`http://localhost:8000/docs`

Option 2 — Manual Setup

git clone https://github.com/nensii21/devlink.git
cd devlink

Backend:

cd backend
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate      # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
cp .env.example .env          # fill in required values
alembic upgrade head
uvicorn app.main:app --reload

Frontend:

cd frontend
npm install
cp .env.example .env          # fill in required values
npm run dev

DevContainers

Open in VS Code and run Remote-Containers: Reopen in Container, or launch in GitHub Codespaces. Dependencies and port forwarding are configured automatically via .devcontainer/.

Troubleshooting Guide

If you encounter issues while setting up DevLink locally, refer to the solutions below.

Docker containers fail to start

Symptoms

docker-compose exits with errors.
Containers stop immediately after starting.

Possible Cause

Docker Desktop is not running.
Existing containers or port conflicts.

Solution

docker-compose down
docker-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up --build

Verify Docker Desktop is running and ensure the required ports are available.

PostgreSQL or Redis connection errors

Symptoms

Backend cannot connect to the database.
Redis connection refused.

Possible Cause

PostgreSQL or Redis service is not running.
Incorrect DATABASE_URL or REDIS_URL.

Solution

Start PostgreSQL and Redis.
Verify the values in backend/.env.
Restart the backend server.

Missing environment variables

Symptoms

Application fails during startup.
Configuration or authentication errors.

Solution

Copy .env.example to .env.
Fill in all required variables before starting the application.

Python virtual environment issues

Symptoms

ModuleNotFoundError
Missing Python packages

Solution

python -m venv venv

# Linux/macOS
source venv/bin/activate

# Windows
venv\Scripts\activate

pip install -r requirements.txt

npm install dependency conflicts

Symptoms

Installation fails with dependency resolution errors.

Solution Linux/macOS

rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
npm install

Windows (PowerShell)

Remove-Item -Recurse -Force node_modules
Remove-Item package-lock.json
npm install

Port conflicts

DevLink uses these default ports:

Service	Port
Frontend	5173
Backend	8000
PostgreSQL	5432
Redis	6379

Linux/macOS

lsof -i :8000

Windows

netstat -ano | findstr :8000

Check whether another application is already using them.

Alembic migration errors

Symptoms

Database migration fails.

Solution

alembic upgrade head

Ensure PostgreSQL is running and DATABASE_URL is correct.

CORS configuration issues

Symptoms

Browser blocks API requests.

Solution

Verify the CORS_ORIGINS variable in backend/.env.
Restart the backend after updating the configuration.

Frontend cannot connect to Backend API

Symptoms

Network errors in the browser.
API requests fail.

Solution

Confirm the backend server is running.
Verify VITE_API_URL in frontend/.env.
Ensure the backend is accessible at http://localhost:8000.

Environment Variables

Module	Versioned Endpoint (`v1`)	Legacy Endpoint (`/api`)
Authentication	`/api/v1/auth`	`/api/auth`
Users	`/api/v1/users`	`/api/users`
Projects	`/api/v1/projects`	`/api/projects`
Applications	`/api/v1/applications`	`/api/applications`
Messaging	`/api/v1/messages`	`/api/messages`
Notifications	`/api/v1/notifications`	`/api/notifications`

DevLink uses URL Path Versioning (/api/v1). Legacy unversioned /api/ endpoints are maintained for backward compatibility. See API Versioning & Migration Strategy.

Swagger UI:

http://localhost:8000/docs

Backend (`backend/.env`)

Variable	Required	Description
`DATABASE_URL`	Yes	PostgreSQL async connection string
`REDIS_URL`	Yes	Redis connection URI
`SECRET_KEY`	Yes	Secret for JWT token signing
`ENVIRONMENT`	No	`development`, `staging`, or `production`
`GITHUB_CLIENT_ID`	No	GitHub OAuth App client ID
`GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET`	No	GitHub OAuth App client secret
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	No	OpenAI key for profile summary and recommendations
`CORS_ORIGINS`	No	Allowed CORS origins (JSON array)

Frontend (`frontend/.env`)

Variable	Required	Description
`VITE_API_URL`	Yes	Backend API base URL
`VITE_APP_NAME`	No	Application display name

Available Scripts

Frontend

npm run dev        # Start local development server (HMR)
npm run build      # Compile production bundle
npm run test       # Run unit tests (Vitest)
npm run lint       # Static analysis with ESLint
npm run format     # Format with Prettier
npm run typecheck  # TypeScript type check (no emit)

Backend

uvicorn app.main:app --reload             # Start development server
pytest                                    # Run test suite
pytest --cov=app --cov-report=term        # Run with coverage report
alembic upgrade head                      # Apply pending migrations
alembic revision --autogenerate -m "msg"  # Generate new migration

Project Structure

devlink/
├── .devcontainer/          # DevContainer configuration
├── .github/                # GitHub Actions workflows and issue templates
├── backend/
│   ├── alembic/            # Database migration scripts
│   ├── app/
│   │   ├── core/           # Config, security, events, cache
│   │   ├── middleware/     # Rate limiting, security headers, request ID
│   │   ├── models/         # SQLAlchemy ORM models
│   │   ├── routers/        # API route handlers
│   │   ├── schemas/        # Pydantic validation schemas
│   │   ├── services/       # Business logic layer
│   │   └── main.py         # FastAPI application entrypoint
│   ├── tests/              # Pytest test suite
│   ├── Dockerfile
│   └── requirements.txt
├── frontend/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── api/            # HTTP client modules
│   │   ├── components/     # UI component library
│   │   ├── hooks/          # Custom React hooks
│   │   └── routes/         # Page routes (TanStack Router)
│   ├── Dockerfile
│   └── package.json
├── docs/                   # Documentation files
│   ├── screenshots/        # Application screenshots
│   ├── api.md
│   ├── architecture.md
│   ├── coding-standards.md
│   ├── deployment.md
│   └── development.md
├── docker-compose.dev.yml
├── CONTRIBUTING.md
├── CHANGELOG.md
├── CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
└── README.md

Deployment

Full deployment instructions are in docs/deployment.md.

Frontend — Deploy the frontend/ build to Vercel, Netlify, or Cloudflare Pages.

Backend — Deploy backend/Dockerfile to Render, Railway, or AWS ECS.

Database — Use a managed PostgreSQL service (AWS RDS, Supabase) and managed Redis (Upstash, Redis Cloud).

Roadmap

Version	Planned Features	Status
`v0.1.0`	User authentication, developer profiles, project marketplace, GitHub OAuth	Completed
`v0.2.0`	WebSocket messaging, team applications, notifications, repository linking	Completed
`v0.3.0`	Builder flares, saved searches, bookmark collections, contributor matching, organizations	In Progress
`v0.4.0`	Project issue tracking, project analytics, extended search filters	Planned
`v1.0.0`	Mobile application, public REST API, advanced integrations	Planned

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md and CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md before submitting a pull request.

# Create a feature branch
git checkout -b feat/your-feature

# Commit using Conventional Commits
git commit -m "feat(scope): short description"

# Push and open a pull request
git push origin feat/your-feature

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for a full list of changes across releases.

Acknowledgements

FastAPI — backend API framework
React — frontend UI library
TanStack — routing and data fetching
Radix UI — accessible UI primitives
SQLAlchemy — async ORM
All contributors and ECSoc 2026 participants

License

IT License — see LICENSE for details.

⭐ If you like DevLink, consider giving the repository a star!

Made by developers, for developers.

Building the future of developer collaboration.

...

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
.devcontainer		.devcontainer
.github		.github
.husky		.husky
assets/screenshots		assets/screenshots
backend		backend
docs		docs
frontend		frontend
k8s		k8s
public		public
server		server
tests		tests
.editorconfig		.editorconfig
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
.pre-commit-config.yaml		.pre-commit-config.yaml
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md		CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
SECURITY.md		SECURITY.md
TODO.md		TODO.md
docker-compose.dev.yml		docker-compose.dev.yml
lodo-dev.jpeg		lodo-dev.jpeg

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DevLink

Table of Contents

Overview

📸 Screenshots

Desktop

Mobile

Features

Tech Stack

Frontend

Backend

Database & Infrastructure

DevOps

Architecture Overview

Request Flow

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Option 1 — Docker Compose (Recommended)

Option 2 — Manual Setup

DevContainers

Troubleshooting Guide

Docker containers fail to start

PostgreSQL or Redis connection errors

Missing environment variables

Python virtual environment issues

npm install dependency conflicts

Port conflicts

Alembic migration errors

CORS configuration issues

Frontend cannot connect to Backend API

Environment Variables

Backend (backend/.env)

Frontend (frontend/.env)

Available Scripts

Frontend

Backend

Project Structure

Deployment

Roadmap

Contributing

Changelog

Acknowledgements

License

⭐ If you like DevLink, consider giving the repository a star!

About

Resources

Code of conduct

Contributing

Security policy

Stars

Watchers

Forks

Releases

Packages

Used by

Contributors

Languages

Backend (`backend/.env`)

Frontend (`frontend/.env`)