Side Project 2024 Open Source

DevConnect: Developer Community

A social platform connecting developers through Q&A, code sharing, mentorship programs, and collaborative learning with integrated GitHub portfolio showcasing.

800+
Registered Users
2k+
Questions Answered
150+
Mentorship Pairs
300+
GitHub Stars

Project Overview

DevConnect is an open-source developer community platform designed to facilitate knowledge sharing, mentorship, and collaboration. The platform combines Stack Overflow-style Q&A, GitHub integration for portfolio showcasing, mentorship matching algorithms, and collaborative coding spaces.

Built to address the gap between technical forums and professional networking, DevConnect creates a holistic environment where developers can learn, teach, and grow together.

Core Features

Q&A System

Stack Overflow-inspired platform with voting, best answer selection, code syntax highlighting, and comprehensive search with filter capabilities.

GitHub Integration

OAuth login with GitHub, automatic repository import, contribution graphs, and showcase pinned projects on profile pages.

Mentorship Matching

Algorithm matches mentors and mentees based on skills, interests, and availability with structured programs and progress tracking.

Code Sharing

Share code snippets with syntax highlighting for 100+ languages. Embed live examples, comment, discuss, like and bookmark favorites.

Community Features

User profiles with skills and social links. Follow developers, activity feeds, discussion threads, and reputation badge system.

Learning Paths

Curated resources organized by tech stack. Community-contributed tutorials, guides, and progress tracking for completed paths.

Technical Implementation

Built with Next.js and PostgreSQL for scalability and developer experience:

Next.js 14 TypeScript Prisma ORM PostgreSQL NextAuth.js TailwindCSS shadcn/ui Monaco Editor Prism.js Algolia Cloudinary Vercel

Frontend Architecture

Next.js 14 App Router with TypeScript, TailwindCSS + shadcn/ui components, React Query for data fetching, and Monaco Editor for code.

Backend & Database

Next.js API Routes with Prisma ORM, PostgreSQL database, NextAuth.js authentication, GitHub OAuth provider, and Algolia search.

Key Features

Real-time notifications, email digests via Resend, image uploads to Cloudinary, Markdown support, SEO optimization, and RSS feeds.

Infrastructure

Vercel deployment, Railway PostgreSQL, GitHub Actions CI/CD, Upstash Redis caching, and Sentry error tracking for reliability.

Results & Impact

Community Growth

800+ developers joined in first 6 months with 2000+ questions answered at 85% acceptance rate. Active daily engagement averaging 200+ interactions.

Mentorship Success

150+ successful mentorship pairings with 90% satisfaction rate. Many mentees landed jobs or advanced skills through the program.

Open Source Impact

300+ GitHub stars with 15 contributors adding features. Used as learning resource in coding bootcamps and featured in dev newsletters.

Educational Value

Platform facilitates peer learning with high-quality discussions. Knowledge base grows daily with community-contributed content and tutorials.