Overview · Screenshots · Features · Architecture · Security · Getting Started · API Reference

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📌 Overview

Student Connect is a full-stack automation bridge that eliminates the fragmented academic workflow problem. It synchronizes assignment data from Canvas LMS directly into Todoist or Notion — automatically, accurately, and securely.

The core engineering challenge: Canvas, Todoist, and Notion each use entirely different API schemas, date formats, and polling models. Student Connect solves this with a custom fuzzy datetime normalization engine and APScheduler-backed background sync, achieving near-perfect synchronization accuracy.

Built as a personal productivity tool — turned into a full production-grade application.

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📸 Screenshots

Landing Page

Animated particle background with glassmorphism cards — live orbital ring effect and full page scroll

Dashboard

Three-panel layout — live service connections, sync history, and auto-sync scheduler all in one view

Sync Complete

Real-time result dialog after a Canvas → Todoist sync — 12 assignments added, 5 due dates updated

Login

Passwordless authentication — users verify via email code, no password ever stored

Register

New user registration — name and email are RSA-encrypted in the browser before the request is sent

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✨ Features

Feature	Description
🔄 Dual-Platform Sync	Sync Canvas assignments to either Todoist or Notion with one click
⏰ Auto-Sync Scheduler	Set recurring syncs every 1 day, 3 days, or 1 week — runs in the background
🧠 Smart Deduplication	Fuzzy datetime normalization prevents duplicate tasks across platforms
📧 Email Notifications	Get a full sync summary delivered to your email after every sync
🔐 Zero-Trust Security	API tokens are encrypted client-side before they ever leave your browser
⏱️ Sync Cooldown	Rate-limited sync with a live countdown to prevent API abuse
📊 Sync History	Dashboard view of all past syncs with added/updated counts
🔑 Passwordless Auth	Email verification code login — no password to store or steal
🌍 Timezone Aware	All due dates correctly converted to the user's local timezone

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🏗️ Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        React Frontend                       │
│   ┌─────────┐  ┌───────────┐  ┌───────────┐  ┌─────────┐  │
│   │  Login  │  │ Dashboard │  │ Settings  │  │ Register│  │
│   └────┬────┘  └─────┬─────┘  └─────┬─────┘  └────┬────┘  │
│        │             │              │              │        │
│   ┌────▼─────────────▼──────────────▼──────────────▼────┐  │
│   │         node-forge RSA Encryption Layer              │  │
│   │    (All sensitive data encrypted before transit)     │  │
│   └────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┘  │
└────────────────────────────│────────────────────────────────┘
                             │ HTTPS + JWT Cookie Auth
┌────────────────────────────▼────────────────────────────────┐
│                      Flask REST API                         │
│  ┌──────────────┐  ┌────────────────┐  ┌────────────────┐   │
│  │  Auth Routes │  │  Sync Routes   │  │Schedule Routes │   │
│  └──────┬───────┘  └───────┬────────┘  └───────┬────────┘   │
│         │                  │                   │            │
│  ┌──────▼───────┐  ┌───────▼──────────────────▼────────┐    │
│  │  RSA Decrypt │  │         Sync Engine               │    │
│  │  + JWT Mgmt  │  │  (fuzzy datetime normalization)   │    │
│  └──────┬───────┘  └───────┬──────────────────┬────────┘    │
│         │                  │                  │             │
└─────────│──────────────────│──────────────────│─────────────┘
          │                  │                  │
   ┌──────▼──────┐   ┌───────▼──────┐   ┌──────▼───────┐
   │   MongoDB   │   │  Canvas LMS  │   │Todoist/Notion│
   │   Atlas     │   │     API      │   │    APIs      │
   └─────────────┘   └──────────────┘   └──────────────┘
          │
   ┌──────▼──────┐
   │ APScheduler │
   │(MongoDB job │
   │   store)    │
   └─────────────┘

Key Engineering Decisions

Fuzzy Datetime Normalization Canvas stores dates as ISO 8601 UTC strings (2025-04-10T23:59:00Z). Todoist uses date-only strings in user-local time. Notion uses ISO with timezone offset. The sync engine normalizes all three formats into a canonical UTC representation before comparison, handling edge cases like missing T separators, Z vs +00:00 suffixes, and .000 milliseconds in Notion responses.

APScheduler + MongoDB Job Store Background sync jobs are stored in MongoDB via APScheduler's MongoDBJobStore, meaning scheduled jobs survive server restarts. On boot, the server calls _restore_schedules() to reconcile job store state with user preferences in the database.

State-Comparison Algorithm Rather than blindly overwriting, the sync engine diffs the Canvas assignment list against the existing Todoist/Notion state. New tasks are added. Tasks where the due date has changed are archived/deleted and re-created with the updated date. Unchanged tasks are left untouched — zero unnecessary API calls.

For a full technical breakdown, see ARCHITECTURE.md.

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🔒 Security

Security was a first-class design concern throughout this project.

Zero-Trust Encryption Envelope

Client (Browser)                          Server
─────────────────                         ──────────────────────────────────
1. Fetch RSA public key      ──────────►  Serve public_key.pem
2. Encrypt API token
   with RSA-OAEP + SHA-256   ──────────►  Receive ciphertext hex string
3. Send encrypted payload                 3. Decrypt with private_key.pem
                                             (password-protected, PKCS8)
                                          4. Re-encrypt with same public key
                                          5. Store ciphertext in MongoDB
                                             (plaintext never persists)

• 2048-bit RSA asymmetric encryption — every sensitive field (Canvas token, Todoist token, Notion token, user name, email) is encrypted in the browser using node-forge before being sent over the network
• Encrypted at rest — tokens are stored in MongoDB already encrypted; decryption only occurs at sync time, in memory
• Stateless JWT sessions via HTTP-only cookies with CSRF double-submit protection
• Refresh token rotation — short-lived access tokens (1 hour) with optional 3-day refresh tokens scoped to /api/refresh only
• Passwordless authentication — users authenticate via time-limited email verification codes; no passwords stored anywhere
• OAuth 2.0 for Todoist and Notion integrations — state parameter CSRF validation on all OAuth callbacks
• Rate limiting on sync endpoint with cooldown enforcement

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🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend

Technology	Purpose
React 18	UI framework
Vite	Build tool & dev server
React Router v6	Client-side routing
Axios	HTTP client with JWT interceptor
node-forge	Client-side RSA encryption
react-icons	Icon library

Backend

Technology	Purpose
Flask 3.1	REST API framework
Flask-JWT-Extended	JWT auth with cookie support
PyMongo	MongoDB driver
cryptography	RSA key gen & decryption
APScheduler 3.10	Background job scheduling
canvasapi	Canvas LMS Python wrapper
todoist-api-python	Todoist REST API client
requests	Notion API (REST)
yagmail	Email notifications
bcrypt	Code hashing
pytz	Timezone handling

Infrastructure

Technology	Purpose
MongoDB Atlas	Cloud database + APScheduler job store
mkcert	Local HTTPS development certificates

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🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+
• Node.js 18+
• MongoDB Atlas account (free tier works)
• mkcert for local HTTPS

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/riyonp23/Student_Connect.git
cd Student_Connect

2. Backend Setup

cd backend

# Create and activate virtual environment
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate        # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Set up environment variables
cp .env.example .env
# Fill in your values in .env (see Environment Variables section below)

# Generate local HTTPS certificates
mkcert localhost 127.0.0.1
# Move the generated .pem files into backend/src/

# Start the Flask server
python app.py

The backend will run on https://localhost:5000.

3. Frontend Setup

cd frontend

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Generate frontend HTTPS certificates
mkcert localhost 127.0.0.1
# Move the generated .pem files into frontend/src/Certs/

# Start the dev server
npm run dev

The frontend will run on https://localhost:5173.

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the backend/ directory using .env.example as a template:

# MongoDB
MONGO_URI=mongodb+srv://<user>:<password>@<cluster>.mongodb.net/

# Email service (for sync notifications)
EMAIL=your_email@gmail.com
EMAIL_PASS=your_gmail_app_password

# Todoist OAuth
TODOIST_CLIENT_ID=your_todoist_client_id
TODOIST_CLIENT_SECRET=your_todoist_client_secret

# Notion OAuth
NOTION_CLIENT_ID=your_notion_client_id
NOTION_CLIENT_SECRET=your_notion_client_secret

# Auto-generated on first run (do not set manually)
# JWT_SECRET_KEY=
# PRIVATE_PASS=

Note: JWT_SECRET_KEY and PRIVATE_PASS are auto-generated on first run and appended to .env automatically. RSA key pairs are also generated on first run if private_key.pem does not exist.

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📁 Project Structure

Student_Connect/
├── backend/
│   ├── app.py                  # Flask app, all routes, JWT config
│   ├── requirements.txt
│   ├── .env.example            # Template — never commit .env
│   └── src/
│       ├── sync.py             # Core sync engine (Canvas → Todoist/Notion)
│       ├── utils.py            # RSA encrypt/decrypt, auth helpers, DB ops
│       ├── utils_sync.py       # Fuzzy datetime normalization, state comparison
│       ├── scheduler.py        # APScheduler setup & job management
│       ├── database.py         # MongoDB connection
│       ├── email_service.py    # Sync notification emails
│       ├── logger.py           # Centralized logging
│       └── cleanup_todoist.py  # Utility: remove stale Todoist tasks
│
├── frontend/
│   ├── index.html
│   ├── vite.config.js
│   ├── package.json
│   └── src/
│       ├── App.jsx             # Root component, routing
│       ├── api/
│       │   └── axiosInterceptor.js  # JWT refresh interceptor
│       └── Components/
│           ├── Pages/
│           │   ├── Dashboard/  # Main sync dashboard + history
│           │   ├── Login/      # Passwordless email auth
│           │   ├── Register/   # New user registration
│           │   ├── Settings/   # API token management
│           │   ├── Start/      # Landing page
│           │   ├── Navbar/     # Navigation
│           │   └── Utils/      # Dialogs, popups, shared utilities
│           └── Shared/
│               └── ParticleBackground.jsx
│
├── docs/
│   └── screenshots/            # App screenshots
├── ARCHITECTURE.md             # Extended technical deep dive
├── .gitignore
├── LICENSE
└── README.md

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📡 API Reference

Method	Endpoint	Auth	Description
GET	/api/public-key	None	Fetch RSA public key for client-side encryption
POST	/api/register	None	Register new user (encrypted payload)
POST	/api/code	None	Request login verification code via email
POST	/api/login	None	Validate code, issue JWT access + refresh tokens
POST	/api/refresh	Refresh JWT	Rotate access token
GET	/api/logout	JWT	Revoke session cookies
GET	/api/token-protected	JWT	Get user dashboard state (linked services)
POST	/api/canvas-api-link	JWT	Validate & store Canvas token (encrypted)
GET	/api/todist-api-link	OAuth	Todoist OAuth callback handler
GET	/api/notion-api-link	OAuth	Notion OAuth callback handler
GET	/api/sync	JWT	Trigger manual sync (rate-limited)
GET	/api/sync-history	JWT	Retrieve past sync logs
POST	/api/schedule	JWT	Enable/disable auto-sync with interval
GET	/api/schedule	JWT	Get current auto-sync preferences
POST	/api/settings	JWT	Switch between Todoist and Notion
POST	/api/unlink	JWT	Unlink a service (Canvas/Todoist/Notion)

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🗺️ Roadmap

• Deploy to cloud (Railway + Vercel)
• Add demo video walkthrough
• Canvas course filter (select which courses to sync)
• Mobile-responsive UI improvements
• Support for Google Tasks as a third sync target

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👤 Author

Riyon Praveen — Computer Science Student, Class of 2027

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📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License — see LICENSE for details.

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_{Built with ☕ and a genuine frustration with manually copying Canvas assignments into Todoist.}