# UpLift — Full-Stack Ed-Tech Learning Platform

UpLift is a full-stack educational ecosystem engineered with the MERN stack. It features Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), an intuitive multi-step course creation wizard for instructors, dynamic media streaming, and secure, webhook-verified payment processing.

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## Key Problems Solved

Building scalable ed-tech platforms requires managing complex user permissions, state persistence across long course creation forms, and preventing unauthorized access to paid content.

UpLift solves this by providing:

1. Isolated RBAC Routing: Explicit permission boundaries separating Instructor content creation from Student consumption.

2. Secure Payment Verification: Automated payment confirmations via cryptographic webhook signature validation.

3. Optimized Media Pipeline: On-demand cloud storage for high-resolution video lectures and course assets.

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## Key Features & Architecture

* Role-Based Access Control (RBAC):

Enforces strict authorization rules separating 2 user roles (Instructor & Student) across 15+ protected frontend and backend routes.

* Secure Payment Pipeline (Razorpay & Webhooks):

Integrates Razorpay API backed by server-side HMAC SHA256 signature verification to process course purchases and auto-enroll students securely.

* Multi-Stage Course Creation Wizard:

Utilizes Redux Toolkit to eliminate prop-drilling across a 4-stage course creation workflow (Course Details, Builder, Pricing, and Publishing).

* Media Cloud Storage (Cloudinary API):

Direct video and image upload pipelines with dynamic secure URLs, reducing backend server load during large file handling.

* Security & CORS Policy:

Custom JWT authentication middleware coupled with dynamic origin CORS validation and centralized error handling for clean RESTful API responses.

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## Technical Highlights & Metrics

* User Roles: 2 (Instructor / Student)

* Protected Routes: 15+ authenticated endpoints

* Course Creation Workflow: 4-stage state-managed builder

* Security Protocol: HMAC SHA256 signature verification for payment webhooks

* State Management: Redux Toolkit slice architecture

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## Tech Stack

* Frontend: React.js, Tailwind CSS, Redux Toolkit

* Backend: Node.js, Express.js, REST APIs, JWT Auth

* Database: MongoDB, Mongoose

* Integrations: Razorpay API (Payments), Cloudinary API (Media Storage)

* Deployment: Vercel (Frontend), Render (Backend API)