DDMatch

DDMatch is a full-stack project-matching application for students, project partners, and administrators. It supports the end-to-end workflow for managing users, publishing projects, collecting applications, extending offers, and operating each application season.

Tech Stack

• Python / Django 4
• Django REST Framework
• PostgreSQL
• JWT authentication with Djoser
• AWS S3 + CloudFront for file storage
• AWS SES for transactional email
• Docker + Gunicorn for application serving
• Swagger / OpenAPI documentation

Core Capabilities

• Student, partner, and administrator account management
• JWT login, password reset, OTP verification, and profile image upload
• Project partner onboarding, review, and approval
• Application season management
• Public project listings and project detail views
• Student project applications
• Partner offer workflows and student offer responses
• Dashboards, activity logs, and administrative tooling
• File uploads for resumes, partner logos, and related assets

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Python 3
• PostgreSQL
• Git
• A configured .env file

Run Locally

git clone <repo-url>
cd DDMatch
python -m venv venv
venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
python manage.py migrate
python manage.py runserver

Once the app is running, API documentation is available at the root route:

http://127.0.0.1:8000/

Environment Variables

Create a local .env file and keep it out of source control. The application expects configuration for:

• Django settings: DJANGO_SECRET, ENVIRONMENT, ALLOWED_HOSTS, TRUSTED_ORIGINS
• Server settings: PORT, CONTAINER
• PostgreSQL database connection values
• AWS S3 and CloudFront storage values
• AWS SES email values
• Optional third-party integrations such as Google OAuth and Cloudinary

API Overview

Key application routes include:

• /v2/auth/ — authentication and account flows
• /v2/students/ — student profiles
• /v2/partners/ — project partner records
• /v2/project/ — project management
• /v2/application/ — student applications
• /v2/projects/offers/ — offer workflows
• /v2/dashboards/ — dashboard data
• /v2/public/projects/ — public project browsing
• /v2/health/ — health check

Production Architecture

Internet
   ¦
   ?
Nginx (SSL termination)
   ¦
   ?
Dockerized Django app (Gunicorn)
   ¦
   +-- AWS RDS PostgreSQL
   +-- AWS S3 + CloudFront
   +-- AWS SES

Deployment

DDMatch is designed for deployment on AWS with:

• AWS RDS (PostgreSQL) for relational data storage
• AWS S3 + CloudFront for file and media storage
• AWS SES for transactional email delivery
• AWS EC2 for application hosting
• Docker + Gunicorn for serving the Django application
• Nginx + Let's Encrypt for reverse proxying and SSL termination
• GitHub Actions for CI/CD deployment
• Sentry for production monitoring

For the full production setup, infrastructure configuration, and post-deployment checklist, read deployment.md.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. When making changes:

1. Create a focused branch
2. Keep secrets out of commits
3. Run migrations and relevant tests before opening a pull request
4. Document any setup or deployment changes that affect other contributors

Author

George Obaido