Secure Notes

About

A full-stack encrypted note-taking application where your notes are secured with AES encryption before ever leaving your device. Built with a clean dark UI, rich text editing, and full user authentication.

• AES Client-Side Encryption - Notes are encrypted on your device before being sent to the server
• JWT Authentication - Secure register and login with bcrypt password hashing
• Rich Text Editor - Format notes with bold, italic, headings, lists, and more
• Folder Organization - Create color-coded folders to organize your notes
• Favourites & Locked Notes - Star important notes and lock sensitive ones
• Recycle Bin - Soft delete with recovery support
• Custom Wallpaper - Set a personal background for your dashboard
• Persistent Storage - Notes and folders saved to MongoDB Atlas

Interface

Login	Dashboard	Note Editor

Live Demo

🔗 secure-notes-gules.vercel.app

Tech Stack

Frontend: React (Vite), React Router, Axios, CryptoJS

Backend: Node.js, Express, MongoDB Atlas, Mongoose (Vercel Serverless Functions)

Auth & Security: JWT, bcryptjs, AES Encryption

Deployment: Vercel (frontend + serverless API)

Setup

Prerequisites:

• Node.js (v18 or higher)
• npm
• MongoDB Atlas account

Installation:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/arooj-zehra/secure-notes.git

# Navigate to frontend
cd secure-notes/frontend

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start the development server
npm run dev

Environment Variables:

Create a .env file in the frontend folder:

MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret

How Encryption Works

1. When you save a note, the content is encrypted using AES on your device
2. Only the encrypted version is sent to and stored in the database
3. When you open a note, it is decrypted on your device using your session key
4. The server never sees your plain text content

Features Overview

secure-notes/
├── frontend/
│   ├── api/              # Vercel serverless functions (backend)
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/   # Sidebar, NoteCard, NoteEditor
│   │   ├── context/      # AuthContext, NotesContext
│   │   ├── pages/        # Login, Register, Dashboard
│   │   ├── services/     # API calls
│   │   └── utils/        # AES encryption helpers
│   └── vercel.json
└── backend/              # Original Express backend (reference)

🎧 Project Soundtrack

This track was on loop while working on this project.

"difference" – TAMIW

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made with ❤️ by arooj