StudentHub

StudentHub is an Android application designed for IIIT Lucknow students to facilitate academic collaboration, document sharing, and campus communication.

For Contribution

• Read CONTRIBUTE.md file.

Features

🔐 Authentication

• Email/Password authentication (restricted to @iiitl.ac.in domain)
• Google Sign-In integration
• Password reset functionality
• User profile management

📄 Paper Management

• Upload academic papers and documents
• Browse and view shared papers
• Admin approval system for paper submissions
• Offline support with Room database for cached papers

💬 Real-time Chat

• One-on-one messaging between users
• Group chat functionality
• Online/offline status indicators
• Media sharing support

🤖 AI Chatbot

• Gemini-powered AI assistant
• Campus-specific information queries
• Academic schedules, events, and notices
• Natural language conversation interface

🔔 Push Notifications

• Firebase Cloud Messaging integration
• Real-time notifications for messages and updates
• Topic-based subscriptions

👤 User Management

• User profiles with photo, name, and contact information
• Group memberships
• Contact list management

Tech Stack

Core Technologies

• Language: Kotlin
• Minimum SDK: 28 (Android 9.0)
• Target SDK: 35 (Android 15)
• Build System: Gradle with Kotlin DSL

Architecture & UI

• UI Framework: Jetpack Compose + ViewBinding
• Architecture Components: ViewModel, LiveData
• Navigation: Custom navigation utilities

Backend Services

• Firebase Authentication: User authentication
• Firebase Cloud Messaging: Push notifications
• Firebase Crashlytics: Crash reporting
• Firebase Functions: Serverless functions
• Cloudinary: Media storage and management

Local Storage

• Room Database: Local caching and offline support
• Data Binding: View binding enabled

Networking

• Retrofit: REST API client
• OkHttp: HTTP client
• Gson: JSON serialization

Image Loading

• Glide: Image loading and caching

AI Integration

• Google Generative AI: Gemini 2.5 Flash model for chatbot

Other Libraries

• Material Design Components: UI components
• Splash Screen API: App launch experience
• Credentials API: Google Sign-In integration

Project Structure

app/src/main/java/com/namangulati/studenthub/
├── adapters/          # RecyclerView adapters
├── admin/             # Admin-specific features
├── API/               # API interfaces and utilities
├── controllers/       # ViewModels and app controllers
├── Dao/               # Room database DAOs
├── Database/          # Room database and repositories
├── fragments/         # UI fragments
├── models/            # Data models
├── modelsRoom/        # Room database entities
├── uiutils/           # UI utility classes
├── userPages/         # Main user-facing activities
└── utils/             # Utility classes

Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

• Android Studio Hedgehog or later
• JDK 8 or higher
• Android SDK with API level 28+
• Firebase project with the following services enabled:
  • Authentication
  • Firestore
  • Cloud Messaging
  • Crashlytics

Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd StudentHub

2. Configure Firebase

   • Create a Firebase project at Firebase Console
   • Download google-services.json and place it in:
     • app/google-services.json
   • Enable the required Firebase services mentioned above

3. Add SHA Keys:

• In the Firebase Console, go to Project settings > General > Your apps.
• Click on Add fingerprint and add your SHA-1 and SHA-256 keys. You can find these keys in Android Studio:
  • Go to the terminal in android studio and run this command:

    ./gradlew signingreport
    

• If it shows any error it means that your jdk is not properly set up.
  • Copy the SHA-1 and SHA-256 keys from the report and add them to Firebase.
  • After adding SHA-1 and SHA-256 keys and then download the google-services.json file provided and place it in the app directory of your project.

4. Configure API Keys

   • Add your Gemini API key in app/src/main/java/com/namangulati/studenthub/API/Constants.kt
   • Add your Google Sign-In Web Client ID in app/src/main/res/values/strings.xml as default_web_client_id

5. Build the project

   ./gradlew build
   

6. Run the app

   • Connect an Android device or start an emulator
   • Run the app from Android Studio or use:

     ./gradlew installDebug
     

Configuration

Firebase Setup

1. Enable Email/Password authentication in Firebase Console
2. Configure OAuth consent screen for Google Sign-In
3. Set up Firestore database with appropriate security rules
4. Set up Cloud Messaging and generate server key

Firestore Security Rules

To ensure the application data and the admin panel are secure, you MUST deploy the following security rules to your Cloud Firestore database under the Rules tab in the Firebase Console:

rules_version = '2';
service cloud.firestore {
  match /databases/{database}/documents {
    
    // =====================================================================
    // HELPER FUNCTIONS (Entry Pass)
    // =====================================================================
    
    // Checks if the user is logged in AND has a valid college email
    function isIIITLUser() {
      return request.auth != null && request.auth.token.email.matches('.*@iiitl[.]ac[.]in$');
    }

    // Checks if the user passes the IIITL check AND is listed in the admin collection
    function isAdmin() {
      return isIIITLUser() && exists(/databases/$(database)/documents/admin/$(request.auth.token.email));
    }
    
    // =====================================================================
    // CORE COLLECTIONS
    // =====================================================================
    
    // --- ADMIN ---
    match /admin/{document=**} {
      allow read: if isIIITLUser();
      allow write: if isAdmin();
    }
    
    // --- OFFICIAL PAPERS (Approved) ---
    match /papers/{document=**} {
      // Any IIITL user can read/download the approved papers
      allow read: if isIIITLUser();
      // ONLY Admins can upload, edit, or delete official papers
      allow write: if isAdmin();
    }

    // --- PENDING PAPERS (Upload Queue) ---
    match /notConfirmedPapers/{document=**} {
      // IIITL users can see the pending list
      allow read: if isIIITLUser();
      
      // ANY logged-in person (even without IIITL email) can submit a new paper
      // (This blocks completely anonymous bots but allows outside contributions)
      allow create: if request.auth != null; 
      
      // Only admins can approve, modify, or delete pending papers
      allow update, delete: if isAdmin();
    }

    // --- USER PROFILES ---
    match /users/{userId} {
      allow read: if isIIITLUser();
      allow create: if isIIITLUser() && (request.auth.uid == userId || isAdmin());
      // Users can edit their own profile, but CANNOT change their email.
      allow update: if isIIITLUser() && (
        isAdmin() || 
        (request.auth.uid == userId && request.resource.data.email == resource.data.email)
      );
      allow delete: if isAdmin();
    }

    // --- GROUPS ---
    match /groups/{groupId} {
      allow read: if isIIITLUser();
      allow write: if isAdmin();
    }

    // --- PUSH NOTIFICATION TOKENS ---
    match /userTokens/{userId} {
      allow read: if isIIITLUser();
      allow write: if isIIITLUser() && request.auth.uid == userId;
    }

    // =====================================================================
    // CHAT & MESSAGING SYSTEM
    // =====================================================================

    // --- RECENT CHATS (Inbox Timestamps) ---
    match /usersChats/{userId}/partners/{partnerId} {
      allow read: if request.auth.uid == userId;
      allow write: if isIIITLUser() && (
        request.auth.uid == userId || 
        request.auth.uid == partnerId || 
        exists(/databases/$(database)/documents/groups/$(userId))
      );
    }

    // --- SECURED CHAT MESSAGES ---
    match /chats/{roomId}/messages/{messageId} {
      allow read, write: if isIIITLUser() && (
        roomId.matches('.*' + request.auth.uid + '.*') ||
        exists(/databases/$(database)/documents/groups/$(roomId))
      );
    }

    // =====================================================================
    // DEFAULT SAFETY NET
    // =====================================================================
    // Closes the database completely for any paths not explicitly matched above.
    match /{document=**} {
      allow read, write: if false; 
    }
    
  }
}

Permissions

The app requires the following permissions:

• INTERNET: Network access
• ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE: Check network connectivity
• POST_NOTIFICATIONS: Push notifications (Android 13+)
• WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE: File operations
• ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION: Location services (if needed)
• ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION: Location services (if needed)

Building

Debug Build

./gradlew assembleDebug

Release Build

./gradlew assembleRelease

The APK will be generated in app/build/outputs/apk/

Dependencies

Key dependencies are managed in gradle/libs.versions.toml. Major dependencies include:

• AndroidX Core KTX
• Material Design Components
• Firebase BOM (33.5.1)
• Jetpack Compose
• Room Database
• Retrofit & OkHttp
• Glide
• Google Generative AI

Version

• Version Code: 1
• Version Name: 1.0

Authors

• Naman Gulati

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Note: This app is specifically designed for IIIT Lucknow students and requires a valid @iiitl.ac.in email address for authentication.