A modern, gamified skill-sharing platform where users exchange knowledge and grow together.

Features • Tech Stack • Setup • Structure • API • Contributing

• Secure registration & login with Werkzeug password hashing
• Password reset via email — styled HTML emails sent through Gmail SMTP
• CSRF protection on all forms (Flask-WTF)
• Rate limiting on sensitive endpoints (Flask-Limiter)
• Secure session cookies with HTTPOnly & SameSite flags
• Input validation with WTForms & email-validator
• SQL injection prevention via SQLAlchemy ORM

• Fuzzy matching algorithm — finds users even with partial skill name matches
• Weighted scoring system:
  • 🧩 Mutual skill compatibility (25 pts per match)
  • ⭐ User reputation & rating (10 pts per rating point)
  • 📈 Experience level / XP (scaled)
  • 🌍 Timezone bonus (+10 pts for same timezone)
• Filter matches by skill category
• Skill proficiency levels: Beginner → Intermediate → Expert

• WebSocket-powered messaging via Flask-SocketIO
• Per-swap chat rooms with message history
• Unread message counter in navigation
• Read/unread message tracking

• XP Points:
  • +10 XP — Adding a skill
  • +50 XP — Completing a swap
  • +50 XP — Receiving a review
• Level Progression: Beginner 🌱 → Skilled 🚀 → Expert 🔥 → Master 👑
• Achievement Badges:

  Badge	Requirement
  🤝 First Swap	Complete 1 swap
  ⭐ Rising Star	Earn 200 XP
  🏅 Skill Master	Earn 500 XP
  🧑‍🏫 Trusted Mentor	Receive 5+ reviews

• Skill Marketplace — Browse users offering/wanting skills across 8 categories
• Swap Requests — Send, accept, reject, and complete skill exchanges
• Smart Scheduling — Set your weekly availability and propose swap times converted automatically to the viewer's timezone
• Review System — Rate (1-5 stars) and comment after completed swaps
• User Profiles — Customizable bio, social links (GitHub, LinkedIn, Portfolio)
• Portfolio Showcase — Add project highlights with descriptions and images to your profile
• Interactive Avatar Cropper — Crop and precisely adjust your profile picture before upload (2MB limit)
• Notifications & Feedback — Real-time alerts for requests and elegant toast notifications for actions
• Dashboard — Paginated view of matched users with compatibility scores

┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐
│     User     │────▶│    Skill     │     │    Badge     │
│──────────────│     │──────────────│     │──────────────│
│ id           │     │ id           │     │ id           │
│ username     │     │ name         │     │ name         │
│ email        │     │ category     │     │ description  │
│ password     │     │ type         │     │ icon         │
│ bio / socials│     │ proficiency  │     └──────┬───────┘
│ xp / badge   │     │ user_id (FK) │            │
│ profile_pic  │     └──────────────┘     ┌──────┴───────┐
│ rating       │                          │  UserBadge   │
│ timezone     │◀─────────────────────────│──────────────│
│ created_at   │     ┌──────────────┐     │ user_id (FK) │
└──────┬───────┘     │ SwapRequest  │     │ badge_id(FK) │
       │             │──────────────│     │ earned_at    │
       │             │ sender_id    │     └──────────────┘
       ├────────────▶│ receiver_id  │
       │             │ status       │     ┌──────────────┐
       │             │ proposed_time│     │ ChatMessage  │
       │             │ completed_at │────▶│──────────────│
       │             └──────────────┘     │ swap_id (FK) │
       │                                  │ sender_id    │
       │             ┌──────────────┐     │ message      │
       ├────────────▶│   Review     │     │ is_read      │
       │             │──────────────│     └──────────────┘
       │             │ reviewer_id  │
       │             │ reviewed_id  │     ┌──────────────┐
       │             │ rating       │     │ Notification │
       │             │ comment      │     │──────────────│
       │             └──────────────┘     │ user_id (FK) │
       │                                  │ message      │
       │             ┌──────────────┐     │ is_read      │
       ├────────────▶│ PortfolioProj│     └──────────────┘
       │             │──────────────│
       │             │ title / desc │
       │             │ project_url  │
       │             └──────────────┘
       │
       │             ┌──────────────┐
       └────────────▶│ Availability │
                     │──────────────│
                     │ day_of_week  │
                     │ start / end  │
                     └──────────────┘

• Python 3.9+
• pip (Python package manager)
• Gmail account with App Password (for password reset emails)

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/luckyyyroyyy/Skill-Swap.git
   cd Skills-Swap

2. Create & activate virtual environment

   python -m venv venv
   
   # Windows
   venv\Scripts\activate
   
   # macOS/Linux
   source venv/bin/activate

3. Install dependencies

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Configure environment variables

   cp .env.example .env

   Edit .env with your settings:

   SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key-here
   FLASK_ENV=development
   DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///skillswap.db
   UPLOAD_FOLDER=static/profile_pics
   
   # Gmail SMTP (for password reset emails)
   MAIL_SERVER=smtp.gmail.com
   MAIL_PORT=587
   MAIL_USE_TLS=True
   MAIL_USERNAME=your-email@gmail.com
   MAIL_PASSWORD=your-16-char-app-password
   MAIL_DEFAULT_SENDER=your-email@gmail.com

5. Initialize the database

   python -m flask db upgrade

   Or manually:

   python -c "from app import app, db; app.app_context().push(); db.create_all()"

6. Run the application

   python app.py

   The app will be available at http://localhost:5000 🎉

Skills-Swap/
├── app.py                  # Flask app, SocketIO events, context processors
├── config.py               # Config classes (Dev / Prod / Test)
├── extensions.py           # Flask extensions (DB, Login, Limiter, Mail, SocketIO)
├── models.py               # SQLAlchemy models (User, Skill, Swap, Review, etc.)
├── forms.py                # WTForms (Registration, Login, Skills, Reviews, Reset)
├── utils.py                # XP, rating, matching, badge & notification systems
├── seed.py                 # Database seeding script
├── test_app.py             # Unit tests
├── requirements.txt        # Python dependencies
├── .env.example            # Environment template
├── .gitignore              # Git ignore rules
│
├── routes/                 # Blueprint modules
│   ├── __init__.py         # Blueprint exports
│   ├── main.py             # Landing page
│   ├── auth.py             # Register, login, logout, password reset
│   ├── user.py             # Profile, dashboard, skills management
│   ├── swap.py             # Swap requests, reviews, matching
│   └── chat.py             # Real-time messaging
│
├── templates/              # Jinja2 HTML templates
│   ├── base.html           # Base layout with nav & scripts
│   ├── landing.html        # Public landing page
│   ├── register.html       # Registration form
│   ├── login.html          # Login form
│   ├── reset_password_request.html  # Forgot password
│   ├── reset_password.html # Password reset form
│   ├── dashboard.html      # Main dashboard with matches
│   ├── profile.html        # User profile view
│   ├── edit_profile.html   # Profile editor with avatar upload
│   ├── my_swaps.html       # Swap request management
│   ├── matches.html        # Skill matching results
│   ├── chat.html           # Real-time chat interface
│   └── notifications.html  # Notification center
│
├── static/                 # Static assets
│   ├── css/                # Stylesheets
│   ├── js/                 # JavaScript files
│   ├── img/                # Images & icons
│   └── profile_pics/       # User uploaded avatars
│
├── migrations/             # Flask-Migrate / Alembic
│   ├── versions/           # Migration scripts
│   ├── env.py              # Migration environment
│   └── alembic.ini         # Alembic configuration
│
└── instance/               # Instance-specific files
    └── skillswap.db        # SQLite database

pip install pytest
pytest test_app.py -v

Tests cover:

• ✅ User model operations
• ✅ Skill management (CRUD)
• ✅ Swap request lifecycle
• ✅ Matching algorithm accuracy
• ✅ Badge award system
• ✅ Notification creation
• ✅ Review system

1. Set production environment variables — Use a strong SECRET_KEY, set FLASK_ENV=production, DEBUG=False
2. Switch to PostgreSQL — Update DATABASE_URL connection string
3. Apply migrations — flask db upgrade
4. Use a production WSGI server:

   gunicorn --worker-class eventlet -w 1 --bind 0.0.0.0:8000 app:app

5. Enable HTTPS with SSL/TLS certificates
6. Setup monitoring (Sentry, Datadog, etc.)

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

• ✅ End-to-end quality assurance (QA) validation complete
• ✅ Verified real-time WebSocket interactions & DOM updates
• ✅ New Feature: Weekly Availability Scheduling with timezone-aware logic
• ✅ New Feature: Portfolio Projects and Social Links on User Profiles
• ✅ UI/UX Polish: Interactive Avatar Cropper, UI Pagination, and stylish Toast Notifications
• ✅ Production-ready deployment optimizations
• ✅ Database records cleaned and reset for fresh deployment
• ✅ Temporary logs and cache files cleaned

• ✅ Password reset via Gmail SMTP with styled HTML emails
• ✅ Flask-Migrate database migrations
• ✅ Timezone-aware matching with timezone bonus
• ✅ Skill proficiency levels (Beginner / Intermediate / Expert)
• ✅ Fuzzy skill name matching
• ✅ Improved error handling & user feedback

• ✅ Core platform with auth, skills, swaps, chat
• ✅ Gamification (XP, badges, levels)
• ✅ Security hardening (CSRF, rate limiting, secure sessions)
• ✅ Unit tests & logging

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

For issues, suggestions, or questions:

• 📧 Email: luckyyyroyyy@gmail.com
• 🐛 Open an Issue

Made with ❤️ for skill-sharing
_{© 2026 SkillSwap Pro — Swap skills, grow together.}