Kanban Task Manager Backend

A modern, scalable backend service for a collaborative kanban-style project management system built with Spring Boot and GraphQL.

🚀 Features

Board Management

• Create, update, and delete kanban boards
• Customizable board columns with drag-and-drop positioning
• Board color themes and descriptions
• Multi-user collaboration with role-based access control

Task Management

• Complete CRUD operations for tasks
• Task priorities (High/Medium/Low) and statuses (TODO/DOING/DONE)
• Drag-and-drop task positioning between columns
• Due dates and time estimation tracking
• Task assignments to team members
• Flexible tagging system
• File attachments support

Advanced Capabilities

• Subtasks: Break down complex tasks into manageable components
• Comments: Task-level discussions and collaboration
• Real-time Updates: Event-driven architecture with Kafka
• GraphQL Federation: Microservice-ready architecture

🛠 Technology Stack

• Language: Java 21
• Framework: Spring Boot 3.5.4
• API: GraphQL with Netflix DGS Framework
• Database: PostgreSQL with Flyway migrations
• Messaging: Apache Kafka
• Build Tool: Maven
• Containerization: Docker & Docker Compose
• Additional Libraries:
  • MapStruct for object mapping
  • Lombok for boilerplate reduction
  • SpringDoc OpenAPI for documentation
  • Spring Data JPA for data access

📋 Prerequisites

• Java 21 or higher
• Maven 3.6+ (or use included Maven wrapper)
• Docker and Docker Compose
• PostgreSQL (if running without Docker)

🚀 Quick Start

1. Clone the Repository

git clone <repository-url>
cd backend

2. Start Dependencies

# Start PostgreSQL and other services
docker-compose up -d

3. Run Database Migrations

./mvnw flyway:migrate

4. Start the Application

./mvnw spring-boot:run

The application will be available at:

• API Endpoint: http://localhost:8085/graphql
• GraphiQL Interface: http://localhost:8085/graphiql

🐳 Docker Setup

Using Docker Compose

# Build and start all services
docker-compose up --build

# Start in detached mode
docker-compose up -d --build

Manual Docker Build

# Build the image
docker build -t kanban-backend .

# Run the container
docker run -p 8085:8080 kanban-backend

📊 Database Configuration

Default Configuration

• Host: localhost
• Port: 5434
• Database: kanban_db
• Username: postgres
• Password: secret123

Environment Variables

You can override database settings using environment variables:

export SPRING_POSTGRES_URL=jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5434/kanban_db
export SPRING_POSTGRES_USER=postgres
export SPRING_POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secret123

🔧 Development

Build the Project

./mvnw clean compile

Run Tests

./mvnw test

Generate GraphQL Types

GraphQL types are automatically generated from the schema during build:

./mvnw generate-sources

Database Management

# Run migrations
./mvnw flyway:migrate

# Clean database (dev only)
./mvnw flyway:clean

📡 API Documentation

GraphQL Schema

The GraphQL schema is located at src/main/resources/schema/schema.graphqls.

Key Operations

Queries

• getBoards: Retrieve all boards
• getBoardById(id): Get specific board
• getTasks: Retrieve all tasks
• getTaskById(id): Get specific task
• getTasksByColumnIdAndBoardId(columnId, boardId): Get tasks by column

Mutations

• Boards: createBoard, updateBoard, deleteBoardById
• Tasks: createTask, updateTask, deleteTaskById
• Positioning: updateBoardColumnPosition, updateTaskPosition

Example Query

query GetBoardWithTasks {
  getBoardById(id: "1") {
    id
    name
    description
    columns {
      id
      name
      position
      taskCount
    }
  }
}

Example Mutation

mutation CreateTask {
  createTask(task: {
    boardId: "1"
    createdBy: 1
    title: "New Task"
    description: "Task description"
    status: TODO
    priority: HIGH
    assignedTo: 1
    tags: ["feature", "urgent"]
    subtasks: []
  }) {
    success
    message
    task {
      id
      title
      status
    }
  }
}

⚙️ Configuration

Application Properties

Key configuration options in application.yml:

server:
  port: 8085

spring:
  datasource:
    url: jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5434/kanban_db
    username: postgres
    password: secret123
  
  kafka:
    bootstrap-servers: localhost:8081
    consumer:
      group-id: user_event_group_1
  
  graphql:
    graphiql:
      enabled: true

🔄 Event Streaming

The application uses Apache Kafka for real-time event processing:

• Bootstrap Servers: localhost:8081
• Consumer Group: user_event_group_1
• Auto Offset Reset: earliest

🏗 Project Structure

src/
├── main/
│   ├── java/org/abraham/kanbantaskmanager/
│   │   ├── generated/          # Auto-generated GraphQL types
│   │   ├── controllers/        # GraphQL resolvers
│   │   ├── services/          # Business logic
│   │   ├── repositories/      # Data access layer
│   │   ├── entities/          # JPA entities
│   │   └── dtos/             # Data transfer objects
│   └── resources/
│       ├── schema/
│       │   └── schema.graphqls # GraphQL schema definition
│       ├── db/migration/      # Flyway migration scripts
│       └── application.yml    # Application configuration
└── test/                      # Test files

🧪 Testing

Running Tests

# Run all tests
./mvnw test

# Run specific test class
./mvnw test -Dtest=BoardServiceTest

# Run with coverage
./mvnw test jacoco:report

📦 Deployment

Production Build

./mvnw clean package -DskipTests

Environment Variables for Production

SPRING_POSTGRES_URL=jdbc:postgresql://prod-db:5432/kanban_prod
SPRING_POSTGRES_USER=prod_user
SPRING_POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secure_password
KAFKA_BOOTSTRAP_SERVERS=kafka-cluster:9092

🤝 Contributing

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

Code Style

• Follow Java naming conventions
• Use Lombok annotations to reduce boilerplate
• Write meaningful commit messages
• Add tests for new features

📝 Common Commands

Development

# Clean and rebuild
./mvnw clean install

# Run in debug mode
./mvnw spring-boot:run -Dspring-boot.run.jvmArguments="-Xdebug -Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,server=y,suspend=n,address=5005"

# Check dependencies
./mvnw dependency:tree

Database

# Reset database
./mvnw flyway:clean flyway:migrate

# Check migration status
./mvnw flyway:info

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Port already in use: Change the port in application.yml or stop the conflicting service
2. Database connection failed: Ensure PostgreSQL is running and credentials are correct
3. GraphQL schema errors: Check schema syntax in schema.graphqls

Logs

Application logs are available in the console or can be configured to write to files.

📄 License

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

👥 Authors

• Abraham Nyagar - Initial work

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Netflix DGS Framework for GraphQL implementation
• Spring Boot team for the excellent framework
• Apollo Federation for microservice capabilities