CampusKart
The Problem
University students need a secure, verified, and community-driven marketplace to buy, sell, and exchange essential items without the risks associated with public platforms.
The Solution
CampusKart is a campus-exclusive marketplace concept restricted to verified .edu users. The frontend MVP (9+ pages, trust & safety UI, smart filtering) is complete; the backend and real-time features are in active development as part of an 11-person senior capstone team at Pace University.
Key Features
Architecture
The shipped frontend MVP is a React 18 + TypeScript (strict mode) app built with Vite and styled with Tailwind CSS and shadcn/ui, using localStorage to simulate persistence for listings, chat, and wishlists ahead of the real backend.
Future Improvements
The backend (Sprint 1+ on the team roadmap) will add Node.js/Express with Prisma and PostgreSQL, JWT-based .edu email verification, Socket.io-powered real-time chat, AWS S3/Cloudinary for image uploads, and SendGrid for email notifications.
Challenges Faced & Solutions Delivered
Challenges Faced
- •Designing a full marketplace experience (browsing, chat, wishlist, reviews) before a real backend exists.
- •Making mocked, localStorage-backed data feel convincingly real for demos and user testing.
- •Coordinating frontend and backend work cleanly across an 11-person capstone team.
- •Building trust-and-safety UI (campus verification, reviews, badges) that needs to plug into real auth later without a rewrite.
- •Sequencing a realistic Sprint 1-4 roadmap so the backend, real-time chat, and deployment land incrementally.
- •Keeping the UI production-quality (React 18, TypeScript strict mode, shadcn/ui) even while the data layer is still mocked.
Solutions Delivered
- ✓Shipped a complete, polished frontend MVP (9+ pages) using React 18, TypeScript, Vite, and shadcn/ui.
- ✓Used localStorage to simulate persistence for listings, chat, and wishlists ahead of the real backend.
- ✓Structured the codebase (Frontend/ now, backend/ next) so the upcoming Express + Prisma + PostgreSQL API can slot in without reworking the UI.
- ✓Designed campus-verification, reviews, and badge UI upfront so real .edu JWT auth can be wired in directly.
- ✓Planned a clear Sprint 1-4 roadmap covering backend integration, Socket.io chat, image uploads, and deployment.
- ✓Worked within an 11-person Pace University capstone team to divide frontend, backend, and design responsibilities.
"CampusKart's frontend MVP is production-quality and demo-ready while the backend follows a clear, sequenced roadmap — deliberate build ordering across an 11-person capstone team rather than a rushed full-stack build."