Lost & Found Application

A web application for managing lost and found items built with Laravel (Backend) and Vue.js (Frontend).

Prerequisites

• PHP >= 8.2
• Node.js >= 16
• Composer
• MySQL/MariaDB
• Git

Installation

Backend Setup

1. Navigate to backend directory:

cd backend

2. Install PHP dependencies:

composer install

3. Create environment file:

cp .env.example .env

4. Configure your .env file:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=your_database_name
DB_USERNAME=your_username
DB_PASSWORD=your_password

JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret

5. Generate application key:

php artisan key:generate

6. Generate JWT secret:

php artisan jwt:secret

7. Create storage link:

php artisan storage:link

8. Run database migrations:

php artisan migrate

9. Start the development server:

php artisan serve

Frontend Setup

1. Navigate to frontend directory:

cd frontend

2. Install Node.js dependencies:

npm install

3. Start the development server:

npm run dev

Usage

• Backend API will be available at: http://localhost:8000
• Frontend application will be available at: http://localhost:5173

Features

• User authentication (Login/Register)
• Create lost/found item reports
• Upload images for items
• Update item status
• Chat system for item claims
• Admin dashboard for management

Directory Structure

lostnfound/
├── backend/         # Laravel API
│   ├── app/
│   ├── config/
│   ├── database/
│   └── ...
└── frontend/        # Vue.js application
    ├── src/
    ├── public/
    └── ...

Common Issues

1. Storage permissions:

chmod -R 775 storage
chmod -R 775 bootstrap/cache

2. If images don't appear:

php artisan storage:link

3. Database connection issues:

• Verify database credentials in .env
• Ensure MySQL service is running

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch
3. Commit your changes
4. Push to the branch
5. Create a new Pull Request