VELO

VELO is a full-stack creator platform built with Next.js App Router, PostgreSQL, and Drizzle ORM. It combines blogging, social interactions, creator analytics, moderation tools, and personalized discovery.

Tech Stack

• Next.js 16 (App Router)
• TypeScript
• PostgreSQL + Drizzle ORM
• Better Auth
• Tailwind CSS
• Recharts (analytics visualizations)
• Cloudinary (image uploads)

Core Features

• Authentication and protected routes
• Create, edit, delete posts
• Drafts, scheduled posts, auto-publish of due posts
• Post revision history with restore
• Reactions, comments, bookmarks, shares, reporting
• Follow authors and follow-based feed
• Smart recommendations
• Advanced search and filtering
• Analytics dashboard with time filters and comparison mode
• Moderation dashboard (reports, pending comments, blocked words)
• Notification center with granular notification preferences

Project Structure

• src/app - routes and pages
• src/components - UI and feature components
• src/actions - server actions
• src/lib/db - schema and query layer
• drizzle - SQL migrations

Environment Variables

Create .env in blog-project:

DB_URL=postgresql://<user>:<password>@<host>:<port>/<database>
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=<strong-random-secret>
BASE_URL=http://localhost:3000
NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL=http://localhost:3000
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=<cloud-name>
CLOUDINARY_URL=cloudinary://<api-key>:<api-secret>@<cloud-name>
UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL=<upstash-redis-rest-url>
UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_TOKEN=<upstash-redis-rest-token>

Notes:

• Use a strong BETTER_AUTH_SECRET (at least 32 chars).
• In production (Vercel), set BASE_URL and NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL to your deployed domain, e.g. https://nextjs-blog-app-eight-blush.vercel.app.
• In production, set one DB connection variable: DB_URL (preferred), or DATABASE_URL, or POSTGRES_URL. If none is set, the app now throws a clear startup error.
• Cloudinary is configured for remote image rendering in next.config.ts.

Setup

npm install

Run migrations:

npx drizzle-kit migrate

Start dev server:

npm run dev

Build for production:

npm run build
npm run start

Analytics Notes

• Time filters: Today, Last 7 Days, Last 30 Days, Custom
• Optional previous-period comparison
• Metrics include:
  • views
  • unique visitors
  • returning visitors
  • average session duration
  • likes/comments/bookmarks/shares/dislikes/subscribers

Key Routes

• / - home feed
• /analytics - creator analytics
• /following - followed authors feed
• /moderation - moderation tools
• /notifications - notification center
• /search - advanced search
• /yourPosts - creator post management

What To Build Next

Recommended next features in order:

1. Best Publish Time Engine

   • Heatmap by weekday/hour
   • Suggest publish window based on historical engagement

2. Creator Goal Tracking

   • Weekly targets (views, comments, followers)
   • Progress cards and streaks in analytics

3. Saved Search + Alert Subscriptions

   • Let users save filters
   • Notify when matching new posts appear

4. Post A/B Title Experiments

   • Try title variants
   • Compare CTR and engagement over time

5. Team Roles for Authors

   • Owner/editor/moderator permissions
   • Shared moderation and publishing workflows

Troubleshooting

• If next dev says port is in use, stop old Node processes and restart.
• If analytics or scheduling errors mention missing DB columns, run:
  • npx drizzle-kit migrate
• If image errors mention unconfigured host, verify next.config.ts includes your image host in images.remotePatterns.

License

Private project.