ClientForge by Ripple Nexus

ClientForge is the enterprise-grade Operations Workspace and Client Portal for Ripple Nexus. It handles complex, multi-currency invoicing, client onboarding, deliverable management, secure file sharing, and automated lifecycle communication for the Career Booster program and beyond.

Built for Vercel edge deployments with a strict focus on security, performance, and production reliability.

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🌟 Core Features

• Billing & Invoices: Multi-currency support (INR via Razorpay, USD/International via PayPal). Dynamic pricing, live exchange rates, and automated receipt generation.
• Career Portal (Client-Facing): Secure client dashboard protected by Magic Links and PIN login. Clients can download deliverables, request revisions, and chat directly with the admin team.
• Admin Workspace: Centralized hub to manage clients, upload files (resumes, LinkedIn banners), track email deliverability, and handle revision requests.
• Robust File Storage: Cloudinary integration for deliverables, hardened to respect Vercel's strict 4.5MB serverless payload limits.
• Automation Engine: Consolidated background cron jobs (/api/cron/daily) to handle reminder emails, invoice expiration, and account lifecycles—optimized specifically for the Vercel Free Plan.
• Asynchronous Webhooks: Both Razorpay and PayPal webhooks utilize @vercel/functions waitUntil() to process heavy database and email tasks in the background, preventing serverless timeouts.
• Enterprise Security: Rate limiting on authentication routes, strict database typings via Prisma, and edge middleware for route protection.

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⚡ Quick Start

1. Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• PostgreSQL (Supabase or Neon free tier recommended)
• Cloudinary Account (for file uploads)
• Resend Account (for transactional emails)

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Configure Environment Variables

Copy .env.example to .env.local and fill in all required keys. See .env.example for detailed instructions on acquiring keys.

Critical Requirements for Deployment:

• NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL
• DATABASE_URL (Pooling enabled, e.g. ?pgbouncer=true)
• DIRECT_URL (No pooling, for migrations)
• Payment Keys: RAZORPAY_KEY_ID, RAZORPAY_KEY_SECRET, PAYPAL_CLIENT_ID, PAYPAL_CLIENT_SECRET
• Email & Storage: RESEND_API_KEY, CLOUDINARY_API_KEY, CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET
• Security: ADMIN_PASSWORD, ADMIN_SESSION_SECRET, CAREER_PORTAL_SECRET

4. Database Setup

Push the strict Prisma schema to your database:

npx prisma generate
npx prisma db push

Create your first admin user (uses ADMIN_PASSWORD from .env.local):

node create-admin.js

5. Run Development Server

npm run dev

• Admin Dashboard: http://localhost:3000/login
• Client Portal: http://localhost:3000/portal/login

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🚀 Production Deployment (Vercel)

ClientForge is heavily optimized for Vercel.

1. Push your code to GitHub.
2. Import the repository into Vercel.
3. Add all environment variables from .env.local into Vercel's Environment Variables settings.
4. Deploy.

Post-Deployment Checklist

• Cron Jobs: Vercel will automatically read vercel.json and schedule the master cron job (/api/cron/daily) to run every day at 10:00 AM UTC. Verify this in the Vercel Dashboard under Settings → Cron Jobs.
• Webhooks: Register your production NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL/api/razorpay/webhook in Razorpay and NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL/api/paypal/webhook in PayPal.

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🗄️ Database Architecture (Prisma)

ClientForge uses a highly relational PostgreSQL schema to link Billing and Deliverables.

• Invoice: Handles line items, currencies, and payment gateway references (razorpayLinkId, razorpayPaymentId).
• CareerClient: The central identity for portal access.
• CareerDeliverable: Tracks files uploaded to Cloudinary, ensuring strict limits and access control.
• RevisionItem & CommentItem: Powers the communication and revision workflows between the admin and the client.
• EmailLog & EmailQueue: Tracks every transactional email sent, enabling the cron engine to retry failed deliveries.

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🔐 Security Posture

• Rate Limiting: Applied to /api/auth/login, /api/career/auth/magic-link, and /api/career/auth/pin-login to prevent brute-force attacks.
• Edge Middleware: Blocks unauthorized access to /api/career/admin/* and protected frontend routes before the request even hits the Node.js runtime.
• Payload Limits: Hard 4MB upload limit enforced across the UI, API, and Edge to prevent 413 Payload Too Large crashes on Vercel.
• Strict Build Enforcement: ignoreBuildErrors: false ensures no code is deployed if there are unhandled TypeScript or React Hook violations.

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📞 Support

Built for Ripple Nexus internal operations.