Qalam-LMS

A learning management system for university students.

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Table of Contents

• Project Description
• Core Functionalities
• Tech Stack
• Prerequisites
• How to Run
  • 1. Clone the repository
  • 2. Install dependencies
  • 3. Set up the MySQL databases
  • 4. Configure database credentials
  • 5. Start the application
• Project Structure
• Available Scripts
• How to Contribute
• Project Images
• License

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Project Description

Qalam is a learning management system for university students. It is made in Node/Express with MySQL as the backend database. It utilizes Sequelize ORM for database operations. It uses EJS templating engine to render views. It has a fully responsive UI design to maintain responsiveness across all devices.

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Core Functionalities

1. User Registration and Login: Users can easily register and create an account. They can log in using their credentials to access the app's features.
2. Admin Login: It allows the admin to log in and create courses, upload content to the courses, and delete courses as well.
3. Student Login: It provides students to log in, register, and edit their user profile. It allows students to enroll in different courses, access course material, and download them.
4. Dashboard: The app has a dashboard to display all active courses, ongoing/completed courses as well as other options such as a calendar.

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Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Runtime	Node.js
Web Framework	Express
Database	MySQL
ORM	Sequelize
Views	EJS
Authentication	express-session, bcryptjs
Security	csurf (CSRF protection)
File Uploads	multer
Validation	express-validator
Dev Tooling	nodemon

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Prerequisites

Make sure the following are installed and available on your machine before running the project:

• Node.js (v16 or later recommended) and npm (bundled with Node.js)
• MySQL Server (v5.7 or later) running locally on port 3306
• Git

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How to Run

To run this project on your local environment, follow the steps below.

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/u01qureshi/Qalam-LMS.git
cd Qalam-LMS

2. Install dependencies

Using npm:

npm install

Or using yarn:

yarn install

3. Set up the MySQL databases

The application uses two MySQL databases:

• lms — stores application data (students, courses, course content, enrollments).
• session — stores user sessions (created automatically on first run).

Create the databases by logging into the MySQL shell and running:

CREATE DATABASE lms;
CREATE DATABASE session;

The application tables are created automatically on startup via sequelize.sync() — you only need to create the empty databases above.

4. Configure database credentials

The database connection details are defined in two places. Update them to match your local MySQL credentials before running:

• Application database — utils/database.js

  const sequelize = new Sequelize('lms', '<your-db-user>', '<your-db-password>', {
      dialect: 'mysql',
      host: 'localhost'
  });

• Session store — app.js

  const options = {
      connectionLimit: 10,
      password: '<your-db-password>',
      user: '<your-db-user>',
      database: 'session',
      host: 'localhost',
      port: 3306,
      createDatabaseTable: true
  }

Security note: Credentials and session secrets are currently hardcoded. For a production deployment, move these values into environment variables (e.g. via a .env file loaded with dotenv) and never commit secrets to source control.

5. Start the application

npm run start

This starts the server with nodemon (auto-reload on file changes). Once running, open your browser at:

http://localhost:3000

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Project Structure

Qalam-LMS/
├── app.js                 # Application entry point & server setup
├── controllers/           # Route handler logic
│   ├── admin.js
│   ├── auth.js
│   ├── course.js
│   └── student.js
├── middleware/
│   └── is_Auth.js         # Authentication guard
├── models/                # Sequelize models
│   ├── course.js
│   ├── course-content.js
│   ├── student.js
│   └── StudentCourse.js
├── routes/                # Express route definitions
│   ├── admin.js
│   ├── auth.js
│   ├── course.js
│   └── student.js
├── views/                 # EJS templates
├── public/                # Static CSS & client-side JS
├── assets/                # Images, logos, SVGs
├── uploads/               # User-uploaded files
└── utils/
    └── database.js        # Sequelize/MySQL connection

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Available Scripts

Command	Description
npm run start	Starts the server with nodemon (development/auto-reload).

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How to Contribute

To contribute into the project, look for already opened issues or open an issue and get it assigned to work on it. Clone the project, create a pull request with meaningful description and link the issue it resolves for better clarity.

Please also review the Contributing Guidelines and the Code of Conduct before submitting changes.

Leave a star ⭐ if you like the project

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Project Images

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License

This project is licensed under the ISC License. See the LICENSE file for details.