Digital Lost & Found App
A web app to report lost/found items, browse listings, and manage claims through a simple admin flow. Built as a clean CRUD-style system with clear user navigation.
Project Summary
My role
Full-stack (routes, views, storage, UI flow)
Type
Course project (Node.js & Express)
Core features
Report lost/found, view items, admin mark claimed, search
Data storage
JSON file-based storage (no database)
Problem
Lost items happen often, but people don’t have a simple way to post details, browse matching items, and track status in one place.
Solution
A structured web app that lets users submit lost/found reports, view a combined list, and allows an admin to update status when items are claimed.
Key Features
- Home navigation with clear entry points
- Report Lost form (name, description, contact, location, date)
- Report Found form (parallel flow to lost)
- View Items page showing submitted listings
- Admin page to mark items as claimed
- Search by item name (client-side filtering)
Technical Implementation
- Express routing for each flow (lost/found/items/admin)
- EJS templates for consistent UI pages
- JSON file storage using read/write operations
- Basic input validation and clean UX structure
Outcome
- Working end-to-end submission flow
- Clear separation of lost vs found reporting
- Admin can update status to keep listings accurate
- Simple search helps users find relevant items faster
What I Learned
- How to structure Express routes + EJS views cleanly
- How CRUD-like workflows translate into real UI flows
- How small UI decisions improve usability a lot
- How file-based JSON storage works as a lightweight “DB”
Screenshot
Home page UI (navigation + main actions).
Future Improvements
- Add image upload for items
- Add better matching (category + location-based suggestions)
- Add authentication for admin actions
- Move from JSON storage to a real database (MongoDB/MySQL)