Contact List Manager

This is my submission for the Software Engineer Take-Home Assessment. The app is a simple contact list manager built with a Node.js/Express backend and a React (Vite) frontend.

How to Run the App

Backend

1. Open a terminal and go to the backend folder:

   cd backend

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Start the backend server:

   npm start

   The backend will run on http://localhost:4000

Frontend

1. Open a new terminal and go to the frontend folder:

   cd frontend

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Start the frontend app:

   npm run dev

   The frontend will run on http://localhost:5173

Features

• Add a contact with name and email
• View all contacts
• Search contacts by name or email (case-insensitive)
• Prevents adding duplicate emails
• Handles empty fields with error messages

Design Decisions & Trade-offs

• I used in-memory storage for the backend to keep things simple and easy to run locally. This means contacts are lost if the backend restarts.
• The search is done on the backend for efficiency, but the UI updates as you type.
• I focused on clean, readable code and clear error handling.

Edge Cases Handled

• Duplicate emails are not allowed (shows an error)
• Both name and email are required (shows an error)
• Search works for both name and email, and is case-insensitive

Improvements I Would Make

• Add the ability to delete contacts
• Use a database for persistent storage
• Add automated tests for backend and frontend
• Improve the UI/UX with better styling and feedback