🇮🇳 Indian Freelance Marketplace

A high-performance, full-stack freelancing platform tailored for the Indian gig economy. Connecting skilled freelancers with clients, featuring AI-driven job recommendation scoring, team collaboration, direct messaging with media sharing, and structured project milestone delivery.

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🚀 Key Features

👤 Role-Based Profiles & Credibility

• Dual Role Accounts: Seamless client and freelancer profiles with dedicated dashboards.
• Credibility Scoring: Dynamic freelancer credibility algorithm ($0-100$ scale) calculated based on reviews, project completions, and rating history.
• Rich Portfolios: Display projects with live links, image galleries, and skill tags.

💼 Smart Job Marketplace

• Categorized Search & Discovery: Filter projects by categories, skill requirements, and budget ranges.
• PostgreSQL Full-Text Search: Optimized GinIndex search indexing for fast query matching on job descriptions and titles.
• Job Attachments: Support for PDF spec sheets, images, and document uploads.

🤖 AI Job Recommendation Engine

• Intelligent Job Matching: Custom recommendation engine (/api/recommendations/jobs/) matching freelancers to top jobs based on skill alignment, hourly rates, and credibility scores.

📝 Bidding & Proposal Workflow

• Custom Proposals: Freelancers can submit cover letters, custom budget bids, and delivery timelines.
• Proposal Lifecycle Management: Real-time status transitions (Pending, Accepted, Rejected).

👥 Team & Agency Collaboration

• Job Teams: Form collaborative teams/agencies for multi-freelancer projects and enterprise task delegation.

💬 Direct Messaging & Chat

• In-App Messaging: Real-time communication channels between clients and freelancers for ongoing conversations.
• File Sharing: Attachment upload capabilities built directly into message threads.

📦 Work Submission & Tipping System

• Deliverable Submissions: Dedicated submission portal supporting project files, links, and detailed completion notes.
• Client Reviews & Ratings: Post-project rating system updating freelancer credibility scores.
• Direct Tipping: Clients can send financial bonuses/tips directly to freelancers upon project delivery.

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🛠️ Tech Stack & Architecture

Frontend

• Framework: Next.js 16 (App Router) & React 19
• Language: TypeScript
• Styling: Tailwind CSS v4, PostCSS, Cormorant Garamond & Poppins fonts
• Animations: Framer Motion & AOS (Animate On Scroll)
• State & Auth: NextAuth, React Context API
• Icons & UI: Lucide React & React Icons
• Database Client: Prisma ORM

Backend

• Framework: Django REST Framework (DRF)
• Language: Python 3.10+
• Database: PostgreSQL (with SearchVectorField & GinIndex)
• Authentication: Token-Based Authentication & Django Auth
• Media Storage: Cloudinary / Django File Storage

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📁 Repository Structure

india-freelance/
├── backend/                  # Django REST API Backend
│   ├── api/                  # Core Django application app
│   │   ├── models.py         # Database Schemas (Jobs, Proposals, Chat, Submissions)
│   │   ├── views.py          # API ViewSets & AI recommendation logic
│   │   ├── serializers.py    # DRF Serializers
│   │   ├── urls.py           # REST API endpoints & routing
│   │   └── permissions.py    # Role-based access control
│   ├── backend_project/      # Django settings and WSGI/ASGI configuration
│   └── manage.py             # Django CLI utility
│
├── frontend/                 # Next.js 16 Frontend
│   ├── app/                  # Next.js App Router (Pages, Layouts, API Routes)
│   ├── components/           # Reusable UI Components (Navbar, Cards, Modals)
│   ├── lib/                  # Auth Context, Utilities & API Services
│   ├── prisma/               # Prisma Database Schema & Migrations
│   ├── public/               # Static assets & public media
│   └── tailwind.config.js    # Design System Tokens
└── README.md                 # Project Documentation

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🗄️ Database Architecture

Model	Description	Key Relationships
User / UserProfile	Core authentication & client/freelancer role flags	One-to-One with Django User
FreelancerProfile	Bio, hourly rate, skills, and credibility score ($0-100$)	One-to-One with User
Job	Project postings with budget, search vector index, and status	ForeignKey to Client User, Many-to-Many Skills
Proposal	Freelancer bids with cover letter and bid amount	ForeignKey to Job & Freelancer User
JobTeam	Collaboration group assigned to multi-freelancer projects	ForeignKey to Job, Many-to-Many Freelancers
Conversation / Message	Direct chat messaging thread and attachment files	Many-to-Many Users, ForeignKey to Sender
WorkSubmission	Project work delivery submission with files and URLs	ForeignKey to Job & Freelancer
Review	Client ratings and written feedback	ForeignKey to Job, Client & Freelancer
Tip	Optional monetary bonus given to freelancers	ForeignKey to Job, Client & Freelancer

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📡 API Reference Overview

Auth & User Management

• POST /api/register/ - Register new Client or Freelancer user
• POST /api/login_user/ - Authenticate user & obtain API tokens
• GET /api/profile/ - Fetch current user's profile details

Job Marketplace

• GET /api/jobs/ - List all open job opportunities
• POST /api/jobs/ - Create a new job listing (Client)
• GET /api/recommendations/jobs/ - Get AI recommended jobs for current freelancer

Proposals & Team

• GET/POST /api/proposals/ - Manage job proposals & bid submissions
• GET/POST /api/team/ - Manage project team members and agency structures

Messaging & Delivery

• GET/POST /api/conversations/ - List or start user chat conversations
• GET/POST /api/messages/ - Send and view messages with file attachments
• POST /api/submissions/ - Submit completed project work
• POST /api/reviews/ - Submit client rating and feedback
• POST /api/tips/ - Send direct tip to freelancer

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⚡ Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js: v18.0.0 or higher
• Python: 3.10 or higher
• PostgreSQL: Local or hosted database instance

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1. Backend Setup

# Navigate to backend directory
cd backend

# Create a virtual environment
python -m venv venv

# Activate virtual environment
# Windows:
venv\Scripts\activate
# macOS/Linux:
source venv/bin/activate

# Install required dependencies
pip install django djangorestframework django-cors-headers psycopg2-binary pillow cloudinary

# Apply database migrations
python manage.py migrate

# Start the Django development server
python manage.py runserver

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2. Frontend Setup

# Navigate to frontend directory
cd frontend

# Install Node dependencies
npm install

# Setup environment variables (.env.local)
# Add backend API URL and NextAuth secrets

# Run Next.js development server
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser to view the application.

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🔐 Environment Configuration

Backend (backend/.env)

SECRET_KEY=your_django_secret_key
DEBUG=True
DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:password@localhost:5432/india_freelance_db
CLOUDINARY_URL=cloudinary://api_key:api_secret@cloud_name

Frontend (frontend/.env.local)

NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:8000/api
NEXTAUTH_SECRET=your_nextauth_secret_key
NEXTAUTH_URL=http://localhost:3000

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Follow these steps to contribute:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

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📄 License

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for more details.