Add Push/Email Notification System for Auction Events

Summary

Implements push and email notification endpoints to alert sellers on important auction events, ensuring sellers stay informed in real-time about new bids, auction expiry, and bid acceptance.

Features

• ✅ Email Notifications: HTML email alerts using Nodemailer
• ✅ Push Notifications: Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) support
• ✅ REST API Endpoints: Get, mark as read, and manage notifications
• ✅ Automatic Triggers: Notifications sent automatically on:
  • New bids placed on seller's auctions
  • Bid acceptance by seller
  • Auction expiring soon (24h before expiry)
  • Auction expired
• ✅ Scheduled Jobs: Automated cron jobs check for expiring/expired auctions

API Endpoints

• GET /api/notifications - Get all notifications (with pagination)
• GET /api/notifications/unread-count - Get unread count
• PATCH /api/notifications/:id/read - Mark notification as read
• PATCH /api/notifications/read-all - Mark all as read
• DELETE /api/notifications/:id - Delete notification

Technical Details

• Email: Nodemailer with HTML templates
• Push: Firebase Admin SDK (optional)
• Scheduler: node-cron for automated expiry checks
• Database: MongoDB notification model with read/unread tracking

Files Added

• src/models/notification.model.ts
• src/services/notification.service.ts
• src/services/auctionScheduler.service.ts
• src/controllers/notification.controller.ts
• src/routes/notificationRoutes.ts

Files Modified

• package.json - Added firebase-admin and node-cron
• src/app.ts - Added notification routes
• src/server.ts - Initialized scheduler
• src/controllers/auction.controller.ts - Integrated notification triggers

Environment Variables

EMAIL_USER=[email protected]
EMAIL_PASS=your-app-password
FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:3000
FIREBASE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT={...} # Optional

Testing

• ✅ Notifications triggered on new bids
• ✅ Notifications triggered on bid acceptance
• ✅ Scheduled jobs for expiry notifications
• ✅ API endpoints tested and working

Benefits

• Enhanced seller engagement
• Real-time auction updates
• Improved user experience
• Critical auction events never missed