clue-picker/README.md

Who Did It?

A Clue-themed character preference collector for game parties. Players enter their name, rank their top 3 character choices, and an admin view assigns players to characters (with team overflow when needed).

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React (Vite)
• Backend: Node.js / Express
• Persistence: JSON file (no database)

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+

Setup

1. Install dependencies

cd client
npm install

cd ../server
npm install

2. Environment

Create server/.env (or copy from server/.env.example):

PORT=3001
ADMIN_PASSWORD=clue2024
ALLOWED_NAMES=Jim,Colleen,Rory,Gigi,Meghan,Christine,Bob,Rachel,Chuck

3. Run development servers

Terminal 1 – server:

cd server
npm run dev

Terminal 2 – client:

cd client
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:5173 (or the URL Vite prints). The client proxies /api to the server on port 3001.

Routes

Route	Purpose
/	Name entry (must be in allowed list)
/rank	Rank top 3 character choices
/thanks	Confirmation after submitting picks
/admin	Results dashboard, Assign Teams, Clear

Configuration

• ALLOWED_NAMES: Comma-separated list of player names. Only these names can submit picks. Case-insensitive.
• ADMIN_PASSWORD: Required to clear all submissions (admin panel).

Docker

See DOCKER.md for build, push, and run instructions.

.\docker-build.ps1
.\docker-push.ps1