fineartsuite

FineArtSuite

FineArtSuite is a minimal gallery website project. The repository now ships a small Node.js/Express application using EJS templates for rendering pages.

Running the site locally

The project now includes a small Node.js/Express application with SQLite persistence. Install dependencies and start the server:

npm install
npm start

On first run the application will create a gallery.db SQLite file in the project root populated with demo data. Remove this file if you want to start with an empty database.

After running the server, visit http://localhost:3000 in your browser to view the homepage.

Configuration

The server reads credentials and session configuration from environment variables. Most have development-friendly defaults, but SESSION_SECRET must always be provided:

• ADMIN_USERNAME – username for the admin login (defaults to admin)
• ADMIN_PASSWORD – password for the admin login (defaults to password)
• SESSION_SECRET – secret used to sign session cookies (required; set to a secure value)
• DB_FILE – optional path to the SQLite database file (defaults to gallery.db)
• USE_DEMO_AUTH – set to true to automatically log into admin pages

Set these variables before starting the server. The application will refuse to start if SESSION_SECRET is not defined.

When USE_DEMO_AUTH is disabled (the default), all /dashboard routes require logging in. Set the variable to true during development to bypass the login form for convenience.

Flash messages are provided using the connect-flash middleware. These messages give feedback after actions such as logging in or editing records.

Rate limiting

The /login endpoint allows up to five requests per minute from a single IP address. When this limit is exceeded the server responds with HTTP 429, which helps protect against brute-force attempts.

Sessions

Session data is persisted using connect-sqlite3. Running npm install will install this dependency and the application will create a sessions.db file in the project root to store session data. Session cookies are configured with the secure flag when NODE_ENV is set to production and always use the httpOnly flag for improved security.

Running with Docker

To build and start the application in a container:

docker build -t fineartsuite .
docker run -p 3000:3000 -e SESSION_SECRET=changeme fineartsuite

The Docker image uses a multi-stage build to compile Tailwind CSS, ensuring the frontend assets are bundled and styled when the container starts.

The container stores data in a SQLite file. To persist it outside the container mount a volume and point DB_FILE at the mounted path:

docker run -p 3000:3000 \
  -e SESSION_SECRET=changeme \
  -v $(pwd)/data:/app/data \
  -e DB_FILE=/app/data/gallery.db \
  fineartsuite

Gallery pages

Navigating to /demo-gallery or another gallery slug will display a public gallery page. Gallery, artist and artwork data is loaded from the SQLite database.

Custom domain setup

Each gallery is served from a URL in the form https://your-domain/{gallerySlug}. To use a custom domain for your gallery:

1. Purchase and manage your domain through a DNS provider.
2. Create a CNAME record pointing your chosen domain (for example, gallery.yourdomain.com) to your gallery’s default URL (for example, yourgallery.fineartsuite.com).
3. Allow time for DNS propagation. This process can take up to 24 hours.

If you need assistance configuring a custom domain, open an issue in this repository or email the maintainers at support@example.com.

Planned gallery features

The current page is only a basic landing page. Future improvements may include:

• A dedicated gallery page showing artwork thumbnails
• Upload functionality for adding new pieces
• Navigation enhancements and styling refinements
• Search and filtering tools for visitors

Admin upload page

After logging in you can upload new artwork at /dashboard/upload. The form provides fields for the artwork details along with an image preview before submitting.

Sample EJS snippets

Styled navigation bar:

<nav class="flex flex-col items-center justify-between p-4 border-b border-gray-300 md:flex-row">
  <a href="/" class="text-2xl font-bold">FineArtSuite</a>
  <div class="flex space-x-4 mt-2 md:mt-0">
    <a href="/galleries" class="hover:underline">Galleries</a>
    <a href="/artists" class="hover:underline">Artists</a>
  </div>
</nav>

Clean hero heading:

<section class="text-center py-24">
  <h1 class="text-5xl font-bold mb-6">Discover Modern Art</h1>
  <p class="text-gray-600">Explore our curated collection.</p>
</section>

Two-column layout of artwork thumbnails:

<div class="grid grid-cols-1 sm:grid-cols-2 gap-6">
  <% artworks.forEach(art => { %>
    <a href="/artworks/<%= art.id %>" class="block">
      <img src="<%= art.image %>" alt="<%= art.title %>" class="w-full mb-2"/>
      <h3 class="font-semibold"><%= art.title %></h3>
    </a>
  <% }) %>
</div>

Running tests

The project uses Node’s built-in test runner for basic route tests. After installing dependencies, run:

npm test

This will start the application in test mode and verify that the homepage and a sample gallery page respond correctly.

Deployment on Render

The repository includes a render.yaml file for deploying the app to Render. Create a new Web Service using this repository and Render will apply the provided build and start commands. The configuration sets default environment variables and mounts a small persistent disk for the SQLite database. Be sure to configure a strong SESSION_SECRET environment variable in your Render service; the application will not start without one.

License

FineArtSuite is released under the ISC License.

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