ForkNight

“Pretty sure you’ve heard of Fortnite… But have you ever tried ForkNight?”

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🚨 Problem Statement

Open source is powerful — it builds the internet, fuels our frameworks, and gives us superpowers as developers.

But let’s be honest: contributing to open source often feels more like a chore than a challenge.
You're not rewarded, recognized, or even remembered.

You might Push 5 commits, Fix 3 annoying bugs, Review 2 pull requests...

And you get? No XP, No high-fives, No loot , Just digital silence :(

Meanwhile, Fortnite rewards you for showing up. Duolingo throws a party when you do 5 minutes of Spanish.
Why doesn’t GitHub say “Nice work!” when you fix an issue that’s been open for 6 months?

The result?

💔 Developers burn out.
🚪 Contributors leave after a few PRs.
🧠 Talented devs stay hidden in GitHub’s shadows.

We’re developers too. We’ve been there.

That's the real bug.

That's what ForkNight is here to solve.

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👾 What If...

• Fixing bugs gave you badges instead of burnout?
• PRs unlocked power-ups?
• Commits earned XP and leveled you up?
• You had a leaderboard for your open source grind?

💡 Welcome to ForkNight.

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🧠 Strategy

We’re turning every GitHub action into a game mechanic:

• 🏆 Earn XP for GitHub contributions (PRs, issues, reviews)
• 🧩 Unlock badges like “Bug Slayer” and “Merge Master”
• 📈 Track levels — from Squire Coder to Open Source Knight
• 🔥 Maintain streaks and earn bonus XP
• 🥇 Compete on leaderboards across teams and events

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🧰 Tech Stack

• 💻 Frontend: React + Tailwind CSS (retro-themed responsive UI)
• 🧠 Backend: Node.js + Express (handles game logic and APIs)
• 🗄️ Database: MongoDB (stores users, XP, badges, and leaderboards)
• 🔐 Auth & Sync: GitHub OAuth + GitHub REST API

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🚀 Demo

Curious to see ForkNight in action? Get ready to level up your open source game!

🎮 Live Demo Video: click to view demo

🌐 Link To ForkNight:

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🤝 Contributing

We love contributions! ForkNight is open to pull requests, issues, and ideas. Here's how to get started:

1. Clone the Repo

git clone https://github.com/your-username/forknight.git
cd forknight

2. Install Dependencies

Backend (server/)

cd server
npm install

Frontend (client/)

cd ../client
npm install

3. Environment Setup

Create a .env file inside the server/ directory with the following:

GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id
GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret
SESSION_SECRET=your_session_secret
MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string

⚠️ Never commit .env files!

4. Run the App

Open two terminal windows(split terminal):

Terminal 1: Start the backend

cd server
npm run dev

Terminal 2: Start the frontend

cd client
npm run dev

Go to http://localhost:5144 in your browser.

Have Fun Contributing!

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