📦 Boxes - Smart Moving & Storage Management

Boxes is a comprehensive box management application that helps you organize your belongings during moves or storage. Track your boxes, find your items, and collaborate with friends - all from your web browser or mobile device.

✨ Features

🏷️ Smart Box Tracking

• Create and label boxes with names, numbers, and types
• Add custom fields for any additional information
• Nest boxes within boxes for complex organization
• Quick search and filtering by any attribute

📸 Photo Documentation

• Take photos of boxes and their contents
• AI-powered content recognition (coming soon)
• Multiple photos per box with custom ordering
• Visual reference when unpacking

🏠 Room Organization

• Create rooms with locations
• Assign boxes to current and target rooms
• Filter boxes by room or location
• Track your move progress

👥 Collaborate with Friends

• Connect with friends using QR codes
• View each other's boxes to help coordinate
• Accept/reject connection requests
• Privacy-first sharing

🔒 Secure Authentication

• Passkey-first: No passwords to remember
• Biometric login support
• Email verification for new accounts
• Secure token-based API authentication

📱 Multi-Platform

• Responsive web application
• Native iOS app (in development)
• Native Android app (in development)
• Sync across all devices

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• PHP 8.3 or higher
• Composer
• Node.js and npm (for frontend assets)
• SQLite, PostgreSQL, or MySQL

Backend Setup

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/winfried-van-loon/Boxes.git
cd Boxes/backend

2. Install dependencies

composer install

3. Configure environment

cp .env.example .env
php artisan key:generate

4. Set up database

# For SQLite (default)
touch database/database.sqlite

# Run migrations
php artisan migrate

5. Create storage link

php artisan storage:link

6. Start the development server

php artisan serve

The API will be available at http://localhost:8000

Frontend Setup (Coming Soon)

• Web application using Vue.js or React
• Mobile apps using React Native or Flutter

📖 API Documentation

Authentication Endpoints

Register

POST /api/auth/register
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "John Doe",
  "email": "john@example.com"
}

Verify Email

POST /api/auth/verify-email
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "token": "verification_token_from_email"
}

Login

POST /api/auth/login
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "email": "john@example.com"
}

Box Management

List Boxes

GET /api/boxes?search=kitchen&current_room_id=1
Authorization: Bearer {token}

Create Box

POST /api/boxes
Authorization: Bearer {token}
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "Kitchen Utensils",
  "number": "K-001",
  "type": "Medium Cardboard",
  "current_room_id": 1,
  "target_room_id": 2,
  "description": "All kitchen items",
  "custom_fields": {
    "fragile": true,
    "priority": "high"
  }
}

Upload Photo

POST /api/boxes/{id}/photos
Authorization: Bearer {token}
Content-Type: multipart/form-data

photo: [file]

Add Item to Box

POST /api/boxes/{id}/items
Authorization: Bearer {token}
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "Spatula",
  "quantity": 2,
  "description": "Silicone spatulas"
}

Room Management

Create Room

POST /api/rooms
Authorization: Bearer {token}
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "Kitchen",
  "location": "First Floor",
  "description": "Main kitchen area"
}

User Connections

Generate QR Code

POST /api/connections/generate-qr
Authorization: Bearer {token}

Returns QR code as base64 image and connection URL.

Connect with Token

POST /api/connections/connect
Authorization: Bearer {token}
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "token": "connection_token_from_qr"
}

🧪 Testing

Run the test suite:

cd backend
php artisan test

Run specific test file:

php artisan test --filter BoxTest

🏗️ Project Structure

Boxes/
├── backend/                 # Laravel application
│   ├── app/
│   │   ├── Http/
│   │   │   └── Controllers/
│   │   │       └── Api/    # API controllers
│   │   ├── Models/         # Eloquent models
│   │   └── Policies/       # Authorization policies
│   ├── database/
│   │   ├── migrations/     # Database migrations
│   │   └── factories/      # Model factories
│   ├── routes/
│   │   ├── api.php         # API routes
│   │   └── web.php         # Web routes
│   └── tests/              # Tests
├── mobile/                 # Mobile apps (coming soon)
└── frontend/               # Web frontend (coming soon)

🔧 Configuration

Environment Variables

Key variables in .env:

APP_NAME=Boxes
APP_ENV=local
APP_URL=http://localhost:8000

DB_CONNECTION=sqlite
# DB_CONNECTION=mysql for production

CACHE_DRIVER=file
SESSION_DRIVER=file

MAIL_MAILER=smtp
# Configure mail settings for email verification

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these guidelines:

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

Development Guidelines

• Follow PSR-12 coding standards
• Write tests for new features
• Update documentation as needed
• Keep commits atomic and well-described

📝 License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

👥 Authors

• Winfried van Loon - Initial work - @winfried-van-loon

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Laravel framework and community
• WebAuthn specification contributors
• All open source packages used in this project

📧 Support

For support, please open an issue on GitHub or contact the maintainers.

🗺️ Roadmap

v1.0 (Current)

• Laravel backend with API
• Box management
• Room organization
• User connections via QR codes
• Landing page

v1.1 (Next)

• WebAuthn passkey implementation
• Email verification system
• Photo AI recognition
• Web frontend (Vue.js/React)

v1.2

• React Native mobile apps
• Offline mode
• Push notifications
• Barcode scanning

v2.0

• Move timeline
• Shared boxes
• Export/import data
• Analytics dashboard

💡 Use Cases

• Moving to a new home: Track all your boxes from packing to unpacking
• Long-term storage: Remember what's in storage without digging through boxes
• Seasonal items: Organize holiday decorations, sports equipment, etc.
• Collaborative moves: Coordinate with friends or family helping you move
• Business storage: Organize inventory or archived materials

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Made with ❤️ by the Boxes team