Server Keepalive

A professional Node.js/Express server designed to keep APIs alive by periodically pinging internal and external endpoints. It features a /api/developer endpoint that returns sarcastic developer messages to mimic human-like activity, helping bypass AI verification. If external APIs are down, it sends push notifications via Expo.

Features

• Internal API: /api/developer returns one of 20 sarcastic developer messages.
• Cron Jobs: Periodically pings internal and external APIs (every 5 minutes by default).
• External API Monitoring: Checks the status of external APIs and logs their availability.
• Push Notifications: Sends Expo push notifications when external APIs are down.
• Environment Variables: Configurable via .env for secure and flexible deployment.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16 or higher)
• npm or yarn
• Expo account for push notifications
• A publicly accessible domain for the server

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/bishaldahal/server-keepalive.git
   cd server-keepalive

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Create a .env file based on .env.example:

   cp .env.example .env

   Update .env with your configuration:

   • PORT: Server port (e.g., 3000)
   • HOSTED_DOMAIN: Public server URL (e.g., https://your-domain.com)
   • EXTERNAL_APIS: Comma-separated list of external API URLs
   • PUSH_TOKENS: Comma-separated list of Expo push tokens

4. Run the server:

   npm start

   For development with auto-restart:

   npm run dev

Configuration

Edit .env to configure:

• PORT: The port the server runs on.
• HOSTED_DOMAIN: The public URL of your server (must use HTTPS in production).
• EXTERNAL_APIS: List of external APIs to monitor (e.g., https://api1.com,https://api2.com).
• PUSH_TOKENS: Expo push tokens for notifications (e.g., ExponentPushToken[xxxx]).

Note: Do not commit .env to version control. Use .env.example as a template.

API Endpoints

• GET /api/developer: Returns a random sarcastic message related to software development.

Deployment

Deploy to a platform like Render, Heroku, or AWS:

1. Set environment variables in the platform’s dashboard.
2. Ensure HOSTED_DOMAIN matches the deployed URL.
3. Verify HTTPS is enabled.
4. Test the /api/developer endpoint and cron jobs.

Security

• Authentication: Consider adding API key authentication to /api/developer for public deployments.
• Environment Variables: Store sensitive data in .env and exclude it from version control.
• HTTPS: Use HTTPS for HOSTED_DOMAIN to ensure secure communication.

Testing

• Local Testing: Use curl https://your-domain.com/api/developer or ngrok for local development.
• Push Notifications: Test with Expo’s push notification tool (https://expo.dev/notifications).
• Cron Jobs: Check server logs to verify internal and external API pings.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or pull request on GitHub.

License

MIT License