What environment variables do a React and Node project need?
The backend needs the database URL, JWT secret, and any API keys. The frontend needs the API URL. Use .env files in each folder and never commit secrets to git.
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More FAQs in How to Set Up a Full Stack React + Node Project Like DevTinder
Decide on one or two repos, set up the Node backend with Express and Mongoose, set up the React frontend with Vite or CRA, use environment variables for config, run both with the right API URL, configure CORS, and organize each codebase by feature.
For a learning project, two folders in one repo is simplest. For production, separate repos are common because they deploy independently and have different lifecycles. Start with one repo while learning and split later if needed.
Run the backend on one port and the frontend on another. Use a proxy in the frontend dev config or set the API URL in env vars, so the frontend calls the right backend during development.
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