DevTinder Database Schema Overview

DevTinder Database Schema Overview

DevTinder uses MongoDB with Mongoose. Here is the schema overview for its main collections.

User

_id: ObjectId
firstName: String, required
lastName: String, required
email: String, required, unique, lowercase
passwordHash: String, required
age: Number, min 18
gender: String, enum ['male', 'female', 'other']
photoUrl: String
about: String, default 'Hey there! I am using DevTinder.'
skills: [String]
createdAt: Date
updatedAt: Date

Index: unique on email. Notes: Never return passwordHash in responses.

ConnectionRequest

_id: ObjectId
fromUserId: ObjectId, ref 'User', required
toUserId: ObjectId, ref 'User', required
status: String, enum ['ignored', 'interested', 'accepted', 'rejected'], required
createdAt: Date
updatedAt: Date

Index: compound unique on (fromUserId, toUserId). Notes: Prevents duplicate swipe attempts.

Connection (Match)

_id: ObjectId
user1Id: ObjectId, ref 'User', required
user2Id: ObjectId, ref 'User', required
createdAt: Date

Index: unique on (user1Id, user2Id) with user1Id < user2Id ordering. Prevents duplicate matches in either direction. Notes: A match is created when both users swipe interested on each other.

Message

_id: ObjectId
connectionId: ObjectId, ref 'Connection', required
senderId: ObjectId, ref 'User', required
text: String, required
createdAt: Date

Index: compound on (connectionId, createdAt). For fast room history loads.

Payment

_id: ObjectId
userId: ObjectId, ref 'User', required
orderId: String, required (Razorpay order id)
paymentId: String
amount: Number, required
currency: String, default 'INR'
status: String, enum ['created', 'paid', 'failed'], required
createdAt: Date

Index: on userId for the user's payment history.

Subscription

_id: ObjectId
userId: ObjectId, ref 'User', required, unique
plan: String, enum ['free', 'premium']
validUntil: Date
createdAt: Date

Design Notes

• Use refs, not embedded arrays, for relations with large N (messages, connections).
• Use populate to join on read.
• Keep documents small. Avoid unbounded array growth.
• Index the queries you actually run, not every field.

The Takeaway

DevTinder main collections: User, ConnectionRequest, Connection, Message, Payment, Subscription. Index the queries you run. Use refs for large-N relations. Keep documents small. Never return passwordHash.