A full-stack MERN Starter Project for creating an open-source email marketing platform — similar to AWeber or Mailchimp — that can:

• 📩 Send mass emails to large groups efficiently
• 🤖 Provide AI-powered automated replies
• 📅 Schedule meetings, reply to FAQs, and manage follow-up messages automatically

Frontend: React (Vite or CRA)
Backend: Node.js + Express
Database: MongoDB (Mongoose)
Email Service: Nodemailer / Gmail API / SendGrid (planned)
AI Bot Engine: OpenAI API / Local Model Integration (planned)
Styling: CSS / Tailwind
Routing: React Router v6
Task Scheduling: Node Cron

To create an open-source scalable platform where contributors can collaboratively build:

• Bulk email campaigns
• Contact management system
• Template-based email editor
• AI assistant for automated replies
• Analytics dashboard for sent & opened emails

MailMERN/
│
├── backend/ # Node.js + Express API backend
│ ├── server.js # Main backend entry point
│ ├── routes/ # Express routes
│ │ ├── emailRoutes.js # Routes for sending & managing emails
│ │ ├── userRoutes.js # Routes for authentication & profiles
│ │ └── chatbotRoutes.js # Routes for AI-based auto responses
│ ├── controllers/ # Controller logic for routes
│ │ ├── emailController.js
│ │ ├── userController.js
│ │ └── chatbotController.js
│ ├── models/ # MongoDB models
│ │ ├── User.js
│ │ ├── Campaign.js
│ │ └── Message.js
│ ├── utils/ # Helper files
│ │ ├── sendEmail.js # Nodemailer logic
│ │ ├── openaiClient.js # AI chatbot integration
│ │ └── scheduler.js # Cron job for scheduled emails
│ ├── config/ # DB & server config
│ │ ├── db.js
│ │ └── dotenv.config.js
│ └── .env.example # Example environment variables
│
├── frontend/ # React frontend
│ ├── src/
│ │ ├── pages/ # App pages
│ │ │ ├── Home.jsx
│ │ │ ├── Campaigns.jsx
│ │ │ ├── Chatbot.jsx
│ │ │ ├── Analytics.jsx
│ │ │ ├── About.jsx
│ │ │ ├── Contact.jsx
│ │ │ └── NotFound.jsx
│ │ ├── components/ # Reusable components
│ │ │ ├── Navbar.jsx
│ │ │ ├── Footer.jsx
│ │ │ ├── CampaignCard.jsx
│ │ │ ├── ChatbotWidget.jsx
│ │ │ └── Loader.jsx
│ │ ├── App.jsx # Routing setup
│ │ ├── main.jsx # ReactDOM entry point
│ │ ├── assets/ # Images and icons
│ │ └── styles/ # Global styles
│ ├── package.json
│ └── vite.config.js
│
├── .gitignore
├── package.json # Root file for concurrent scripts
├── README.md # Project documentation
└── LICENSE # Open source license

git clone https://github.com/OPCODE-Open-Spring-Fest/MailMERN.git
cd MailMERN

You can now easily run the entire MailMERN stack (Frontend + Backend + MongoDB) using Docker Compose — no manual setup needed!

Make sure you have these installed:

• Docker
• Docker Compose

Create a .env file inside the backend/ folder (if not already present):

PORT=5000
MONGO_URI=mongodb://mongo:27017/mailmern
EMAIL_USER=[email protected]
EMAIL_PASS=your_app_password
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_key

SMTP_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_SECURE=false # true for 465, false for 587
SMTP_USER=[email protected]
SMTP_PASS=your_app_password
EMAIL_FROM="MailMERN [email protected]"
EMAIL_TEST_TO=[email protected]
NODE_ENV=development

From the project root, run:

docker-compose up --build

This will:

🧩 Start the MongoDB container

⚙️ Run the Express backend on port 5000

💻 Serve the React frontend on port 5173

Once started:

Frontend: http://localhost:5173

Backend API: http://localhost:5000/api

To stop and remove all running containers, use:

docker-compose down

2️⃣ Backend Setup

cd backend
npm install

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

PORT=5000
MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_uri
[email protected]
EMAIL_PASS=your_app_password
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_key

Run the backend:

npm run dev

3️⃣ Frontend Setup

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev

Open: 👉 http://localhost:5173 (Vite) or 👉 http://localhost:3000 (CRA)

4️⃣ Run Both (Optional)

In the root directory, add to package.json:

"scripts": { "start": "concurrently "npm run dev --prefix backend" "npm run dev --prefix frontend"" }

Then simply run:

npm start

The AI Auto Responder chatbot has been successfully implemented! 🎉

• OpenAI Integration: Uses GPT-3.5-turbo for intelligent responses
• Smart Fallback: Predefined responses when OpenAI is unavailable
• Message Categorization: Automatically categorizes queries (greeting, pricing, support, features)
• Sentiment Analysis: Analyzes user message sentiment
• Full Chat Interface: Complete chat page at /chatbot
• Embeddable Widget: Chat widget for any page
• Conversation History: Stores and retrieves chat history
• Analytics: Usage analytics and insights

1. Set up OpenAI API key in your .env file:

   OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key_here

2. Access the chatbot:

   • Visit /chatbot for the full chat interface
   • Use the chat widget on the home page
   • Navigate via the "AI Assistant" link in the navbar

3. API Endpoints:

   • POST /api/chatbot/message - Send messages
   • GET /api/chatbot/history/:userId - Get chat history
   • GET /api/chatbot/analytics/:userId - Get analytics

For detailed documentation, see CHATBOT_README.md

👩‍💻 Contribution Guide

We ❤️ contributions from the community!

Step 1: Fork the Repo from github and then clone it in local pc

git clone https://github.com/OPCODE-Open-Spring-Fest/MailMERN

Step 2: Create a Branch

git checkout -b feat/your-feature-name

Step 3: Make Changes

Add your updates inside frontend or backend folder.

Step 4: Commit & Push

git add .
git commit -m "feat: added <feature>"
git push origin feat/your-feature-name

Step 5: Create a Pull Request

Go to GitHub → Pull Requests → New PR Describe your changes, link related issues, and submit 🚀

🧠 How It Works (Concept)

User uploads contact list (CSV/Excel) → Contacts stored in MongoDB

User creates a campaign → Selects template and message content

System sends emails using Nodemailer / SendGrid → Logs results (sent, failed, bounced)

Incoming replies trigger AI chatbot → Uses OpenAI API to auto-reply, schedule meetings, or answer FAQs

🧪 Scripts Command Description

npm run dev (backend) Start Express server npm run dev (frontend) Start React frontend npm start (root) Run both concurrently 🧩 Future Enhancements

Add JWT authentication

Integrate email tracking via Pixel

Add custom analytics dashboard

Integrate Google Calendar API for scheduling meetings

Support multiple SMTP providers

⚖️ License

This project is open-sourced under the MIT License. You’re free to use, modify, and distribute — just give credit.

Md Irfan Raj
🪪 Code Name: Silver
📧 [email protected]

🌟 Support & Contribution

If you like this project:

⭐ Star this repository

💬 Share feedback in Issues

🚀 Contribute by raising PRs

Together, let’s build an open-source AI-powered mass email platform!

Thanks goes to these wonderful people (emoji key):

sujalgoyall 💻 📖	Shreyanshi210205 💻 📖 🚇	MD IRFAN RAJ 💻 📖 🚇	Tushar Patel 💻	Satvik Singh 💻	Sneha Singh 💻	SHIVA00202 💻
Abhijit Kumar 💻	Nitin Gupta 💻	Koushal G H 💻	Indrasuthar07 💻	Abhijit 💻	Kunj Maheshwari 💻	ADARSH SRIVASTAVA 💻

This project follows the all-contributors specification. Contributions of any kind welcome!