dropservice

Node.js REST API that stores messages for one-time access within 24 hours. Service is live here.

This is an experimental project - Use at your own risk!

Endpoints

POST /drop

Makes a drop - A message that is encrypted and stored for approximately 24 hours, and self-destructs upon retrieval (can only be retrieved once).

Set the body of your request to a JSON object with a single key/value pair. The key must be message.

Example:

fetch('http://drop-service.herokuapp.com/drop', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
        "Content-Type": "application/json"
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
        message: 'Hello, world!'
    })
})
.then(res => res.json())
.then(data => {
  // Log the response to the console
  console.log(data);
});

Sample responses (/drop)

// Successful request
{
  details: "Write to database succeeded!",
  id: "5a93744897320d091c044a26",
  writeSucceeded: true
}

// Failed request
{
  details: "Invalid request - Define the 'message' property in your request!",
  writeSucceeded: false
}

GET /retrieve/:id

Retrieves a drop and deletes it permanently from storage. Its message is decrypted and sent back in the response. The drop cannot be retrieved again.

Set the ID of the drop you would like retrieve as a route parameter in your GET request.

  fetch('http://drop-service.herokuapp.com/retrieve/5a93744897320d091c044a26')
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(data => {
    // Do something with the data
    console.log(data)
  });

Sample responses (/retrieve/:id)

// Successful request
{
  deletedId: "5a93744897320d091c044a26",
  details: "Deleted document with id 5a93744897320d091c044a26.",
  message: "This is the text of a message someone dropped."
}

// Failed request
{
  deletedId: null,
  details: "Could not find document with id 5a93744897320d091c044a26. Nothing deleted.",
  message: null
}

Basic Functionality

• [Done] On receipt of a POST request:
  • Validate the data, if necessary
  • Insert message into a collection in a MongoDB data store
  • On success, return the document's ID
  • On error, return an error message
• [Done] On receipt of a GET request with a specific ID:
  • Find the document by ID in MongoDB
  • If found:
    • Read the document's contents
    • Delete the document from the database
    • Return the document's contents
  • If not found:
    • Return an error message

Enhancements

• [Done] Encryption at rest
  • For POST requests, encrypt the message before storage
  • For GET requests, decrypt the message after reading/deleting from the database
• Use HTTPS for all communication
• [Done] Delete stored messages after 24 hours
  • Run batch deletion once per day, or
  • Schedule to run exactly 24 hours after creation, for every message