Orbit Four

1. What the product is

OrbitFour is a Domain Name Registrar and Management Portal. It's a platform designed to allow users to search for, purchase, and manage internet domains, as well as handle their associated DNS and contact records. It interfaces with the Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP) to register domains directly with registries.

The primary audience seems to be businesses or individuals who need a streamlined interface to buy domains, manage domain renewals/billing, and adjust DNS settings, functioning much like a modern GoDaddy or Namecheap alternative.

2. Main features and functionality

Based on the v1.js API routes and the database models (server/app/models), the platform's core capabilities include:

• Domain Purchasing & Cart: A shopping cart system (cartItem, cartItemDomain) hooked into TLD (Top Level Domain) pricing models (tld.js, tldpricing.js), culminating in a checkout flow.
• Domain & DNS Management: Functionality for users to manage their purchased domains and adjust DNS records (/domains and /dns API routes).
• Billing & Subscriptions: Full payment processing and subscription lifecycle management via Stripe, including webhook listeners for automatic payment updates.
• EPP Contact Management: Creating and managing domain ownership contacts (Registrant, Admin, Tech) formatted specifically for the EPP standard (eppContacts.js).
• Authentication & Security: Robust user accounts with Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Role-Based Access Control (role.js, userpermission.js), login history tracking, and active session management.
• Auditing: Comprehensive audit logging (auditlog.js, auditevent.js) tracking administrative and user actions across the platform for compliance and security.

3. Tech Stack and Architecture

The project is structured as a monolithic repository containing both a server and a client application, orchestrated via Docker.

Frontend (Client):

• Framework: Nuxt.js 2 (Server-Side Rendered Vue.js framework).
• Styling: A hybrid approach using both TailwindCSS (utility classes) and Bootstrap-Vue (component library), processed with Sass.
• State Management: Vuex (store directory).
• API Communication: @nuxtjs/axios for interacting with the backend.

Backend (Server):

• Runtime/Framework: Node.js running Express.js.
• Database & ORM: PostgreSQL managed via Sequelize ORM (with a rich set of migrations and seeders).
• Authentication: Passport.js utilizing JWTs and local strategies, alongside bcrypt for password hashing.
• Storage & Email: AWS SDK (S3 for object storage, SES for emails) alongside SendGrid for transactional messaging.

Infrastructure:

• Containerization: Docker & docker-compose for local development and database provisioning.

4. Notable UI patterns, data models, or integrations

• Stripe Integration: Deeply integrated into the data model with specific entities for stripeCustomer, stripeSubscription, and transaction. The backend listens to Stripe Webhooks to keep domain statuses synced with payment statuses.
• EPP (Extensible Provisioning Protocol): The application relies on external EPP_API_URL and EPP_REDIRECT_URL environment variables, acting as a portal wrapper around a lower-level EPP domain registration engine.
• Componentized API Architecture: Unlike traditional MVC monoliths, the Express backend is structured using a "Components" pattern (server/app/components), grouping routes, controllers, and specific logic by domain (e.g., /users, /domains, /checkout, /dns), making it highly modular.
• OAuth Provider Capabilities: The database includes an oauth.js model and the API has an /oauth route, indicating this portal might also act as an Identity Provider (IdP) or API provider allowing third-party apps to act on a user's behalf.