CertiNova - Bulk Certificate Generation Platform

A comprehensive, secure, and user-friendly platform for creating, managing, and distributing certificates in bulk. CertiNova enables organizations to generate personalized certificates efficiently while maintaining data security through advanced encryption.

Overview

CertiNova is a full-stack web application designed to streamline the certificate generation process for educational institutions, organizations, and event coordinators. The platform combines intuitive design with robust security features to handle bulk certificate creation while protecting sensitive recipient data.

Problem Statement

Traditional certificate generation involves:

Manual creation of individual certificates
Time-consuming personalization processes
Security concerns with recipient data storage
Limited customization options
Difficulty in managing large recipient lists

Solution

CertiNova addresses these challenges by providing:

Automated Bulk Generation: Generate hundreds of personalized certificates simultaneously
Advanced Security: End-to-end AES-256 encryption for all recipient data
Visual Editor: Drag-and-drop interface for certificate design
Smart Field Positioning: Precise placement of dynamic content with live preview
URL-based Verification: Public-facing verifiable certificate links
Modern UI/UX: Intuitive, premium interface built with modern design principles

Key Features

Certificate Design Studio

Visual Drag-and-Drop Editor for precise placement of certificate fields
Custom Template Upload — bring your own certificate background via image upload
Dynamic Field Types: Recipient Name, Organisation Name, Rank/Position, Certificate Link, QR Code
Typography Controls: Custom font family, weight, style, color per field
Live Preview Mode: See your certificate rendered exactly as it will be generated
Edit Existing Templates: Modify previously saved certificate configurations

Dashboard

Grid View: Card-based certificate overview with thumbnail previews
Table View: Compact list view with quick action buttons per row
Preview Pane: Windows File Explorer-style detail panel — click any event in table view to see the certificate preview and all actions on the right
Statistics Cards: Quick summary of total certificates, recipients, success rate, active events
One-click Actions: Edit, Download Sample, and Delete directly from both views

Bulk Certificate Generation

Manual Recipient Entry: Add recipients one by one with name, email, and rank
CSV/Excel Import: Bulk-import recipient lists via spreadsheets
QR Code Embedding: Auto-generates personalized QR codes linking to the certificate's verification URL
Certificate Link Field: Embeds the unique verification URL directly on the certificate image
ZIP Download: Download all generated certificates as a single .zip file
Individual Downloads: Download specific recipient certificates directly
Confetti Celebration: Visual feedback on successful bulk generation
Password-Protected Generation: All recipient data encrypted before storage

Certificate Verification

URL-based Verification (`/verify/{UUID}`)

Public Shareable Links: Every certificate has a unique URL in the format {BASEURL}/verify/{UUID}
No Login Required: Fully public-facing, anyone can verify a certificate
Animated Verification Progress: Step-by-step visual verification with real-time progress indicators
Split-pane Layout: Verification details on the left; rendered certificate preview on the right
Sample Certificate Rendering: Renders a visual sample certificate using the original template and field configuration (with placeholder identity to protect recipient privacy)
QR Code Support: QR codes on generated certificates link directly to this verification URL
Certificate Preview Download: Download the sample certificate image from the verification page

Modal Verification

UUID Input Modal: Enter a certificate's UUID manually in 5 segmented input boxes
Paste Support: Paste a full UUID (xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx) into any box and it auto-populates all segments
Auto-focus Progression: Automatically advances to the next input segment on completion
Auto-population from URL: Opening the modal with a pre-loaded UUID pre-fills the fields
Animated Step Progress: Circular progress indicators for UUID Lookup, Certificate Validation, and Issuer Verification steps
Issuer & Event Details: Displays organisation, issuer name, event name, and event date on success

Certificate History

View History: Browse an archive of all previously generated certificate batches
Search & Filter: Find certificates by event name, date, or recipient count
Encrypted Recipient Access: Decrypt recipient data with the original password to view names and emails
Metadata Display: Shows total recipients, generation date, and batch details

Security & Privacy

CertiNova is built with a Privacy-by-Design philosophy:

Recipient Data Encryption

AES-256-CBC Encryption: All recipient personal data encrypted before database storage
PBKDF2 Key Derivation: Password-based encryption with SHA-256 (10,000 iterations) and unique salts
IV Generation: Unique initialization vectors for each encryption operation
Zero Plain-text Storage: Recipient names, emails, and ranks are never stored in plain text

Why We Render Sample Certificates for Verification

Since recipient data is encrypted and not accessible without the password, the public verification page renders the certificate layout using a placeholder Indian identity (e.g., "Aarav Sharma", "1st"). This demonstrates the certificate format and authenticity without exposing any private recipient information.

User Authentication

bcrypt Password Hashing: All user passwords hashed with salt rounds
Organisation-based Isolation: Each organisation sees only their own events and certificates
Protected Routes: Dashboard and sensitive pages require authentication

Technology Stack

Backend (`certinova-backend`)

Technology	Version	Purpose
Node.js	22+	Runtime environment
Express.js	5.1.0	REST API framework
MongoDB	—	Document database
Mongoose	8.17.1	ODM / schema management
bcrypt	6.0.0	Password hashing
Multer	2.0.2	File upload handling
Cloudinary	—	Certificate image hosting
crypto (built-in)	—	AES-256 encryption
dotenv	—	Environment configuration

Frontend (`certinova-frontend`)

Technology	Version	Purpose
Next.js	15+	React framework (App Router)
React	19+	UI library
TypeScript	5	Type-safe development
Tailwind CSS	4	Utility-first styling
Framer Motion	11	Animations & transitions
Radix UI	—	Accessible UI primitives
CryptoJS	4.2.0	Client-side encryption
qrcode	—	QR code generation
JSZip	—	Bulk ZIP file download
XLSX	—	Excel/CSV parsing
uuid	—	UUID generation per recipient
canvas-confetti	—	Celebration effect on generation
Lucide React	—	Icon library

Architecture

System Overview

Database Schema

Users
├── organisation     (String)
├── email            (String, unique)
├── password         (bcrypt hash)
└── timestamps

Events
├── organisation     (String)
├── organisationID   (ref: User)
├── eventName        (String)
├── issuerName       (String)
├── date             (Date)
└── timestamps

CertificateConfig
├── eventId          (ref: Event)
├── imagePath        (String — Cloudinary URL)
├── validFields      (Object — field positions & styles)
└── timestamps

GeneratedCertificate
├── certificateId    (ref: CertificateConfig)
├── noOfRecipient    (Number)
├── rank             (Boolean)
├── encryptedRecipients
│   ├── encryptedData (AES-256-CBC ciphertext)
│   ├── salt          (PBKDF2 salt)
│   └── iv            (initialization vector)
├── generatedBy      (ref: User)
└── timestamps

VerifyUUID
├── uuid             (String, unique)
├── certificateId    (ref: GeneratedCertificate)
├── isValid          (Boolean)
└── timestamps

API Reference

Authentication

POST /api/auth/signup          # Register a new organisation
POST /api/auth/login           # Login and receive session token

Events

POST   /api/events/addEvent           # Create a new event
GET    /api/events/:organisationId    # List events for an organisation
DELETE /api/events/:eventId           # Delete an event and its config

Certificate Configuration

POST  /api/certificates/addCertificateConfig     # Save field layout
GET   /api/certificates/config/:eventId          # Fetch event's layout
PUT   /api/certificates/config/:configId         # Update layout
POST  /api/certificates/upload-template          # Upload background image

Certificate Generation & Storage

POST /api/certificates/storeGenerated            # Store encrypted batch
GET  /api/certificates/generated                 # List all batches (encrypted)
POST /api/certificates/generated/decrypt         # Decrypt with password
PATCH /api/certificates/update-recipient-count   # Update count

Verification

GET /api/certificates/verify/:uuid               # Simple UUID check
GET /api/certificates/verify-full/:uuid          # Full data for rendering sample cert

Installation Guide

Prerequisites

Node.js 22.x or higher
npm
MongoDB 5.x or higher

Backend Setup

cd certinova-backend
npm install

# Configure environment
# Create a .env file with:
# PORT=5000
# MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/certinova
# NODE_ENV=development
# CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=...
# CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=...
# CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=...

npm run dev

Frontend Setup

cd certinova-frontend
npm install

# Configure environment
# Create a .env.local file with:
# NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:5000/api

npm run dev

Usage Guide

1. Account Setup

Sign Up: Create an organisation account with your name and email
Log In: Access your secure dashboard

2. Creating a Certificate Template

Click + New Certificate in the navbar
Enter your Event Name and Issuer Name
Upload a custom background template image
Use the drag-and-drop editor to position dynamic fields:
- Recipient Name — personalized per certificate
- Organisation Name — your organisation name
- Rank — optional rank/position field
- Certificate Link — prints the verification URL
- QR Code — a scannable QR linking to the public verification page
Customize fonts, colours, and styles per field
Save the template

3. Generating Certificates

Click Send Certificates in the navbar
Select the certificate template (event)
Add recipients via manual entry or CSV/Excel import
- Fields: Name (required), Email (optional), Rank (optional)
Set a strong encryption password — this protects all recipient data
Click Generate — all certificates are rendered and a ZIP is downloaded
Each certificate gets a unique UUID stored in the verification database

4. Verifying a Certificate

Via URL: Visit {BASEURL}/verify/{UUID} directly — a fully public page showing the verified certificate sample
Via Modal: Open the verification modal from the navbar, enter the UUID manually or paste it in full
The verification page shows organisation, issuer, event, date, and a rendered sample certificate image

5. Managing Certificates

Use Grid View for visual card-based browsing
Use Table View for a compact list — click any row to see the Preview Pane on the right
Access View History to browse past generation batches
Download Sample to get a preview certificate image for any template

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Built with ❤️ for efficient and secure certificate management

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 78 Commits
certinova-backend		certinova-backend
certinova-frontend		certinova-frontend
.env.example		.env.example
.gitignore		.gitignore
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
diagram.png		diagram.png
package-lock.json		package-lock.json
package.json		package.json
vercel.json		vercel.json

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CertiNova - Bulk Certificate Generation Platform

Table of Contents

Overview

Problem Statement

Solution

Key Features

Certificate Design Studio

Dashboard

Bulk Certificate Generation

Certificate Verification

URL-based Verification (/verify/{UUID})

Modal Verification

Certificate History

Security & Privacy

Recipient Data Encryption

Why We Render Sample Certificates for Verification

User Authentication

Technology Stack

Backend (certinova-backend)

Frontend (certinova-frontend)

Architecture

System Overview

Database Schema

API Reference

Authentication

Events

Certificate Configuration

Certificate Generation & Storage

Verification

Installation Guide

Prerequisites

Backend Setup

Frontend Setup

Usage Guide

1. Account Setup

2. Creating a Certificate Template

3. Generating Certificates

4. Verifying a Certificate

5. Managing Certificates

License

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URL-based Verification (`/verify/{UUID}`)

Backend (`certinova-backend`)

Frontend (`certinova-frontend`)

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