Learning Center/Real-World Examples/Social Network API
Tutorial

Build a Social Network API

Create a complete social media API with posts, follows, likes, comments, notifications, and activity feeds. Perfect for building the next Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

What You'll Build

Social Features

  • User posts & feed
  • Follow/unfollow system
  • Likes & reactions
  • Comments & replies
  • User profiles
  • Notifications
  • Hashtags & mentions
  • Activity feed

What You'll Learn

  • Social graph design
  • Feed algorithms
  • Relationship models
  • Engagement metrics
  • Profile management
  • Notification systems
  • Content discovery
  • Social patterns
Time Required:60-90 minutes
1

Create Social Network Project

Create a new project for your social network API:

1Navigate to Dashboard
2Click "Create Project"
3Name it "Social Network API"
4Description: "Social media platform with posts, follows, and likes"
2

Define Posts Schema

Create a social post schema with media and engagement:

json
3

Define User Profile Schema

Create comprehensive user profiles:

json
4

Configure Feed Endpoints

GET/feed

Get personalized feed (posts from followed users):

json
POST/posts

Create a new post:

json
DELETE/posts/:id

Delete a post:

json
5

Likes & Comments

POST/posts/:id/like

Like or unlike a post:

json
GET/posts/:id/comments

Get comments for a post:

json
POST/posts/:id/comments

Add a comment:

json
6

Follow/Unfollow System

POST/users/:username/follow

Follow a user:

json
DELETE/users/:username/follow

Unfollow a user:

json
GET/users/:username/followers

Get user's followers:

json
GET/users/:username/following

Get users that a user follows:

json
7

Notifications

GET/notifications

Get user notifications:

json

Notification Types: like, comment, follow, mention, share

POST/notifications/mark-read

Mark notifications as read:

json
8

Discover & Search

GET/explore/trending

Get trending posts and hashtags:

json
GET/search

Search users and posts:

json
9

React Social Feed

Social Network Application
javascript

Social Network Best Practices

Feed Algorithm

  • Sort by engagement (likes + comments)
  • Prioritize recent posts
  • Balance chronological vs algorithmic
  • Implement infinite scroll pagination

User Experience

  • Show visual feedback for interactions
  • Optimize image loading
  • Cache feed data locally
  • Implement pull-to-refresh

Content Moderation

  • Filter offensive content
  • Implement reporting system
  • Block/mute functionality
  • Privacy settings per post

Performance

  • Use CDN for media files
  • Implement rate limiting
  • Cache user profiles
  • Optimize database queries

Congratulations! 🎉

You've built a complete social network API with all the essential features:

Social feed & posts
Follow/unfollow system
Likes & comments
User profiles
Notifications system
Discovery & trending

You now have the foundation to build the next big social platform! Add features like stories, live streaming, or messaging to make it even better.

Previous: Chat ApplicationNext: User Authentication System