# Reward Project: AI Coding Agent Instructions

## 🏗️ Architecture & Data Flow

- **Stack**: Flask (Python, backend) + Vue 3 (TypeScript, frontend) + TinyDB (JSON, thread-safe, see `db/`).
- **API**: RESTful endpoints in `api/`, grouped by entity (child, reward, task, user, image, etc). Each API file maps to a business domain.
- **Nginx Proxy**: Frontend nginx proxies `/api/*` to backend, stripping the `/api` prefix. Backend endpoints should NOT include `/api` in their route definitions. Example: Backend defines `@app.route('/user')`, frontend calls `/api/user`.
- **Models**: Maintain strict 1:1 mapping between Python `@dataclass`es (`backend/models/`) and TypeScript interfaces (`frontend/vue-app/src/common/models.ts`).
- **Database**: Use TinyDB with `from_dict()`/`to_dict()` for serialization. All logic should operate on model instances, not raw dicts.
- **Events**: Real-time updates via Server-Sent Events (SSE). Every mutation (add/edit/delete/trigger) must call `send_event_for_current_user` (see `backend/events/`).
- **Changes**: Do not use comments to replace code. All changes must be reflected in both backend and frontend files as needed.
- **Specs**: If specs have a checklist, all items must be completed and marked done.

## 🧩 Key Patterns & Conventions

- **Frontend Styling**: Use only `:root` CSS variables from `colors.css` for all colors, spacing, and tokens. Example: `--btn-primary`, `--list-item-bg-good`.
- **Scoped Styles**: All `.vue` files must use `<style scoped>`. Reference global variables for theme consistency.
- **API Error Handling**: Backend returns JSON with `error` and `code` (see `backend/api/error_codes.py`). Frontend extracts `{ msg, code }` using `parseErrorResponse(res)` from `api.ts`.
- **JWT Auth**: Tokens are stored in HttpOnly, Secure, SameSite=Strict cookies.
- **Code Style**:
  1. Follow PEP 8 for Python, and standard TypeScript conventions.
  2. Use type annotations everywhere in Python.
  3. Place all imports at the top of the file.
  4. Vue files should specifically place `<template>`, `<script>`, then `<style>` in that order. Make sure to put ts code in `<script>` only.

## 🚦 Frontend Logic & Event Bus

- **SSE Event Management**: Register listeners in `onMounted`, clean up in `onUnmounted`. Listen for events like `child_task_triggered`, `child_reward_request`, `task_modified`, etc. See `frontend/vue-app/src/common/backendEvents.ts` and `components/BackendEventsListener.vue`.
- **Layout Hierarchy**: Use `ParentLayout` for admin/management, `ChildLayout` for dashboard/focus views.

## ⚖️ Business Logic & Safeguards

- **Token Expiry**: Verification tokens expire in 4 hours; password reset tokens in 10 minutes.
- **Image Assets**: Models use `image_id` for storage; frontend resolves to `image_url` for rendering.

## 🛠️ Developer Workflows

- **Backend**: Run Flask with `python -m flask run --host=0.0.0.0 --port=5000` from the `backend/` directory. Main entry: `backend/main.py`.
- **Virtual Env**: Python is running from a virtual environment located at `backend/.venv/`.
- **Frontend**: From `frontend/vue-app/`, run `npm install` then `npm run dev`.
- **Tests**: Run backend tests with `pytest` in `backend/tests/`. Frontend component tests: `npm run test` in `frontend/vue-app/components/__tests__/`.
- **Debugging**: Use VS Code launch configs or run Flask/Vue dev servers directly. For SSE, use browser dev tools to inspect event streams.

## 📁 Key Files & Directories

- `backend/api/` — Flask API endpoints (one file per entity)
- `backend/models/` — Python dataclasses (business logic, serialization)
- `backend/db/` — TinyDB setup and helpers
- `backend/events/` — SSE event types, broadcaster, payloads
- `frontend/vue-app/` — Vue 3 frontend (see `src/common/`, `src/components/`, `src/layout/`) - Where tests are run from
- `frontend/vue-app/src/common/models.ts` — TypeScript interfaces (mirror Python models)
- `frontend/vue-app/src/common/api.ts` — API helpers, error parsing, validation
- `frontend/vue-app/src/common/backendEvents.ts` — SSE event types and handlers

## 🧠 Integration & Cross-Component Patterns

- **Every backend mutation must trigger an SSE event** for the current user.
- **Frontend state is event-driven**: always listen for and react to SSE events for real-time updates.
- **Model changes require updating both Python and TypeScript definitions** to maintain parity.

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For any unclear or missing conventions, review the referenced files or ask for clarification. Keep this document concise and actionable for AI agents.