Skip to main content

Features

Project management​

  • Create projects with structured metadata: name, description, course, academic year, group number, tags, and links.
  • Join existing projects as a member, observer, advisor, or supervisor.
  • Manage project membership from the project detail page.
  • Projects move through states: pending → active → completed / archived / rejected.
  • Lab technicians can approve or change project status.

Equipment catalog​

  • Browse all physical assets imported from Snipe-IT.
  • Filter and search by model, family, availability, and location.
  • View real-time asset availability (available, reserved, checked out, in maintenance).
  • Equipment models are synchronized from Snipe-IT and cached locally in PostgreSQL.
  • On-demand catalog sync via POST /api/equipment/catalog/sync.

Requisitions​

  • Submit a requisition for one or more specific physical assets.
  • Track requisition status through: pending → reserved / rejected → checked_out → returned.
  • View rejection reason if the request was declined.
  • Multiple requisitions allowed per project.
  • Status history records every transition with timestamp and actor.

Technician dashboard​

  • View all pending, reserved, and active requisitions.
  • Approve or reject requests with an optional reason.
  • View project details and member information.
  • Manage users and their roles.
  • Link out to Snipe-IT for physical asset management.

Snipe-IT integration​

  • Snipe-IT is the authoritative inventory system — the MakerLab does not duplicate physical asset management.
  • Equipment models are synced from Snipe-IT to the local database.
  • Approval triggers a Reserved status update in Snipe-IT via the Snipe-IT REST API.
  • Checkout and check-in events in Snipe-IT are detected through the activity log and reflected locally.
  • Technicians access Snipe-IT through a protected Nginx route that verifies JWT and enforces lab_technician role.

Single Sign-On (SSO)​

  • Authentication uses the University of Aveiro OAuth1-based SSO.
  • On first login, user records are created automatically in the local database.
  • Role assignment (student, professor, lab_technician) is performed at login time.
  • JWT tokens are issued after SSO callback and stored as cookies.
  • Mobile app uses a deep-link callback (detimakerlab://auth?token=…) after SSO.

Notifications​

  • In-app notifications are sent for key events:
    • Requisition approved or rejected.
    • Equipment checked out or returned.
  • Notifications are stored in the notifications table and exposed via the API.
  • Users can mark notifications as read.

Mobile app​

  • Expo / React Native app for Android and iOS.
  • Shares the same backend API as the web app.
  • Supports login via SSO using deep-link callback.
  • Screens: dashboard, equipment catalog, requisition ledger, project list, user profile.
  • Technician and admin tabs available to users with the appropriate role.
  • Token stored securely using Expo SecureStore.
warning

The mobile app is functional but is still being polished. Some screens may have UI limitations. Production-level hardening and full user testing are future work items. See Known Limitations.

Migration support​

  • Python CLI tool (apps/migration/makerlab_migrate/cli.py) for importing legacy data.
  • Imports users, projects, project members, equipment models, and equipment assets from a PostgreSQL dump of the legacy wiki.
  • Supports dry-run mode to preview changes without writing.
  • Idempotent — safe to run multiple times.
  • Syncs imported equipment models and assets to Snipe-IT.

See Migration for details.