Familiarise

Note: This project was formerly known as ConsultX (2022-2023) and is planned to be rebranded as Elluminar in the future.

What is Familiarise?

Familiarise is a B2B/B2C marketplace platform that connects world-class experts—mentors, consultants, coaches, and instructors—with learners seeking personalized guidance, mentorship, and education.

Think of it as the "Airbnb for expertise": a platform where professionals can monetize their knowledge through one-on-one sessions, ongoing mentorship programs, structured courses, and live webinars, while learners get direct access to industry experts who can accelerate their careers and skill development.

Who is it for?

For Experts (Consultants):

• Industry professionals looking to monetize their expertise
• Career coaches and mentors
• Subject matter experts and educators
• Entrepreneurs sharing startup knowledge
• Specialists in tech, business, design, marketing, and more

For Learners (Consultees):

• Career changers breaking into new fields
• Professionals seeking advancement
• Students wanting industry guidance
• Entrepreneurs needing business mentorship
• Anyone seeking personalized skill development

Key Features

Feature	Description
1-on-1 Consultations	Single sessions for career advice, mock interviews, code reviews, design feedback
Subscriptions	Ongoing 4-12 week mentorship programs with recurring sessions
Classes	Structured multi-week courses with materials, recordings, and certifications
Webinars	Live group learning events with Q&A and waitlist management
Video Calls	HD video via Stream.io with screen sharing and recording
In-App Messaging	Direct communication and document sharing between sessions
Document Review	Upload resumes, portfolios, or code for expert feedback
Smart Scheduling	Timezone-aware booking with weekly and custom availability
Secure Payments	Razorpay (primary, INR settlement) and Stripe (request→approve bookings), with escrow protection. Consultees book from anywhere; consultants must be able to receive INR in India — see below.
Earnings Dashboard	80/20 revenue split with transparent payout tracking
Referral System	Viral growth via referral links, credit rewards for referrer and referee
Collaborators	Multi-creator webinars and classes with role-based revenue sharing

Platform Stats

• 500+ verified expert mentors
• 8+ domains (Technology, Business, Design, Marketing, Career Coaching, Education, Startups, Languages)
• Multiple session types to fit any learning style
• Money-back guarantee for unsatisfied sessions

Who can use this, and from where

This distinction is load-bearing and easy to get backwards, so it is stated up front rather than buried in the payments docs.

Consultees can be anywhere in the world. International cards are accepted, Razorpay converts at the buyer's bank and settles INR to the platform, and the FIRC needed under FEMA is generated automatically. Nothing blocks a foreign buyer and nothing should — this is live and working.

Consultants must be able to receive INR into an Indian bank account. This is not a preference, it is what is currently built. TDS is withheld under Section 194-O, which by definition applies only to residents; paying a non-resident instead requires Section 195 withholding, treaty relief against a tax residency certificate and Form 10F, and a Form 15CA/15CB filing per remittance, none of which exists yet. RazorpayX also cannot pay a foreign bank account at all. The payout pipeline enforces this: processSinglePayout throws rather than half-paying someone, and the UI says so during consultant onboarding.

If you are changing payout code and wondering why the non-resident branch refuses instead of falling through — that is deliberate, and removing it would create a statutory withholding failure, not a feature.

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose
• OR Node.js 20+ and npm

Option 1: Docker (Recommended)

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone <repository_url>
cd familiarise_web

# 2. Create environment file
cp .env.sample .env
# Edit .env with your credentials (see Environment Variables section)

# 3. Start development server
docker compose up --build

# App runs at http://localhost:3000

Option 2: Local Development

# 1. Clone and install
git clone <repository_url>
cd familiarise_web
npm install

# 2. Setup environment
cp .env.sample .env
# Edit .env with your credentials

# 3. Generate Prisma client
npx prisma generate

# 4. Start development server
npm run dev

Environment Variables

Create a .env file based on .env.sample. Never commit .env or secrets to the repository.

Required Variables

Variable	Description	Local Value	Production Value
DATABASE_URL	Supabase pooled connection string	From Supabase dashboard	Same (or prod project)
DIRECT_URL	Supabase direct connection (migrations)	From Supabase dashboard	Same (or prod project)
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET	Auth signing secret	Random 32+ char string	Different secret for prod
BETTER_AUTH_URL	App base URL for auth callbacks	http://localhost:3000	https://familiarisenow.com
BETTER_AUTH_TRUSTED_ORIGINS	Allowed origins for auth	http://localhost:3000	https://familiarisenow.com
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL	Public-facing app URL	http://localhost:3000	https://familiarisenow.com
NODE_ENV	Runtime environment	development	production
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL	Supabase project URL	From Supabase dashboard	Same
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY	Supabase anon key	From Supabase dashboard	Same

All Environment Variables

Authentication

Variable	Description	Notes
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET	Auth signing secret	Must be unique per environment
BETTER_AUTH_URL	Auth callback base URL	localhost for dev, production domain for prod
BETTER_AUTH_TRUSTED_ORIGINS	CORS origins for auth	Must match BETTER_AUTH_URL
JWT_SECRET	JWT signing key	Can match BETTER_AUTH_SECRET
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID	Google OAuth client ID	From Google Cloud Console
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET	Google OAuth client secret	From Google Cloud Console
GITHUB_CLIENT_ID	GitHub OAuth client ID	Optional
GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET	GitHub OAuth client secret	Optional
FACEBOOK_CLIENT_ID	Facebook OAuth client ID	Optional
FACEBOOK_CLIENT_SECRET	Facebook OAuth client secret	Optional

Database & Cache

Variable	Description	Notes
DATABASE_URL	Supabase pooled connection	Use ?pgbouncer=true suffix
DIRECT_URL	Supabase direct connection	For migrations only
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY	Supabase admin key	Server-side only, never expose
SUPABASE_ACCESS_TOKEN	Supabase management API	For CLI/admin operations
UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL	Upstash Redis URL	Used for rate limiting and caching
UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_TOKEN	Upstash Redis auth token	Required for Redis access

Note: Do NOT set REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379 on Netlify. The platform uses Upstash Redis via REST API (UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL), not a TCP Redis connection.

Payments

Variable	Description	Notes
NEXT_PUBLIC_STRIPE_KEY	Stripe publishable key	pk_test_ for dev, pk_live_ for prod
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY	Stripe secret key	sk_test_ for dev, sk_live_ for prod
STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET	Stripe webhook signing secret	Different per environment
NEXT_PUBLIC_RAZORPAY_KEY_ID	Razorpay key ID	rzp_test_ for dev, rzp_live_ for prod
RAZORPAY_KEY_ID	Razorpay key ID (server)	Same as public key
RAZORPAY_SECRET	Razorpay secret	Different per environment
RAZORPAY_WEBHOOK_SECRET	Razorpay webhook signing secret	Required. /api/webhooks/razorpay returns 500 before verifying anything when it is unset, so every gateway event is rejected — silently, since no live payment has exercised it. Absent from Netlify's deploy-preview context; confirm it exists for production.

Reminder — Dodo Payments is schema-only. DODO_PAYMENTS exists as a PaymentGateway enum value and nothing else: no client, no checkout path, no webhook handler, no payout submitter, and no timeline. The value is reserved only because Postgres cannot drop an enum value cheaply. It throws (UnsupportedGatewayError) if it ever reaches gateway routing, a refund, or a payout, so it cannot be used by accident — see docs/payments/gateways/README.md.

For a finance or CA review: the live rails are Razorpay (primary, INR settlement) and Stripe (the request→approve booking path only). Dodo has never moved money and appears in no reconciliation or filing. Lemon Squeezy and XFlow were evaluated in March 2026, rejected, and removed from the codebase; they are not options.

Stream.io (Video & Chat)

Variable	Description	Notes
NEXT_PUBLIC_STREAM_API_KEY	Stream public API key	Same for dev/prod (shared project)
STREAM_API_SECRET	Stream server secret	Never expose client-side
STREAM_SYNC_SECRET	Stream sync webhook secret	Usually same as STREAM_API_SECRET

Notifications & Email

Variable	Description	Notes
NOVU_SECRET_KEY	Novu notification API key	From Novu dashboard
NEXT_PUBLIC_NOVU_APP_ID	Novu application ID	Public, safe to expose
RESEND_API_KEY	Resend email API key	For transactional emails

Monitoring & Observability

Variable	Description	Notes
NEXT_PUBLIC_SENTRY_DSN	Sentry error tracking DSN	Public, safe to expose
SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN	Sentry release/sourcemap token	Build-time only
SENTRY_DSN	Sentry server-side DSN	Same as public DSN
BETTERSTACK_API_KEY	BetterStack uptime monitoring	For status page/alerts
NEXT_PUBLIC_LOGO_DEV_TOKEN	Logo.dev API token	For company logo rendering

Dev/Test Only (DO NOT set on production)

Variable	Description	Notes
SEED_PASSWORD	Password for seeded test users	Local dev only
NEXT_PUBLIC_TEST_USERID	Test user ID for dev tools	Local dev only

Production vs Local Checklist

When deploying to production (Netlify), ensure:

• All localhost:3000 URLs replaced with https://familiarisenow.com
• NODE_ENV set to production
• SEED_PASSWORD and NEXT_PUBLIC_TEST_USERID removed
• REDIS_URL removed (use UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL instead)
• Payment keys switched from test to live when going live
• BETTER_AUTH_SECRET is a unique production secret
• No credentials committed to the repository

Docker Commands

Development

# Start with hot-reload
docker compose up --build

# Start in background
docker compose up -d --build

# View logs
docker compose logs -f web

# Stop
docker compose down

# Rebuild from scratch
docker compose down -v && docker compose up --build

Production

# Build and run production
docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up --build -d

# View logs
docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml logs -f

# Stop
docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml down

Development

Available Scripts

npm run dev          # Start development server
npm run build        # Build for production
npm run start        # Start production server
npm run lint         # Run ESLint
npm run format:write # Format with Prettier
npm run studio       # Open Prisma Studio
npm run db:push      # Push schema to database

Database (Prisma)

# Generate client after schema changes
npx prisma generate

# Push schema changes to Supabase
npx prisma db push

# Open database GUI
npx prisma studio

Architecture

• Framework: Next.js 15 with App Router
• Database: PostgreSQL via Supabase
• ORM: Prisma 6
• Auth: NextAuth.js
• Payments: Stripe, Razorpay
• Real-time: Stream.io
• Styling: Tailwind CSS

View Entity Relationship Diagram

Troubleshooting

Docker Issues

Container won't start:

# Check logs
docker compose logs web

# Ensure .env file exists and has required variables
cat .env | grep -E "^(DATABASE_URL|NEXTAUTH)"

Hot reload not working:

# Restart with fresh volumes
docker compose down -v
docker compose up --build

Prisma errors:

# Regenerate client inside container
docker compose exec web npx prisma generate

Build Issues

bcrypt/sharp errors: These require native compilation. In Docker, this is handled automatically. For local development:

npm rebuild bcrypt
npm rebuild sharp