FCT Project is a full-stack Next.js template for building restaurant booking and order management platforms, featuring an OpenAI-powered chatbot and an admin dashboard.
What is FCT Project?
FCT Project is a full-stack restaurant booking and order management template built with Next.js, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS. It combines customer-facing booking and order features with an admin dashboard and an OpenAI chatbot, backed by MongoDB via Prisma ORM and authentication through NextAuth. The template is bootstrapped with create-next-app and is configured for deployment on Vercel.
Key Features
- Next.js framework — Bootstrapped with create-next-app, giving a modern React-based frontend and API routes in a single codebase.
- MongoDB + Prisma — Uses Prisma as the ORM with MongoDB as the database, requiring a connection string in the DATABASE_URL environment variable.
- NextAuth authentication — Configured with NEXTAUTH_URL and NEXTAUTH_SECRET environment variables to handle user sessions and sign-in flows.
- OpenAI chatbot — Uses the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable to integrate a ChatGPT-like assistant into the customer experience.
- Admin dashboard — Includes admin dashboard views (visible in the project screenshots) for managing bookings and orders.
- Order page — Provides a dedicated order page where customers can place restaurant orders or make reservations.
- SMTP email support — Supports SMTP configuration (host, port, user, password, from email) for sending transactional emails.
- Tailwind CSS styling — Styled with Tailwind CSS, a utility-first styling framework.
Who is it for?
- Restaurant owners — set up an online booking and ordering system with an admin dashboard to manage reservations and orders.
- Developers — use the template as a full-stack starting point for Next.js projects that need authentication, a database, and AI integration.
- AI enthusiasts — explore how to integrate the OpenAI API into a real-world booking flow.
What can you do with FCT Project?
- Restaurant owners: manage reservations and orders through the admin dashboard, with a centralized view of operations.
- Customers: place bookings and orders via the order page, with an AI chatbot to assist during the process.
- Developers: customize the template to add menu management, payment processing, or additional dashboards, since it is an open full-stack Next.js codebase.
How does FCT Project work?
The setup process involves cloning the repository, installing dependencies with npm install, and creating a .env file with values for NextAuth, MongoDB, OpenAI, and SMTP. After configuring these environment variables, running npm run dev starts the development server, which connects to MongoDB through Prisma, authenticates users with NextAuth, and queries the OpenAI API for chatbot responses.
FAQ
Does FCT Project use TypeScript?
Yes, TypeScript is listed in the repository topics, and the codebase is built with Next.js which supports TypeScript out of the box.
What database does FCT Project require?
It requires MongoDB. The README instructs users to set a MongoDB connection URI in the DATABASE_URL environment variable and suggests MongoDB Atlas for hosting.
Is an OpenAI API key required to run FCT Project?
Yes, the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable is required to power the chatbot. The README directs users to sign up for the OpenAI API to obtain a token.
Can FCT Project be deployed to Vercel?
Yes, the README includes a specific section for deployment on Vercel and links to Next.js deployment documentation.
