FreStell — Trustless Freelance Marketplace on Stellar + Soroban

Project Overview

FreStell is a Phase 1 MVP for a decentralized freelance marketplace with:

• Trustless escrow via Stellar Soroban smart contracts (Rust/Wasm)
• WebAuthn passkeys for phishing-resistant authentication
• AI proposal coach to help freelancers write better bids
• 3-tier verification system (email → government ID → earned badges)
• Acceptance criteria enforcement — every job must have explicit "done" checklists

Monorepo Structure

frestell/
├── apps/
│   ├── web/          → Next.js frontend (React + TypeScript)
│   └── api/          → NestJS backend (Node.js + Express)
├── packages/
│   └── shared/       → Zod schemas, DTOs, shared types
├── services/         → Extractable microservices
│   ├── ai/
│   ├── payments/
│   ├── blockchain/
│   └── chat/
├── contracts/        → Soroban smart contracts (Rust/Wasm)
├── infrastructure/   → Docker, Nginx, Terraform, monitoring
└── .github/
    └── workflows/    → CI/CD pipelines

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ and npm 9+
• Rust 1.70+ (for contracts)
• PostgreSQL 15+ and Redis 7+ (for local dev with Docker Compose)

Installation

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Set up environment variables
cp .env.example .env.local

# Initialize database (when ready)
cd apps/api
npx prisma migrate dev

Development

# Start all apps (web + api)
npm run dev

# Or individually:
cd apps/web && npm run dev     # Frontend: http://localhost:3000
cd apps/api && npm run dev     # Backend: http://localhost:3001

Build & Test

npm run build    # Build all apps
npm run test     # Run all tests
npm run lint     # Lint all code
npm run format   # Format code with Prettier

Key Technologies

• Frontend: Next.js 14, React 18, TailwindCSS
• Backend: NestJS 10, Prisma ORM, PostgreSQL, Redis
• Blockchain: Stellar SDK, Soroban (Rust)
• Auth: WebAuthn (@simplewebauthn), JWT, OAuth2
• Chat: Socket.io for real-time messaging
• DevOps: Docker, Docker Compose, GitHub Actions, Terraform

Architecture Philosophy

• Modular monolith: Every business domain is a separate NestJS module with clear boundaries
• Service-ready: Code structured so services can be extracted to separate deployments later without refactoring
• Shared packages: DTOs, types, and validators live in packages/shared to prevent duplication
• Trustless escrow: Soroban smart contracts enforce payment rules on-chain (no platform can cheat)

Development Workflow

1. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feat/your-feature
2. Make changes and test locally
3. Commit with conventional commits: git commit -m "feat: add X feature"
4. Push and open a PR (CI runs automatically)
5. After review, merge to main (auto-deploys to staging)

Phase 1 Milestones

• Monorepo scaffold
• Nx workspace + build pipeline
• Auth (passkeys + JWT + 2FA)
• User profiles + verification
• Job posting with acceptance criteria
• AI proposal coach
• Smart contracts (escrow + dispute resolution)
• Real-time workspace + messaging
• Admin panel
• Deployment pipeline

See frestell_plans/goals.html for the full 320+ goal roadmap.

Security & Compliance

• All secret keys are encrypted (AES-256-GCM) — never stored in plaintext
• Passkeys are phishing-resistant (WebAuthn/FIDO2)
• Rate limiting, CSRF protection, and input validation on all endpoints
• SQL injection prevention via Prisma parameterized queries
• Escrow is trustless via Soroban contracts (no platform can unilaterally move funds)

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for contribution guidelines.

License

[Your license here]

Support & Contact

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Docs: frestell_plans/ folder
• Email: [your contact]