#Test Caps — Document Management System with Steganography

A Laravel 12 + React (Inertia.js) document management system featuring LSB steganography for secure document embedding, role-based access control, file sharing, and email notifications.

Tech Stack: PHP 8.4 · Laravel 12 · React 18 · TypeScript · Inertia.js · Vite · Tailwind CSS · SQLite/MySQL · Python (stegano + Pillow)

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#Prerequisites

Make sure the following are installed before you begin:

Windows note: Ensure php, composer, node, pnpm, python, and git are all available on your system PATH.

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#Installation

#1. Clone the repository

git clone <repository-url> Test_Caps
cd Test_Caps

#2. Install PHP dependencies

composer install

#3. Install Node dependencies

pnpm install

#4. Install Python dependencies

The steganography engine requires two Python packages:

pip install stegano Pillow

#5. Set up the environment file

cp .env.example .env

Then open .env and update the relevant values:

APP_NAME="Test Caps"
APP_URL=http://localhost:8000

# Database — SQLite is used by default (no extra setup needed)
DB_CONNECTION=sqlite

# Python path — change to full path if 'python' is not on your PATH
# Windows example: C:\Users\USER\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python312\python.exe
PYTHON_PATH=python

# Mail — use 'log' during development (emails go to storage/logs/laravel.log)
MAIL_MAILER=log
MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS="hello@example.com"
MAIL_FROM_NAME="${APP_NAME}"

#6. Generate the application key

php artisan key:generate

#7. Run database migrations

php artisan migrate

To also seed the database with sample data:

php artisan db:seed

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#Running the Application

You need three processes running simultaneously. Open three separate terminal windows:

Terminal 1 — Laravel development server

php artisan serve

Terminal 2 — Vite frontend (hot-reload)

pnpm dev

Terminal 3 — Queue worker (required for email notifications and background jobs)

php artisan queue:work

Then open http://localhost:8000 in your browser.

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#Using MySQL Instead of SQLite

Update your .env:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=test_caps
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=your_password

Create the database, then run migrations:

php artisan migrate

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#Building for Production

# Build frontend assets
pnpm build

# Optimize Laravel
php artisan config:cache
php artisan route:cache
php artisan view:cache

Set APP_ENV=production and APP_DEBUG=false in .env before deploying.

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#Running Tests

php artisan test

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#Project Structure

app/
  Http/Controllers/   — Application controllers
  Models/             — Eloquent models
  Services/           — Business logic (including StegoService)
  Policies/           — Authorization policies
python/
  stego_lsb.py        — LSB steganography engine (called via subprocess)
resources/js/
  Pages/              — React/Inertia page components
  Components/         — Shared React components
database/migrations/  — Database schema migrations
routes/
  web.php             — Web routes
  api.php             — API routes

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#Troubleshooting

Steganography operations fail

• Verify Python is installed: python --version
• Verify packages: pip show stegano Pillow
• Set the full Python path in .env: PYTHON_PATH=C:\Path\To\python.exe

Emails are not sending

• In development, MAIL_MAILER=log writes emails to storage/logs/laravel.log
• For real sending, configure SMTP credentials in .env

Queue jobs are not processing

• Make sure php artisan queue:work is running in a separate terminal

Page shows blank or 500 error

• Run php artisan config:clear then php artisan serve again
• Check storage/logs/laravel.log for details