HIPCTF2/docs/architecture/backend-modules.md

---
type: architecture
title: Backend Module Map
description: NestJS modules, controllers, services, and how they are wired together.
tags: [architecture, backend, nestjs, modules]
timestamp: 2026-07-23T16:10:00Z
---

# Module Map

All modules are imported in `backend/src/app.module.ts`. The root module
also registers two global providers:

| Global provider           | Purpose                                                |
|---------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|
| `APP_GUARD = JwtAuthGuard` | Enforces JWT auth unless the handler is `@Public()`  |
| `APP_FILTER = GlobalExceptionFilter` | Normalizes errors into the standard envelope |

# Modules

| Module           | Path                                          | Responsibility                                                                                  |
|------------------|-----------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| `DatabaseModule` | `backend/src/database/database.module.ts`     | Configures TypeORM with `better-sqlite3`, registers entities, runs migrations, enforces WAL, and imports `FilesystemTransactionModule` so startup recovery runs before the database is opened.    |
| `FilesystemTransactionModule` | `backend/src/modules/admin/system/filesystem-transaction.module.ts` | Provides the shared durable filesystem swap service to both `DatabaseModule` startup recovery and `AdminSystemModule` restore operations without a circular dependency. |
| `CommonModule`   | `backend/src/common/common.module.ts`         | Provides shared services (CSRF middleware class, backoff, registration rate limit, SSE hub, theme loader, etc.). |
| `SettingsModule` | `backend/src/modules/settings/settings.module.ts` | Exposes `SettingsService` (get/set/getAll over `setting` table).                              |
| `AuthModule`     | `backend/src/modules/auth/auth.module.ts`     | `AuthController` (`/api/v1/auth/{register,login,refresh,logout,me,change-password,csrf}`) + `AuthService` (login/refresh/logout/register-first-admin + public `register` + `getMe` + `changePassword`). Imports `SettingsModule` so the public-register flow can read the `registrationsEnabled` flag, and `UsersModule` (forwardRef) for `UsersRankService`. |
| `UsersModule`    | `backend/src/modules/users/users.module.ts`   | `UsersController` (`/api/v1/auth/register-first-admin`) + `UsersService` (last-admin invariant) + `UsersRankService` (`rankOfUser(manager, userId) -> {rank, points}` over the `solve` table). |
| `SetupModule`    | `backend/src/modules/setup/setup.module.ts`   | `SetupController` (`POST /api/v1/setup/create-admin`) + `SetupService`. Returns 409 `SYSTEM_INITIALIZED` once any admin exists; serializes concurrent first-admin attempts via an in-process promise chain. |
| `SystemModule`   | `backend/src/modules/system/system.module.ts` | `SystemController` (`/api/v1/bootstrap`, `/event/status`, SSE streams) + `SystemService`.       |
| `AdminModule`    | `backend/src/modules/admin/admin.module.ts`   | Five controllers (`AdminController` for `/api/v1/admin/users*`, `AdminGeneralController` for `/api/v1/admin/general/*`, `AdminCategoriesController` for `/api/v1/admin/categories*`, `AdminChallengesController` for `/api/v1/admin/challenges*`, `AdminSystemController` for `/api/v1/admin/system/*`) plus their services (`AdminService`, `AdminGeneralService`, `AdminCategoriesService`, `AdminChallengesService`, `ChallengeFilesService`, `BackupService`, `RestoreService`, `DangerZoneService`, `FilesystemTransactionService`, `ConfirmationTokenService`). Gated by `AdminGuard` + `@Roles('admin')`. Imports `TypeOrmModule.forFeature([UserEntity, CategoryEntity, ChallengeEntity, ChallengeFileEntity, SolveEntity])`, `AuthModule`, `UsersModule`, `SettingsModule`, `CommonModule` (for `SseHubService`, `ThemeLoaderService`), and `AdminSystemModule` (which adds `AdminOperationTokenEntity` + `AuthModule`). |
| `AdminSystemModule` | `backend/src/modules/admin/system/admin-system.module.ts` | Hosts the destructive System operations: `AdminSystemController` + `BackupService` + `RestoreService` + `DangerZoneService` + `ConfirmationTokenService`. Imports shared `FilesystemTransactionModule`, `TypeOrmModule.forFeature([AdminOperationTokenEntity])`, and `AuthModule` (for `reauthenticateAdmin`/`revokeAllRefreshSessions`). |
| `UploadsModule`  | `backend/src/modules/uploads/uploads.module.ts` | `UploadsController` (`/api/v1/uploads/*`). Admin-only multipart.                            |
| `BlogModule`     | `backend/src/modules/blog/blog.module.ts`     | `BlogController`/`BlogService` expose published posts at `GET /api/v1/blog/posts`; `AdminBlogController`/`AdminBlogService` provide guarded CRUD at `/api/v1/admin/blog/posts` using `BlogPostEntity`. |
| `ChallengesModule` | `backend/src/modules/challenges/challenges.module.ts` | `ChallengesController` (`/api/v1/challenges/{board,status,:id,:id/solves}`) + `ChallengesEventsController` (authenticated SSE `/api/v1/events`) + `ChallengesService` (board, detail, submit, scoring util). |
| `FrontendModule` | `backend/src/frontend/frontend.module.ts`     | Registers `SpaFallbackMiddleware` and the uploads static helper.                              |

# Controllers

| Controller             | Path prefix             | Auth         | Source                                                       |
|------------------------|-------------------------|--------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| `AuthController`       | `/api/v1/auth`          | Mostly public (login, refresh, logout, csrf) | `backend/src/modules/auth/auth.controller.ts` |
| `UsersController`      | `/api/v1/auth/register-first-admin` | Public (bootstrap-only) | `backend/src/modules/users/users.controller.ts` |
| `SetupController`      | `/api/v1/setup/create-admin` | Public (bootstrap-only; 409 `SYSTEM_INITIALIZED` once an admin exists) | `backend/src/modules/setup/setup.controller.ts` |
| `AdminController`      | `/api/v1/admin`         | Admin only   | `backend/src/modules/admin/admin.controller.ts`              |
| `AdminGeneralController` | `/api/v1/admin/general` | Admin only | `backend/src/modules/admin/admin-general.controller.ts`      |
| `AdminCategoriesController` | `/api/v1/admin/categories` | Admin only | `backend/src/modules/admin/admin-categories.controller.ts` |
| `AdminChallengesController` | `/api/v1/admin/challenges` | Admin only | `backend/src/modules/admin/admin-challenges.controller.ts` |
| `AdminSystemController` | `/api/v1/admin/system` | Admin only (plus confirmation tokens for destructive ops) | `backend/src/modules/admin/system/admin-system.controller.ts` |
| `SystemController`     | `/api/v1`               | Mixed (bootstrap/event/scoreboard/settings are public; `events/status` SSE is JWT-protected) | `backend/src/modules/system/system.controller.ts` |
| `UploadsController`    | `/api/v1/uploads`       | Admin only   | `backend/src/modules/uploads/uploads.controller.ts`          |
| `BlogController`       | `/api/v1/blog`          | Public       | `backend/src/modules/blog/blog.controller.ts`               |
| `AdminBlogController`  | `/api/v1/admin/blog/posts` | Admin only | `backend/src/modules/blog/admin-blog.controller.ts` |
| `ChallengesController` | `/api/v1/challenges`    | Authenticated | `backend/src/modules/challenges/challenges.controller.ts` |
| `ChallengesEventsController` | `/api/v1/events` | Authenticated (SSE) | `backend/src/modules/challenges/events.controller.ts` |

# Common services

| Service                          | Path                                                          | Purpose                                                |
|----------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|
| `CsrfMiddleware`                 | `backend/src/common/middleware/csrf.middleware.ts`            | Mints/validates CSRF tokens via cookie + header.        |
| `JwtAuthGuard`                   | `backend/src/common/guards/jwt-auth.guard.ts`                 | Global guard; honors `@Public()` decorator.             |
| `AdminGuard`                     | `backend/src/common/guards/admin.guard.ts`                    | Requires authenticated user with `role === 'admin'`.    |
| `RolesGuard`                     | `backend/src/common/guards/roles.guard.ts`                    | Enforces `@Roles(...)` metadata.                       |
| `GlobalExceptionFilter`          | `backend/src/common/filters/global-exception.filter.ts`       | Converts exceptions to standard envelope.              |
| `EventStatusService`             | `backend/src/common/services/event-status.service.ts`         | Computes the 4-state event state machine (`countdown`/`running`/`stopped`/`unconfigured`) via `getState()` plus the legacy `getStatus()` shape (`Stopped`/`Running` + `countdownMs`). |
| `LoginBackoffService`            | `backend/src/common/services/login-backoff.service.ts`        | Per-IP+username brute-force throttle.                  |
| `RegistrationRateLimitService`   | `backend/src/common/services/registration-rate-limit.service.ts` | Per-IP rate limit on first-admin registration.    |
| `SseHubService`                  | `backend/src/common/services/sse-hub.service.ts`              | In-process pub/sub for SSE streams.                     |
| `ThemeLoaderService`             | `backend/src/common/utils/theme-loader.service.ts`            | Loads + validates the 10 canonical themes.             |
| `ZodValidationPipe`              | `backend/src/common/pipes/zod-validation.pipe.ts`            | Replaces `ValidationPipe` for zod-validated DTOs.       |
| `TransformInterceptor`           | `backend/src/common/interceptors/transform.interceptor.ts`   | Optional response transformer.                          |
| `scoring.util`                   | `backend/src/modules/challenges/scoring.util.ts`             | `computeLivePoints`, `rankBonusForPosition`, `compareDifficulty`, and `safeEqualString` (constant-time flag compare). |

# Decorators

| Decorator       | Path                                                       | Purpose                          |
|-----------------|------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------|
| `@Public()`     | `backend/src/common/decorators/public.decorator.ts`        | Mark a route as unauthenticated. |
| `@Roles(...)`   | `backend/src/common/decorators/roles.decorator.ts`         | Required role(s).                |
| `@SkipCsrf()`   | `backend/src/common/decorators/skip-csrf.decorator.ts`     | Exempt a route from CSRF check.  |

# Startup chain

`main.ts` → `AppModule` (loads `ConfigModule`, then all feature modules)
→ `DatabaseInitService.init()` → `FilesystemTransactionService.recoverTransactions()`
(resolves interrupted restore manifests before TypeORM opens the live SQLite file;
ambiguous generations abort startup) → stale unowned swap-artifact sweep → migrations + WAL
→ `verifySeed()` (best-effort)
→ `ensureSystemCategoryIcons()` (best-effort — writes
`CRY/HW/MSC/PWN/REV/WEB.png` into `<UPLOAD_DIR>/icons/` if missing so
freshly bootstrapped instances never serve 404 icons; see
[System Category Icon Seed](/architecture/system-category-icons.md))
→ `app.use(...)` middlewares (helmet, parsers, CSRF, static)
→ `SwaggerModule.setup(...)` (OpenAPI 3.1)
→ `SpaFallbackMiddleware` → `app.listen()`.

# See also

- [System Overview](/architecture/overview.md)
- [Key Files Index](/architecture/key-files.md)
- [System Category Icon Seed](/architecture/system-category-icons.md)
- [REST API Overview](/api/rest-overview.md)
- [Blog API](/api/blog.md)
- [Admin System API](/api/admin-system.md)