Posts and interactions

Create posts and enable user interactions

Creating posts

Create a new post with caption and media links.

curl -X POST https://api.example.com/api/posts \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "userName": "johndoe",
    "caption": "Beautiful sunset at the beach!",
    "PostMediasLinkInputs": [
      {
        "mediaType": "Image",
        "mediaURL": "https://cdn.example.com/images/sunset1.jpg"
      },
      {
        "mediaType": "Video",
        "mediaURL": "https://cdn.example.com/videos/waves.mp4"
      }
    ]
  }'

Response:

201 Created

Post structure

A post consists of:

• postID (long) - Auto-generated unique identifier
• initiatorID (long) - User who created the post
• caption (string, max 800 chars) - Post caption text
• createdAt (DateTime) - Creation timestamp
• likeCount (int) - Number of likes
• isDeleted (bool) - Soft delete flag
• PostMediasLinks (array) - Array of media objects

Media types

Each media item has:

• mediaType - Either “Image” or “Video”
• mediaURL - Full URL to the media resource

Error responses:

• 404 Not Found - User does not exist
• 409 Conflict - Cannot post on behalf of another user

Getting posts

Retrieve a specific post by ID with all associated data.

curl -X GET https://api.example.com/api/posts/12345 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "userName": "janedoe"
  }'

Response:

{
  "postOwnerUserName": "johndoe",
  "postOwnerPfpUrl": "https://example.com/profiles/john.jpg",
  "DateCreated": "2026-03-04T10:30:00Z",
  "LikesCount": 42,
  "postCaption": "Beautiful sunset at the beach!",
  "postMedias": [
    {
      "PostMediaID": 1,
      "PostID": 12345,
      "MediaType": "Image",
      "MediaURL": "https://cdn.example.com/images/sunset1.jpg"
    }
  ],
  "postComments": [
    {
      "commentID": 100,
      "PostID": 12345,
      "CommenterID": 456,
      "CommentText": "Amazing view!",
      "LikeCount": 5,
      "CreatedAt": "2026-03-04T11:00:00Z",
      "isDeleted": false
    }
  ],
  "isSaved": true
}

Error responses:

• 404 Not Found - Post does not exist, is deleted, or blocked

Deleting posts

Soft delete a post. The post is marked as deleted but not removed from the database.

curl -X DELETE https://api.example.com/api/posts/12345 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "userName": "johndoe"
  }'

Response:

204 No Content

What happens:

• isDeleted flag is set to true
• DeletedAt timestamp is recorded
• Post becomes invisible in feeds and queries

Error responses:

• 404 Not Found - Post does not exist
• 409 Conflict - User does not own the post
• 403 Forbidden - Post already deleted

Restoring deleted posts

Restore a soft-deleted post.

curl -X POST https://api.example.com/api/posts/12345/restore \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "userName": "johndoe"
  }'

Response:

204 No Content

What happens:

• isDeleted flag is set to false
• DeletedAt is set to null
• Post becomes visible again

Liking posts

Add a like to a post.

curl -X POST https://api.example.com/api/posts/12345/like \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "userName": "janedoe"
  }'

Response:

201 Created

What happens:

• A PostLike record is created with composite key (LikerID, PostID)
• Post’s likeCount is incremented
• A like notification is sent to the post owner

Error responses:

• 404 Not Found - Post does not exist or blocked
• 409 Conflict - Already liked this post

Unliking posts

Remove a like from a post. This operation uses a transactional delete to ensure atomicity.

curl -X DELETE https://api.example.com/api/posts/12345/like \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "userName": "janedoe"
  }'

Response:

204 No Content

Atomic operation:

The unlike operation is wrapped in a transaction to ensure data consistency:

using var transaction = context.Database.BeginTransaction();
try
{
    await context.PostLikes
        .Where(l => l.LikerID == result.likerId && l.PostID == postToUnlike.PostID)
        .ExecuteDeleteAsync();
    postToUnlike.LikeCount--;
    await context.SaveChangesAsync();
    await transaction.CommitAsync();
}
catch (Exception)
{
    await transaction.RollbackAsync();
    throw;
}

This prevents the like count and like record from getting out of sync on failure.

Error responses:

• 404 Not Found - Post does not exist or blocked
• 409 Conflict - Post not currently liked

Commenting on posts

Add a comment to a post.

curl -X POST https://api.example.com/api/posts/12345/comment \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "userName": "janedoe",
    "commentText": "This is absolutely stunning!"
  }'

Response:

201 Created

What happens:

• A Comment entity is created
• Comment text is limited to 1000 characters
• A comment notification is sent to the post owner

Comment structure:

• commentID (long) - Unique identifier
• postID (long) - Associated post
• commenterID (long) - User who commented
• commentText (string, max 1000 chars) - Comment content
• likeCount (int) - Number of likes on the comment
• createdAt (DateTime) - Creation timestamp
• isDeleted (bool) - Soft delete flag

Error responses:

• 404 Not Found - Post or user does not exist, or blocked

Deleting comments

Soft delete a comment.

curl -X DELETE https://api.example.com/api/posts/12345/comment \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "userName": "janedoe",
    "commentText": "This is absolutely stunning!"
  }'

Response:

204 No Content

What happens:

• Comment is marked as deleted
• DeletedAt timestamp is set

Error responses:

• 404 Not Found - User does not exist or blocked
• 409 Conflict - Comment does not exist

Saving posts

Save a post to your saved collection.

curl -X POST https://api.example.com/api/posts/12345/save \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "userName": "janedoe"
  }'

Response:

201 Created

What happens:

• A SavedPost record is created with composite key (SaverID, PostID)
• Post is added to user’s saved collection

Error responses:

• 404 Not Found - Post does not exist or blocked
• 409 Conflict - Post already saved

Unsaving posts

Remove a post from your saved collection.

curl -X DELETE https://api.example.com/api/posts/12345/save \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "userName": "janedoe"
  }'

Response:

204 No Content

Error responses:

• 404 Not Found - Post does not exist or blocked
• 409 Conflict - Post was not saved