AutoMarket: Real‑time Deal Alert App

AutoMarket is a Flutter‑based mobile client that receives instant push notifications about newly listed mobile phones from Facebook Marketplace (Nepal).
It works seamlessly with the AutoMarket backend – displaying deals with photos, price, location, and a direct link to the original listing.
The app registers your device token to Firestore, so the backend knows exactly where to send alerts – even when the app is closed.

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Technologies

• Framework: Flutter (Dart)
• Backend Services: Firebase Firestore, Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM)
• Image Hosting: Cloudinary (optimised URLs)
• State Management: StreamBuilder + real‑time Firestore listeners
• Platforms: Android (min SDK 23), iOS (13+)
• Authentication (optional): Gmail API / Firebase Auth

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Architecture Overview (Notification Flow)

Diagram: Backend → FCM → Mobile device → Firestore read

1. Backend scraper finds a new deal → uploads image to Cloudinary
2. Backend writes listing to Firestore (listings collection)
3. Backend sends FCM message with visible notification payload
4. Mobile app shows notification (even if terminated)
5. On tap, app opens and reads fresh deal data from Firestore

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Objectives

• Deliver instant, visible alerts – users never miss a good deal, even when the app is closed
• Provide a clean deal feed – real‑time Firestore sync with optimised Cloudinary images
• Simplify token management – automatically register and update FCM tokens in Firestore for backend broadcasting

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Features

• 🔔 Push notifications – Android & iOS, appears on lock screen / notification shade
• 📱 Deal browser – sorted by newest, with photo, price, location, and direct Marketplace link
• 🔥 Real‑time Firestore – new deals appear instantly without manual refresh
• 🖼️ Cloudinary image optimisation – fast loading even on slow networks
• 🔄 Auto token registration – device FCM token saved to devices collection on launch
• 🧹 Expired deal cleanup – deals older than 30 days are automatically hidden (backend removes them)
• 🎯 Filtered scope – only iPhones (X to 16 Pro) and Android phones (Samsung, Pixel, OnePlus, etc.)

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Flutter 3.22+ & Dart 3.4+
• Firebase project with Firestore, FCM enabled
• For iOS: Apple Developer account + physical device

Setup

git clone https://github.com/your-org/automarket-flutter.git
cd automarket-flutter
flutter pub get