FreshCut | AI-Powered Salon Booking React Native CLI App

FreshCut is a production-ready, AI-powered multi-tenant salon, barbershop, and beauty appointment booking platform. Engineered with a scalable Node.js & Express REST API, MongoDB (Mongoose), and 3 independent pure React Native CLI mobile applications (Customer App, Salon Owner App, and Super Admin App), FreshCut delivers an ultra-responsive, modern mobile experience built with TypeScript, Redux Toolkit, NativeWind v4 (Tailwind CSS), and full New Architecture (Fabric & TurboModules) support without any Expo runtime dependencies.

AI Features & API Usage Disclosure

In accordance with Envato’s item quality and disclosure requirements, please be advised that FreshCut leverages Artificial Intelligence to power core stylistic and grooming recommendations. An active API key from Groq Cloud is required to utilize these AI functionalities.

• AI Service Provider & Models: Groq Cloud high-speed inference engine using openai/gpt-oss-120b (Conversational Styling) and qwen/qwen3.6-27b (Hairstyle Vision Analysis).
• “Decode a Look” Hairstyle Vision Scanner: Uses Groq Vision models (qwen/qwen3.6-27b) to evaluate uploaded or captured haircut/styling photos. The AI automatically identifies the hairstyle name, crafts precise instructions to tell your barber/stylist, determines hair type compatibility, maintenance level, and recommends styling products in structured JSON.
• AI Beauty & Style Consultant Chatbot: Interactive conversational assistant powered by openai/gpt-oss-120b on Groq, providing tailored hair care routines, face-shape matching haircut guidance, beard grooming advice, and maintenance tips.

Security Note: All AI requests route securely through the Node.js backend. The GROQ_API_KEY is strictly managed via the backend .env file and is never exposed to client mobile devices.

Third-Party Integration Costs ($0 Upfront Setup)

FreshCut is designed to be highly cost-efficient. You can deploy and run the entire ecosystem at no upfront cost ($0) by leveraging the free developer tiers of the following integrated systems:

• MongoDB Atlas (Database): Free forever (The M0 Shared Tier is 100% free forever and includes 512MB storage — sufficient for thousands of users, salon listings, services, specialists, and bookings).
• Firebase Authentication & FCM (Auth & Push Alerts): Free forever (Firebase Spark plan provides unlimited user authentications, automated password reset emails, and native push notifications for iOS and Android for free).
• Cloudinary (Image Storage): Free forever (Free tier includes 25 monthly credits, equivalent to approx. 25,000 image transformations and HD salon portfolio storage slots).
• Groq Cloud API (AI Vision & LLM Chat): Free / Pay-as-you-go (Developer rate limits are free. Paid keys are fractional cents per 1M tokens with ultra-fast inference).
• Stripe SDK (Payments): Pay-as-you-go (No monthly fee. Stripe only charges a standard transaction rate of 2.9% + $0.30 per successful customer booking checkout).

Important Note – External Services and Configuration

This platform connects to external third-party services. For full functionality, configure your own credentials in the environment variables as documented in the included guide:

• Firebase Authentication & Admin SDK: Handles client signups, logins, automated password reset links, and server-side cryptographic ID token verification (firebase-admin/auth).
• Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) & Notifee: Dispatches real-time native push alerts for booking confirmations, appointment status updates, and administrative broadcasts.
• Payment Gateways (Stripe SDK): Handles in-app card checkout sessions via native Stripe Payment Sheets and secure webhook verification.
• Media Storage (Cloudinary SDK): Handles secure image uploads for salon cover photos, service thumbnails, transformation portfolio galleries, and user profile avatars.
• Database: Requires a MongoDB database instance (local MongoDB or MongoDB Atlas cloud).