Xano + React: Upload or Assign a Profile Picture

Hey there! In this guide, we'll show you how to enhance the user registration process by allowing users to upload a profile image. If they don't upload one, a generic image will be assigned to their profile.

Step 1: Create a Database Table for Images

First, create a database table called "images" to store the generic profile picture. This image will be assigned to users who don't provide a custom profile picture during registration.

Step 2: Create a User Table

Next, create a "user" table to store user information. Make sure to include fields for essential user data like email, password, first name, and last name.

Step 3: Add a Profile Picture Field to the User Table

In the "user" table, add a field to store the user's profile picture image metadata. You can do this by adding a new field of type "image metadata" under the "Storage" section.

Step 4: Set Up the Auth Signup Endpoint

Navigate to your auth signup endpoint, where you'll handle the user registration process. Here, you'll accept inputs from the frontend, such as email, password, first name, last name, and profile picture.

Step 5: Check for Existing Users

Before creating a new user account, ensure that the user trying to register doesn't already exist in the "user" table. You can do this by querying the "user" table and checking if a record with the provided email address already exists.

Step 6: Handle Profile Picture Upload

Create a conditional statement to check if the user has provided a profile picture during registration. If they have, create an image from the provided file input ("profile picture"). Otherwise, retrieve the metadata for the generic profile picture stored in the "images" table.

Step 7: Create a File Resource

If the user didn't provide a profile picture, create a file resource using the URL of the generic profile picture. This step is necessary before creating the image metadata for the generic picture.

Step 8: Create User Record

After obtaining the appropriate image metadata (custom or generic), create a new record in the "user" table with the provided user information and the image metadata as the profile picture.

Step 9: Create Authentication Token

Finally, create an authentication token for the new user and return it to the frontend.

Example Usage

Let's walk through an example using a mock React frontend:

1. Enter user details like name, email, and password.
2. Choose to upload a custom profile picture or leave it blank.
3. Click "Register" to send the request to the auth signup endpoint.
4. Check the "user" table to see the newly created user record with either the custom or generic profile picture.

Important Note

Your public files library will always be accessible via URL, meaning anyone with the URL can access the files, regardless of authentication. This is important when storing personal data like profile pictures. Xano supports a separate private files library (premium add-on or included with HIPAA compliance) that provides authenticated file access via function stacks.

That's it! By following these steps, you can enhance the user registration process by allowing users to upload custom profile pictures or assigning a generic one if they don't provide a custom image. Let us know if you have any questions!