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POST
/
api
/
user
/
add-rating
Add Course Rating
curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.example.com/api/user/add-rating \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '
{
  "courseId": "<string>",
  "rating": 123,
  "review": "<string>"
}
'
{
  "success": true,
  "message": "<string>",
  "data": {
    "courseId": "<string>",
    "rating": 123,
    "review": "<string>",
    "averageRating": 123,
    "totalRatings": 123
  }
}

​
Overview

Allows students to rate a course they have completed. Ratings are stored with the user’s enrollment record and displayed on course detail pages.

​
Authentication

Requires Clerk authentication. The user must be enrolled in the course.

​
Request Body

​
courseId
string
required
The MongoDB ObjectId of the course to rate
​
rating
number
required
Rating value between 1-5 starsMust be an integer: 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5
​
review
string
Optional text review/comment about the courseMaximum length: 500 characters

​
Response

​
success
boolean
Indicates whether the rating was saved successfully
​
message
string
Confirmation message
​
data
object
The updated course rating information

​
Request Example

{
  "courseId": "65f3a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0",
  "rating": 5,
  "review": "Excellent course! The instructor explained complex concepts clearly and the hands-on projects were very helpful."
}

​
Response Example

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Rating submitted successfully",
  "data": {
    "courseId": "65f3a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0",
    "rating": 5,
    "review": "Excellent course! The instructor explained...",
    "averageRating": 4.7,
    "totalRatings": 128
  }
}

​
Error Responses

​
400 Bad Request
  • Missing required fields
  • Invalid rating value (not 1-5)
  • Review text exceeds 500 characters
​
404 Not Found
  • User is not enrolled in the course
  • Course does not exist
​
403 Forbidden
  • User has not completed the course yet
  • Ratings may be restricted to completed courses only

​
Implementation Details

​
Rating Storage

Ratings are stored in the User model’s courseRatings array: 
courseRatings: [
  {
    courseId: ObjectId,
    rating: Number,      // 1-5
    review: String,
    createdAt: Date
  }
]

​
Rating Update Rules

  • Users can update their rating for a course by submitting again
  • The most recent rating replaces any previous rating
  • Average rating is recalculated for the course after each submission

​
Code Examples

const response = await fetch(`${BACKEND_URL}/api/user/add-rating`, {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': `Bearer ${clerkToken}`,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    courseId: '65f3a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0',
    rating: 5,
    review: 'Great course with excellent content!'
  })
});

const data = await response.json();
console.log(`Average rating: ${data.data.averageRating}`);

​
Use Cases

  1. Collect student feedback on course quality
  2. Display ratings on course pages to help prospective students
  3. Calculate average ratings to rank courses
  4. Identify top-rated courses for marketing purposes