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GET
/
api
/
user
/
certificate
/
:courseId
Get Certificate
curl --request GET \
  --url https://api.example.com/api/user/certificate/:courseId
{
  "Student Name": "<string>",
  "Course Title": "<string>",
  "Completion Date": "<string>",
  "Certificate ID": "<string>",
  "Certificate Verification Link": "<string>"
}

​
Overview

Generates and returns a PDF certificate for a completed course. The certificate includes the student’s name, course title, completion date, and a unique certificate ID.
Certificates are automatically generated when a user completes 100% of a course’s lectures.

​
Authentication

Requires Clerk authentication. The user must be enrolled in the course and have completed all lectures.

​
Path Parameters

​
courseId
string
required
The MongoDB ObjectId of the course

​
Response

Returns a PDF certificate file with appropriate headers.

​
Success Response (200)

Content-Type: application/pdf
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="SkillRise_Certificate_[CourseTitle].pdf"
The response body contains the PDF binary data.

​
Certificate Contents

The generated certificate includes:
​
Student Name
string
The authenticated user’s full name from Clerk
​
Course Title
string
The completed course title
​
Completion Date
date
The date when the course was completed (last lecture marked as completed)
​
Certificate ID
string
A unique identifier stored in the database for verification
​
Certificate Verification Link
string
A URL that can be used to verify the certificate’s authenticity

​
Error Responses

​
404 Not Found
  • User is not enrolled in the course
  • Course does not exist
  • User has not completed the course
​
500 Internal Server Error
Error generating the PDF certificate

​
Implementation Details

​
Certificate Generation Process

  1. Verify enrollment: Check that the user is enrolled in the course
  2. Check completion: Verify that all lectures are marked as completed
  3. Retrieve certificate record: Look up the Certificate model entry
  4. Generate PDF: Use Puppeteer to render HTML template as PDF
  5. Return file: Stream the PDF to the client

​
Database Model

Certificates are stored in the Certificate collection: 
{
  userId: String,          // Clerk user ID
  courseId: ObjectId,      // Reference to Course
  certificateId: String,   // Unique verification ID
  issuedDate: Date,        // Completion date
  userName: String,        // Student name
  courseName: String       // Course title
}

​
Code Examples

const response = await fetch(
  `${BACKEND_URL}/api/user/certificate/${courseId}`,
  {
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${clerkToken}`
    }
  }
);

if (response.ok) {
  const blob = await response.blob();
  const url = window.URL.createObjectURL(blob);
  const a = document.createElement('a');
  a.href = url;
  a.download = `SkillRise_Certificate_${courseTitle}.pdf`;
  a.click();
}

​
Use Cases

  1. Student downloads certificate after completing a course
  2. Share on LinkedIn by uploading the generated PDF
  3. Verify certificate authenticity using the certificate ID
  4. Track student achievements via the Certificate collection