Decrypt CTF Platform

Running cybersecurity competitions requires expensive platforms or complex self-hosted solutions. Devs@PSU needed a custom platform that could handle coding challenges, track progress, manage participants, and award certificates - all with a cyber-themed aesthetic.

Built a complete competition platform from scratch:

Challenge System:

Multiple coding challenges with varying difficulty levels
Real-time submission validation
Progress tracking per user
Hint system with point penalties

Competition Features:

Real-time leaderboard with live score updates
User profiles with statistics and achievements
Certificate generation for participants
Event management with start/end times

Admin Panel:

Challenge creation and management
User administration and role assignment
Event settings and configuration
Analytics and participation tracking

Technical Stack:

React 18 with TypeScript for type safety
Cyber-themed UI with Tailwind CSS
Supabase for real-time database and auth
Vite for fast builds and HMR

Successfully hosted multiple CTF events for Devs@PSU with 20+ participants each. Platform handles real-time scoring, certificate generation, and event management. PWA-ready with service worker caching for offline access.

Database Schema:

profiles - User information and roles
challenges - Challenge definitions with difficulty
challenge_progress - User submissions and scores
user_summary - Aggregated statistics
certificates - Certificate records
event_settings - Global configuration

Performance Optimizations:

Code splitting and lazy loading
Image optimization
Font preloading
CSS purging
Service worker caching
PWA manifest for mobile

Decrypt CTF Platform

The Problem

The Approach

The Impact

Build Notes