MEAN stack using Angular 2

To get started, run npm install, bower install, and then in your terminal run gulp serve. This will get the server running on port 3000 by default.

Also, I can't get gulp-typescript to compile the .ts files without putting the other gulp tasks in an infinite loop. I'm still working on that part. So for now you manually have to compile the .ts files in the terminal (tsc).

Passport-local is being used for authentication. I'm working on user management and authentication on the front end. Logging in works, but it's lost on a browser refresh. I need to work through persisting that.

I've also extended the built in Angular 2 Router Outlet to require authentication to go to certain routes. This works, but it won't work when returning an observable from a service that calls to the servers. It only works if you have a locally stored loggedIn variable that you manage.

As I'm new to full stack development, I'm open to suggestions for authentication strategies. I like the simplicity of passport-local, but if there's a better way to do user authentication that allows to pass around information about the user and keep track of authentication I am open. The only way I've previously kept track of a user with passport-local is by appending the user object to the body of the document when the server returns the layout view, and then in the Angular app checking for that object. However, that seems a little janky, and if there's a better way to handle user management I'd love to hear and learn. Any input is welcome.