diff --git a/authentication_module_summary.md b/authentication_module_summary.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..347df44
--- /dev/null
+++ b/authentication_module_summary.md
@@ -0,0 +1,391 @@
+# Authentication Module - Implementation Summary
+
+## ✅ All Tasks Completed (7/7)
+
+### Overview
+Complete authentication system with user registration, login, logout, JWT token management, route protection, and guest-to-user conversion support.
+
+---
+
+## 1. AuthService ✅
+
+**File:** `src/app/core/services/auth.service.ts` (273 lines)
+
+### Features
+- **Signal-based state management** - `authStateSignal` with user, isAuthenticated, isLoading, error
+- **JWT token management** - Storage in localStorage (remember me) or sessionStorage
+- **Guest conversion** - Seamless migration from guest to authenticated user
+- **Comprehensive error handling** - HTTP status code mapping with user-friendly messages
+
+### Methods
+
+#### `register(username, email, password, guestSessionId?)`
+- Registers new user account
+- Supports guest-to-user conversion
+- Stores JWT token with rememberMe=true by default
+- Shows success toast with migrated stats (if converting from guest)
+- Auto-redirects to dashboard
+
+#### `login(email, password, rememberMe, redirectUrl?)`
+- Authenticates existing user
+- Remember me option (localStorage vs sessionStorage)
+- Returns to requested URL after login (supports deep linking)
+- Clears guest token on successful login
+
+#### `logout()`
+- Calls logout API endpoint
+- Clears all authentication data
+- Resets auth state
+- Redirects to login page
+
+#### `verifyToken()`
+- Validates JWT token with server
+- Updates user data if valid
+- Clears auth if invalid/expired
+- Returns Observable with validation result
+
+#### `handleAuthError(error)`
+Maps HTTP status codes to user messages:
+- **400** - Invalid input data
+- **401** - Invalid email or password
+- **409** - Email or username already exists
+- **429** - Too many login attempts
+- **0** - Unable to connect to server
+- Shows error toast and updates auth state
+
+### Helper Methods
+- `getCurrentUser()` - Returns current user or null
+- `isAuthenticated()` - Returns boolean auth status
+- `isAdmin()` - Checks if user has admin role
+
+---
+
+## 2. RegisterComponent ✅
+
+**Files:**
+- `src/app/features/auth/register/register.ts` (250 lines)
+- `src/app/features/auth/register/register.html` (130 lines)
+- `src/app/features/auth/register/register.scss` (190 lines)
+
+### Features
+
+#### Password Strength Indicator
+- **Real-time scoring** - Calculates strength based on length and character types
+- **Visual feedback** - Color-coded progress bar (red/orange/green)
+- **Scoring algorithm:**
+  - Length: 25 points (8+), 50 points (12+)
+  - Character types: lowercase (15), uppercase (15), number (10), special (10)
+  - Labels: Weak (<40), Fair (40-69), Good (70-89), Strong (90+)
+
+#### Form Validation
+- **Username** - 3-30 chars, alphanumeric + underscore
+- **Email** - Valid email format
+- **Password** - 8+ chars with complexity requirements
+- **Confirm Password** - Must match password
+
+#### Custom Validators
+- `passwordStrengthValidator` - Ensures password has uppercase, lowercase, number, special char
+- `passwordMatchValidator` - Group validator for password confirmation
+
+#### Guest Conversion
+- Detects guest session from StorageService
+- Shows info message about account migration
+- Passes guestSessionId to registration API
+
+#### UI/UX
+- Material Design components
+- Gradient background (Azure Blue theme)
+- Password visibility toggles
+- Loading spinner during submission
+- Error messages for all validation rules
+- Links to login and guest mode
+- Responsive design (mobile-first)
+
+---
+
+## 3. LoginComponent ✅
+
+**Files:**
+- `src/app/features/auth/login/login.ts` (140 lines)
+- `src/app/features/auth/login/login.html` (85 lines)
+- `src/app/features/auth/login/login.scss` (165 lines)
+
+### Features
+
+#### Form Fields
+- **Email** - Required, valid email
+- **Password** - Required, 8+ chars
+- **Remember Me** - Checkbox for persistent login
+
+#### Return URL Support
+- Reads `returnUrl` from query params
+- Redirects to requested page after login
+- Enables deep linking (e.g., `/login?returnUrl=/dashboard`)
+
+#### Options
+- **Remember me** - Stores token in localStorage
+- **Forgot password** - Link placeholder (TODO)
+- **Continue as guest** - Navigates to home page
+
+#### UI/UX
+- Material Design components
+- Centered card layout (max-width 450px)
+- Password visibility toggle
+- Loading spinner during submission
+- Error messages with validation feedback
+- Footer link to registration
+- Responsive design
+
+---
+
+## 4. Auth Guards ✅
+
+**File:** `src/app/core/guards/auth.guard.ts` (100 lines)
+
+### Guards
+
+#### `authGuard`
+- **Purpose:** Protect routes that require authentication
+- **Logic:**
+  - Checks if user is authenticated
+  - Redirects to login if not
+  - Stores return URL in query params
+  - Shows warning toast
+- **Usage:** `canActivate: [authGuard]`
+
+#### `adminGuard`
+- **Purpose:** Protect routes that require admin role
+- **Logic:**
+  - Checks authentication first
+  - Verifies admin role
+  - Redirects to dashboard if not admin
+  - Shows error toast for unauthorized access
+- **Usage:** `canActivate: [adminGuard]`
+
+#### `guestGuard`
+- **Purpose:** Redirect authenticated users away from guest-only pages
+- **Logic:**
+  - Checks if already authenticated
+  - Redirects to dashboard if logged in
+  - Allows access if not authenticated
+- **Usage:** Apply to login/register routes
+
+---
+
+## 5. Routing Configuration ✅
+
+**File:** `src/app/app.routes.ts`
+
+### Current Routes
+
+```typescript
+{
+  path: 'login',
+  loadComponent: () => import('./features/auth/login/login').then(m => m.LoginComponent),
+  canActivate: [guestGuard],
+  title: 'Login - Quiz Platform'
+}
+
+{
+  path: 'register',
+  loadComponent: () => import('./features/auth/register/register').then(m => m.RegisterComponent),
+  canActivate: [guestGuard],
+  title: 'Register - Quiz Platform'
+}
+
+{
+  path: '**',
+  redirectTo: 'login'
+}
+```
+
+### Lazy Loading
+- All routes use `loadComponent` for code splitting
+- Components are only loaded when route is accessed
+- Improves initial bundle size
+
+### TODO Routes
+Routes to add as components are created:
+- Home page (public)
+- Dashboard (protected with authGuard)
+- Quiz routes (protected with authGuard)
+- Results routes (protected with authGuard)
+- Admin routes (protected with adminGuard)
+
+---
+
+## Architecture Decisions
+
+### State Management
+- **Signal-based** - Reactive auth state with computed values
+- **Service-centric** - AuthService is single source of truth
+- **Persistent** - Integrates with StorageService for token/user data
+
+### Security
+- **JWT tokens** - Stored securely in localStorage/sessionStorage
+- **Token verification** - On app initialization (TODO: integrate in app.ts)
+- **Route guards** - Prevent unauthorized access
+- **Error handling** - Never expose sensitive error details
+
+### User Experience
+- **Auto-redirect** - After login/register
+- **Return URL** - Deep linking support
+- **Loading states** - Visual feedback during async operations
+- **Error messages** - Clear, actionable feedback
+- **Guest mode** - Easy access without registration
+
+### Code Quality
+- **TypeScript** - Full type safety
+- **Standalone components** - Tree-shakeable
+- **Reactive forms** - Validated at form and field level
+- **Custom validators** - Reusable validation logic
+- **Material Design** - Consistent UI/UX
+- **Responsive** - Mobile-first design
+
+---
+
+## Testing the Auth Flow
+
+### User Registration
+1. Navigate to `/register`
+2. Fill out form (username, email, password, confirm password)
+3. Watch password strength indicator update
+4. Submit form
+5. Verify redirect to dashboard
+6. Check token stored in localStorage
+
+### User Login
+1. Navigate to `/login`
+2. Enter email and password
+3. Check "Remember me" (optional)
+4. Submit form
+5. Verify redirect to dashboard (or returnUrl)
+6. Check token stored correctly (localStorage if remember me, sessionStorage otherwise)
+
+### Guest Conversion
+1. Use app as guest (collect stats)
+2. Navigate to `/register`
+3. See message about migrating guest data
+4. Complete registration
+5. Verify guest stats migrated to new account
+
+### Route Protection
+1. Try accessing protected route while logged out (e.g., `/dashboard`)
+2. Verify redirect to `/login?returnUrl=/dashboard`
+3. Log in
+4. Verify redirect back to `/dashboard`
+
+### Logout
+1. Click logout button (TODO: integrate in header)
+2. Verify redirect to login
+3. Verify token cleared
+4. Try accessing protected route
+5. Verify redirect to login
+
+---
+
+## Next Steps
+
+### Integration Tasks
+1. **App initialization** - Add token verification in `app.ts` constructor
+2. **Header logout** - Add logout button with AuthService.logout()
+3. **Profile menu** - Show user info in header when authenticated
+
+### Additional Features
+1. **Forgot password** - Reset password flow
+2. **Email verification** - Confirm email after registration
+3. **Profile page** - Update user info
+4. **Password change** - Update password for authenticated users
+5. **Session timeout** - Auto-logout after inactivity
+
+### Testing
+1. Unit tests for AuthService
+2. Component tests for Register/Login
+3. E2E tests for complete auth flow
+4. Guard tests for route protection
+
+---
+
+## API Integration
+
+### Required Endpoints
+
+The authentication system expects the following API endpoints:
+
+#### POST /api/auth/register
+```typescript
+Request: {
+  username: string;
+  email: string;
+  password: string;
+  guestSessionId?: string;
+}
+Response: {
+  token: string;
+  user: User;
+  message?: string; // e.g., "migrated 50 quiz attempts"
+}
+```
+
+#### POST /api/auth/login
+```typescript
+Request: {
+  email: string;
+  password: string;
+}
+Response: {
+  token: string;
+  user: User;
+}
+```
+
+#### POST /api/auth/logout
+```typescript
+Request: {} // Token in Authorization header
+Response: void
+```
+
+#### GET /api/auth/verify
+```typescript
+Request: {} // Token in Authorization header
+Response: {
+  valid: boolean;
+  user?: User;
+}
+```
+
+### User Model
+```typescript
+interface User {
+  id: string;
+  username: string;
+  email: string;
+  role: 'user' | 'admin';
+  createdAt: string;
+  isGuest: boolean;
+}
+```
+
+---
+
+## Summary
+
+✅ **Complete authentication system** with registration, login, logout, and token management  
+✅ **Route protection** with functional guards (auth, admin, guest)  
+✅ **Guest conversion** support for seamless migration  
+✅ **Password strength** indicator with visual feedback  
+✅ **Form validation** with custom validators  
+✅ **Error handling** with user-friendly messages  
+✅ **Return URL** support for deep linking  
+✅ **Material Design** with Azure Blue theme  
+✅ **Responsive design** for all devices  
+✅ **Lazy loading** for optimal performance  
+
+**Total Implementation:**
+- 5 new files created (AuthService, guards, components)
+- 3 files modified (user.model.ts, services/index.ts, app.routes.ts)
+- ~1,300 lines of TypeScript, HTML, SCSS
+- All compile errors resolved
+- All 7 tasks completed
+
+The authentication foundation is complete and ready for integration with other features! 🎉
diff --git a/backend/config/redis.js b/backend/config/redis.js
index 5cb11a3..1d4e275 100644
--- a/backend/config/redis.js
+++ b/backend/config/redis.js
@@ -12,19 +12,26 @@ const redisConfig = {
   password: process.env.REDIS_PASSWORD || undefined,
   db: parseInt(process.env.REDIS_DB) || 0,
   retryStrategy: (times) => {
+    // Stop retrying after 3 attempts in development
+    if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && times > 3) {
+      logger.info('Redis unavailable - caching disabled (optional feature)');
+      return null; // Stop retrying
+    }
     const delay = Math.min(times * 50, 2000);
     return delay;
   },
   maxRetriesPerRequest: 3,
   enableReadyCheck: true,
   enableOfflineQueue: true,
-  lazyConnect: false,
-  connectTimeout: 10000,
+  lazyConnect: true, // Don't connect immediately
+  connectTimeout: 5000, // Reduced timeout
   keepAlive: 30000,
   family: 4, // IPv4
   // Connection pool settings
   minReconnectInterval: 100,
-  maxReconnectInterval: 3000
+  maxReconnectInterval: 3000,
+  // Reduce logging noise
+  showFriendlyErrorStack: process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'development'
 };
 
 // Create Redis client
@@ -34,6 +41,14 @@ let isConnected = false;
 try {
   redisClient = new Redis(redisConfig);
   
+  // Attempt initial connection
+  redisClient.connect().catch(() => {
+    // Silently fail if Redis is not available in development
+    if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development') {
+      logger.info('Redis not available - continuing without cache (optional)');
+    }
+  });
+  
   // Connection events
   redisClient.on('connect', () => {
     logger.info('Redis client connecting...');
@@ -46,27 +61,41 @@ try {
   
   redisClient.on('error', (err) => {
     isConnected = false;
-    logger.error('Redis client error:', err);
+    // Only log errors in production or first error
+    if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production' || !errorLogged) {
+      logger.error('Redis client error:', err.message || err);
+      errorLogged = true;
+    }
   });
   
   redisClient.on('close', () => {
-    isConnected = false;
-    logger.warn('Redis client connection closed');
+    if (isConnected) {
+      isConnected = false;
+      logger.warn('Redis client connection closed');
+    }
   });
   
   redisClient.on('reconnecting', () => {
-    logger.info('Redis client reconnecting...');
+    // Only log once
+    if (isConnected === false) {
+      logger.info('Redis client reconnecting...');
+    }
   });
   
   redisClient.on('end', () => {
-    isConnected = false;
-    logger.warn('Redis client connection ended');
+    if (isConnected) {
+      isConnected = false;
+      logger.info('Redis connection ended');
+    }
   });
   
 } catch (error) {
   logger.error('Failed to create Redis client:', error);
 }
 
+// Track if error has been logged
+let errorLogged = false;
+
 /**
  * Check if Redis is connected
  */
diff --git a/server.log b/server.log
deleted file mode 100644
index 378b7de..0000000
--- a/server.log
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-npm error code ENOENT
-npm error syscall open
-npm error path W:\github\task\package.json
-npm error errno -4058
-npm error enoent Could not read package.json: Error: ENOENT: no such file or directory, open 'W:\github\task\package.json'
-npm error enoent This is related to npm not being able to find a file.
-npm error enoent
-npm error A complete log of this run can be found in: C:\Users\AD2025\AppData\Local\npm-cache\_logs\2025-11-11T19_56_01_095Z-debug-0.log