Getting Started

Getting Started

This guide will help you set up the TopicsFlow application on your local machine for development.

📋 Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

• Docker & Docker Compose: Recommended for running services (MongoDB, Redis).
• Python 3.9+: For the backend application.
• Node.js 18+ & npm: For the frontend application.
• Git: For version control.

🔧 Environment Setup

1. Clone the Repository

git clone <repository-url>
cd TopicsFlow_App

2. Environment Variables

The project uses .env files for configuration. A setup script is provided to generate these automatically.

Windows:

.\env-setup.bat

Linux/Mac:

chmod +x env-setup.sh
./env-setup.sh

This script will create:

• backend/.env
• frontend/.env.local
• .env (root for Docker)

Note: Review the generated .env files and update any specific secrets or API keys (e.g., Azure keys, if needed).

🚀 Running Locally (Manual)

Backend (Flask)

1. Navigate to the backend directory:

   cd backend

2. Create and activate a virtual environment:

   python -m venv venv
   # Windows
   .\venv\Scripts\activate
   # Linux/Mac
   source venv/bin/activate

3. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Start the server:

   python app.py

   The backend will run on http://localhost:5000.

Frontend (Next.js)

1. Navigate to the frontend directory:

   cd frontend

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Start the development server:

   npm run dev

   The frontend will run on http://localhost:3000.

Database Services

You need MongoDB and Redis running. The easiest way is via Docker Compose:

docker-compose -f docker-compose.local.yml up -d mongo redis

🐳 Running with Docker

To run the entire stack (Frontend + Backend + DBs) using Docker:

docker-compose -f docker-compose.local.yml up --build

Access the application at http://localhost:3000.

🧪 Verifying Installation

Run the verification script to ensure everything is set up correctly:

Windows:

.\VERIFY_SETUP.bat

This script checks for:

• Python & Node.js installation
• Configuration files
• Directory structure