🏛️ RTI-Gen — AI-Powered RTI Application Generator

Empowering Citizens, One RTI at a Time
Made with ❤️ for Google Summer of Code (GSoC) and the open-source community

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RTI-Gen is an open-source, AI-powered platform that helps Indian citizens generate legally compliant RTI (Right to Information) applications. It transforms plain-language requests into structured, ready-to-file RTI drafts using intelligent logic, rule-based validation, and configurable templates.

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📋 Table of Contents

• Project Overview
• Features
• Tech Stack
• Architecture
• Getting Started
• Project Structure
• API Documentation
• Testing
• Contributing
• Community & Code of Conduct
• License

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🎯 Project Overview

What is RTI-Gen?

RTI-Gen is a civic-tech project designed to make the Right to Information (RTI) process accessible, transparent, and user-friendly for everyone. It is especially built for the Indian context, but the architecture is extensible for other legal document generation use cases.

Why RTI-Gen?

Many citizens struggle to file RTI applications because:

• They do not know the correct legal format
• They are unsure what information to request
• Templates vary across departments
• Errors can lead to rejection
• Language barriers exist
• Existing tools are static and non-intelligent

How does it help?

RTI-Gen solves these problems by:

• Converting user intent into structured RTI questions
• Applying rule-based logic to ensure correctness
• Generating drafts using configurable templates
• Validating drafts and providing actionable feedback
• Supporting extensibility for future features like multilingual support

GSoC & Open Source

This project is developed as part of Google Summer of Code (GSoC) 2026 and welcomes contributions from the global open-source community. We value diversity, collaboration, and learning.

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✨ Features

Core Features

• 📝 Smart RTI Draft Generation — Convert vague descriptions into legally structured applications
• 🧠 Intelligent Question Suggestion — Auto-generate relevant RTI questions based on intent
• ⚖️ Rule-Based Logic Engine — Dynamically apply RTI-specific rules
• 📄 Template-Based Drafting — Use configurable templates for different departments
• ✅ Validation & Scoring — Get quality scores and improvement suggestions
• ✏️ Editable Draft Output — Fine-tune generated drafts before export

Advanced Features

• 🌐 Multilingual Support — i18n ready (English, Hindi, and more)
• 📊 Knowledge Graph Visualization — Explore departments and templates visually
• ⚡ Redis Caching — Optimized performance with intelligent caching
• 📱 Responsive Design — Works seamlessly on desktop and mobile

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🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend

Technology	Purpose
React 19	UI Framework
Vite	Build Tool & Dev Server
TailwindCSS 4	Styling
React Router 7	Routing
React Hook Form	Form Management
Framer Motion	Animations
ReactFlow	Graph Visualization
i18next	Internationalization
Axios	HTTP Client

Backend

Technology	Purpose
Node.js	Runtime Environment
Express.js	Web Framework
MongoDB	Database
Mongoose	ODM
Redis	Caching
PDFKit	PDF Generation
Natural	NLP Processing
Handlebars	Template Engine
Winston	Logging

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🏗️ Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     React Frontend                          │
│  (Landing Page, Generator Workspace, Templates, Graph)      │
└──────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘
                           │
                           ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   Express.js API Layer                      │
│         /api/v1/rti  |  /api/v1/questions  |  /api/v1/templates│
└──────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘
                           │
                           ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    RTI Core Engines                         │
│  ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐       │
│  │  Intent  │ │ Question │ │   Rule   │ │ Template │       │
│  │  Engine  │ │  Engine  │ │  Engine  │ │  Engine  │       │
│  └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘       │
│  ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐                                  │
│  │  Draft   │ │Validation│                                  │
│  │  Engine  │ │  Engine  │                                  │
│  └──────────┘ └──────────┘                                  │
└──────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘
                           │
                           ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           MongoDB (Data)    |    Redis (Cache)              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

System Flow

User Input → Intent Detection → Question Generation → Rule Application
     → Template Selection → Draft Generation → Validation → Final Draft

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🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js v18 or higher
• MongoDB v6 or higher
• Redis (optional, for caching)
• npm or yarn

Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/rti-gen.git
   cd rti-gen

2. Setup Backend

   cd backend
   npm install
   
   # Create environment file
   cp .env.example .env
   
   # Update .env with your configuration
   # PORT=5000
   # NODE_ENV=development
   # MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/rti-gen
   # CORS_ORIGIN=http://localhost:3000
   
   # Seed the database
   npm run seed
   
   # Start development server
   npm run dev

3. Setup Frontend

   cd frontend
   npm install
   
   # Start development server
   npm run dev

4. Access the Application

   • Frontend: http://localhost:5173
   • Backend API: http://localhost:5000
   • Health Check: http://localhost:5000/api/health

Quick Start with Docker (Coming Soon)

docker-compose up -d

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📁 Project Structure

rti-gen/
├── README.md                 # This file
├── PRD.md                    # Product Requirements Document
│
├── backend/                  # Express.js Backend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── app.js           # Express app configuration
│   │   ├── server.js        # Server entry point
│   │   ├── config/          # Database & Redis configuration
│   │   ├── constants/       # Department definitions
│   │   ├── controllers/     # Request handlers
│   │   ├── middlewares/     # Error & validation middleware
│   │   ├── models/          # Mongoose schemas
│   │   ├── routes/          # API routes
│   │   ├── services/        # Business logic engines
│   │   └── utils/           # Helper functions
│   ├── tests/               # Jest tests
│   └── package.json
│
├── frontend/                 # React Frontend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── App.jsx          # Main application component
│   │   ├── main.jsx         # Entry point
│   │   ├── i18n.js          # Internationalization config
│   │   ├── components/      # Reusable UI components
│   │   │   ├── common/      # Buttons, UI elements
│   │   │   ├── layout/      # Header, Footer
│   │   │   ├── rti/         # RTI-specific components
│   │   │   └── templates/   # Template components
│   │   ├── pages/           # Page components
│   │   │   ├── LandingPage.jsx
│   │   │   ├── GeneratorWorkspace.jsx
│   │   │   ├── Templates.jsx
│   │   │   └── Graph.jsx
│   │   └── services/        # API service layer
│   ├── public/              # Static assets
│   └── package.json
│
└── doc.md                    # Additional documentation

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📚 API Documentation

Base URL

http://localhost:5000/api/v1

Endpoints

Health Check

GET /api/health

RTI Generation

POST /api/v1/rti/generate
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "description": "Road construction corruption in my area",
  "department": "Municipal",
  "applicantName": "John Doe",
  "applicantAddress": "123 Main St, City"
}

Questions

GET /api/v1/questions/suggest?intent=road+construction
POST /api/v1/questions/generate

Templates

GET /api/v1/templates
GET /api/v1/templates/:id
POST /api/v1/templates

Graph

GET /api/v1/graph

Response Format

{
  "success": true,
  "data": { ... },
  "message": "Operation successful"
}

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🧪 Testing

Backend Tests

cd backend
npm test              # Run all tests
npm run test:watch    # Watch mode

Frontend Tests

cd frontend
npm run lint          # Run ESLint

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🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions from students, developers, and civic-tech enthusiasts! Whether you are a GSoC aspirant, a first-time open-source contributor, or an experienced developer, your help is appreciated.

How to Contribute

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to your branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request (PR) on GitHub

Development Guidelines

• Follow the existing code style and best practices
• Write meaningful commit messages
• Add tests for new features
• Update documentation as needed
• Be respectful and collaborative

Areas for Contribution

• 🌐 Add more language translations
• 📝 Create new RTI templates
• 🧪 Write more test cases
• 📖 Improve documentation
• 🐛 Fix bugs and issues

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🌍 Community & Code of Conduct

We are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for all contributors. Please read our Code of Conduct before participating.

Join our discussions, ask questions, and connect with the community:

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions

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📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License — see the LICENSE file for details.

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🙏 Acknowledgments

• Inspired by the need to make RTI filing accessible to all citizens
• Built with ❤️ for civic-tech and open-source communities
• Special thanks to all contributors, mentors, and GSoC organizers

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📞 Contact & Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• Email: contact@chronallabs.com

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Empowering Citizens, One RTI at a Time
Made with ❤️ for GSoC & Open Source