AskMyDoc

AskMyDoc is an AI-powered application that allows users to upload PDF documents and ask questions based on the content of those documents. It uses a combination of frontend technologies (React, Axios and TailwindCSS) and backend technologies (Node.js, Express.js, Langchain, Google Vertex AI, pdfreader, and multer) to provide this functionality.

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Visit Live App or (https://ask-my-doc.vercel.app/)

Note: Sending frequent questions might exceed requests quota please take care of that.

Technologies Used

• Frontend: React, TailwindCSS, Axios
• Backend: node.js, express.js, @langchain, @langchain/google-vertexai, pdfreader, multer

Local Setup Guide

Follow the steps below to set up the project on your local machine.

1. Clone the Repository

First, clone the repository to your local machine:

git clone <repo-url>

2. Install Frontend Dependencies

Navigate to the client/ui directory from root and install the frontend dependencies:

cd client/ui
npm install

3. Install Backend Dependencies

Move to the server directory from and install the backend dependencies:

If you are in ui directory right now:

cd ../../server
npm install

If you are at root:

cd server
npm install

4. Set Up Environment Variables

Frontend

In the client/ui directory, create a .env file and add the following environment variable:

VITE_BACKEND_API = "your-backend-api-link"

Backend

In the server directory, create a JSON file containing your Google project credentials. Name it credentials.json or any name of your choice.

Create a .env file in the server directory and add the following environment variable, specifying the path to your Google project credentials:

GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS = "path-to-your-google-project-credentials.json-file"

In my example:

GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS= "./credentials.json"

5. Running the Application

Frontend

To run the frontend application, navigate to the client/ui directory and execute:

npm run dev

This will start the frontend application at http://localhost:5173/.

Backend

To run the backend server, navigate to the server directory and execute:

npm run dev

The server will run by default at http://localhost:4000/. If you want to use a different port, set the PORT environment variable in your .env file or change the hardcoded port value in the index.js file.

6. Creating the Uploads Directory

You might need to create an uploads directory in the server directory to store uploaded files. Create it manually if it's not created automatically on starting server, you can also run the following command in server directory:

mkdir uploads

This should allow you to run your application locally.

API Documentation

Endpoints

There are only two end-points in our application for now:

POST : /upload

Description: Uploads a PDF file to the server.

Request:

• Form Data is to be sent with a key pdf with pdf file as its value
• Headers to send form data

headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'multipart/form-data',
},

Response:

• JSON
• filename (string): The name with which the file is stored on the server. This is the same value that has to be sent in /ask request.

{
    filename: "Name of the file stored at server."
}

POST : /ask

Description: Asks a question based on the content of an uploaded PDF.

Request:

• JSON
• question (string): The question to ask.
• filename (string): The name of the file on the server to take context from. Will be received in response from /upload request.

{
    question: "User's question.",
    filename: "Name of the file to pick context from."
}

Response:

• JSON
• answer (string): The AI-generated answer.

{"answer": "Your AI generated answer"}

Conclusion

That's all for setting up and running AskMyDoc! Check out the application and enjoy asking questions from your PDF documents. If you encounter any issues, feel free to open an issue on the repository.