PROJECT-CLAIRE

An Intelligent Banking Assistant Designed for Secure, Inclusive, and Real-Time Customer Support in the Philippine Financial Sector.

IMPORTANT: These instructions are tested only on Windows.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have the following installed:

Required Software

• Visual Studio Build Tools with C++ support
• Python (latest version)
• Node.js 18 or higher with npm

Check Your Installation

Verify Node.js and npm are installed:

node --version
npm --version

If you don't have Node.js or need to upgrade:

• Download from: https://nodejs.org/
• Choose the LTS (Long Term Support) version

Installation Steps

1. Install Visual Studio Build Tools

• Download: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/#build-tools-for-visual-studio-2022
• Run the installer and select Desktop development with C++ workload
• Include these components: MSVC v143 - VS 2022 C++ x64/x86 build tools, Windows 11 SDK, CMake tools for Windows

2. Install Python

• Download the latest Python version from https://www.python.org/downloads/
• Make sure to check "Add Python to PATH" during installation

3. Restart Your Device

Restart your device to ensure environment changes take effect.

4. Download and Extract Project

Download and extract the CLAIRE-PROJECT to your desired path:
Example extraction path: C:\Users\<YourUsername>\Desktop\PROJECT-CLAIRE

5. Download Models

Download the fine-tuned models (4 files) from Google Drive:

📂 CLAIRE Models Folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1df87MOvmy20DeR7NsWgTm7ascED4fEaw?usp=drive_link

After downloading:

• Extract the downloaded models folder
• Move it into your project’s /backend directory
• Overwrite the existing models folder if prompted

Final path should look like:

PROJECT-CLAIRE/

• backend/
  • models/ <-- place models here
  • start_claire.py
• frontend/

Project Setup

6. Navigate to Project Directory

Open Command Prompt (cmd.exe) and navigate to the project directory:

cd C:\Users\<YourUsername>\Desktop\PROJECT-CLAIRE

7. Set Up Backend Environment

Create and activate a Python virtual environment:

python -m venv project-claire-env
project-claire-env\Scripts\activate
python -m pip install --upgrade pip

Install Python dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

8. Set Up Frontend Environment

Navigate to the frontend directory and install dependencies:

cd frontend
npm install

This will:

• Read the package.json file
• Download and install all required packages (React, Vite, and development tools)
• Create a node_modules folder with all dependencies

Running the Application

9. Start the Backend Service

From the project root directory, start the backend:

cd backend
python start_claire.py

Keep this terminal window open - the backend service needs to stay running.

10. Start the Frontend Development Server

Open a new Command Prompt window and navigate to the frontend directory:

cd C:\Users\<YourUsername>\Desktop\PROJECT-CLAIRE\frontend
npm run dev

This will:

• Start the Vite development server
• Open your app (usually at http://localhost:5173)
• Enable hot reload (changes appear instantly)

Usage

1. Ensure both services are running:
   • Backend service (Step 7)
   • Frontend development server (Step 8)
2. Open your browser and navigate to the frontend URL (typically http://localhost:5173)
3. The frontend will communicate with the backend API to provide full functionality

Troubleshooting

• Python errors: Ensure Python is properly added to your PATH
• Node.js commands don't work: Restart your command prompt after Node.js installation
• Connection issues: Make sure both backend and frontend servers are running simultaneously
• Port conflicts: Check that the default ports (backend and frontend) are not being used by other applications
• Dependencies issues: Try deleting node_modules folder and running npm install again
• Models not found: Verify that the /backend/models folder exists and contains the downloaded files

Development Notes

• The backend runs the API service that handles data processing
• The frontend provides the user interface and communicates with the backend
• Both services must be running for the application to work properly
• Changes to frontend code will automatically refresh in the browser
• Backend changes may require restarting the backend service
• Fine-tuned models must be present in /backend/models for full functionality

Documentation

The full project documentation (methodology, dataset design, RAFT ablation results, ESG evaluation) is available at docs/3_MangTomas_ProjectDocu_BPIDATAWave.pdf.

Team

CLAIRE was built by Team MangTomas for BPI DATA Wave 2025 (Track 3: Hyper-Personalization and Customer Experience):

• Kenneth S. Tomaniog
• Alyanna Ricci T. Evangelista
• Johncenn Jekk P. Tesnado