Setup and Installation

Setup and Installation

This guide provides instructions for setting up and running Chat-Service.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x
• Docker (recommended for ease of deployment)
• Other dependencies as listed in requirements.txt

Using Docker (Recommended)

The service can be built and run using Docker and Docker Compose.

1. Build the Docker image:

   docker-compose build

2. Run the service:

   docker-compose up

   The service should now be accessible based on the port mappings in docker-compose.yml.

Manual Installation

1. Clone the repository (if not already done).
2. Create a virtual environment (recommended):

   python -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Configure environment variables: Set up any necessary environment variables (e.g., API keys for LLMs, database connections). Refer to config.py or a sample .env file if available.
5. Run the application: The command to run the application will depend on the web server/framework used (e.g., Uvicorn for FastAPI). This is typically defined in main.py or a run script.

   # Example for FastAPI with Uvicorn
   # uvicorn src.main:app --reload

Managing Dependencies and requirements.txt

To ensure a consistent development environment and accurately track project dependencies, it's crucial to manage the requirements.txt file correctly. For a detailed guide, refer to the Updating requirements.txt document in the main repository.

Here’s a summary of the process:

1. Create and Activate a Virtual Environment:

   • Always work within a virtual environment to isolate project dependencies.

     python -m venv venv
     # On Windows
     venv\Scripts\activate
     # On macOS/Linux
     source venv/bin/activate

2. Install Existing Dependencies (if any):

   • When starting on the project or a new environment, install dependencies from the existing requirements.txt:

     pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Install New or Update Packages:

   • If you add new libraries or need to update existing ones, use pip install:

     pip install package_name
     pip install package_name==1.2.3  # To install a specific version
     pip install --upgrade package_name # To upgrade a package

4. Update requirements.txt:

   • After installing or updating packages, regenerate the requirements.txt file to reflect these changes:

     pip freeze > requirements.txt

   • This command captures all packages currently installed in your virtual environment along with their exact versions.

5. Commit requirements.txt:

   • Add the updated requirements.txt to your Git commit so that other developers and deployment processes use the correct set of dependencies.

6. Deactivate Virtual Environment (when done):

   deactivate

Following these steps helps prevent dependency conflicts and ensures that the application behaves consistently across different setups.

Configuration

Key configuration options can be found in src/config.py. This may include:

• LLM model selection
• API keys
• Database URIs
• Service ports
• Paths for RAG data

Ensure these are correctly set for your environment.