News App

Simple Flask app that fetches news from NewsAPI and optionally checks authenticity via GROQ AI.

Setup

1. Create a virtual environment and install dependencies:

python -m venv venv
venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
pip install -r requirements.txt

1. Copy .env.example to .env and set NEWS_API_KEY (required) and GROQ_API_KEY (optional).

2. Run the app in development:

python web.py

Deploy the Flask app

This repository is ready to deploy on Render from GitHub.

1. Push the latest code to GitHub.
2. In Render, create a new Web Service from this repository.
3. Render will detect render.yaml and use:
   • build command: pip install -r requirements.txt
   • start command: gunicorn wsgi:app
4. Add these environment variables in Render:
   • NEWS_API_KEY required
   • GROQ_API_KEY optional
5. After deploy, Render will give you a public HTTPS URL such as https://your-news-app.onrender.com.

Use the Android app on any network

Once the Flask app is hosted, open the Android app and set the server URL to your public Render URL, for example:

https://your-news-app.onrender.com/

That URL will work from any network because the backend is no longer running only on your local Wi-Fi.

Deploy with Firebase

Firebase Hosting alone cannot run this Flask backend. For Firebase, use Firebase Hosting in front of Cloud Run.

This repository now includes a Dockerfile for Cloud Run.

Typical Firebase path:

1. Create a Firebase project.
2. Deploy this Flask app to Cloud Run from the repo or from local source.
3. In Firebase Hosting, connect your site to the Cloud Run service.
4. Put the final public HTTPS URL into the Android app.

At a high level, the Firebase docs for this setup are:

• Firebase Hosting with Cloud Run
• Cloud Run Python/Flask deployment

Once the app is live on Firebase/Cloud Run, use the hosted HTTPS URL in the APK instead of a local Wi-Fi IP.

Build a Windows .exe

1. Make sure your .env file is present in the project folder.

2. Run the build script:

.\build_exe.ps1

1. After the build finishes, your executable will be at dist\NewsApp.exe.

2. Keep a copy of .env next to NewsApp.exe so the app can read your API keys after packaging.

Notes

• The packaged app starts a local Flask server and opens your browser automatically.
• If GROQ_API_KEY is missing, authenticity checks are disabled and the app will still work.
• Keep your API keys private and do not commit .env to source control.