Dara

An intelligent document processing platform powered by AI

📖 Documentation • 🚀 Quick Start • 🔧 API Reference • 🤝 Contributing

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🎯 Overview

Dara is a modern, AI-powered document processing platform developed as part of the ALX Software Engineering program. It leverages cutting-edge technologies like LangChain and Cohere AI to provide intelligent document analysis, summarization, question generation, and conversational AI capabilities - all using free and open-source alternatives.

🌟 Key Highlights

• 🤖 AI-Powered: Advanced language models using entirely free alternatives (Cohere AI)
• 📄 Multi-Format Support: Process PDF, DOCX, PPTX, and TXT files seamlessly
• 🔄 RESTful API: Clean, well-documented API endpoints
• 🛡️ Enterprise-Ready: Built-in security, rate limiting, and error handling
• 🚀 Scalable Architecture: Modular design for easy deployment and scaling
• 📊 Production-Ready: Comprehensive monitoring, logging, and deployment options
• 💰 Cost-Effective: Uses free AI services with no usage-based billing

✨ Features

📝 Document Processing

• Multi-Format Parser: Native support for .pdf, .docx, .pptx, and .txt files
• Intelligent Text Extraction: Advanced parsing with context preservation
• Content Validation: Robust file type and size validation

🧠 AI-Powered Analysis

• Smart Summarization: Generate concise, contextual summaries using Cohere AI
• Question Generation: Create relevant questions from document content
• Conversational AI: Interactive chat interface for document Q&A powered by Cohere
• Answer Generation: Provide AI-powered answers based on document context
• Confidence Scoring: Quality metrics for AI-generated content
• Memory Management: In-memory conversation history (no external database required)

🔒 Security & Performance

• Rate Limiting: Intelligent request throttling (100 req/15min)
• Security Headers: Comprehensive protection with Helmet.js
• CORS Protection: Configurable cross-origin resource sharing
• Input Validation: Robust validation for all endpoints
• Error Handling: Graceful error responses and logging

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js v20.0.0 or higher
• npm v10.0.0 or higher
• Cohere AI API Key (Get one here)

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/oovaa/dara.git
   cd dara

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Configure environment:

   # Create environment file
   cp .env.example .env
   
   # Edit with your configuration
   nano .env

   Required environment variables:

   # AI Service Configuration
   API_KEY=your_cohere_api_key_here
   
   # Server Configuration
   PORT=3000
   FRONT_DOMAIN=http://localhost:3000
   
   # File Upload Configuration
   MAX_FILE_SIZE=10485760  # 10MB

4. Start the application:

   # Development mode (with hot reload)
   npm run dev
   
   # Production mode
   npm start

5. Verify installation:

   curl http://localhost:3000/

   You should see the Dara welcome page! 🎉

🔧 Usage

Web Interface

Navigate to http://localhost:3000 to access the intuitive web interface for document upload and processing.

API Endpoints

📄 Document Summarization

Generate intelligent summaries from uploaded documents.

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/sum \
  -F 'file=@document.pdf'

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "summary": "This document discusses...",
    "filename": "document.pdf",
    "processingTime": 3.2
  }
}

❓ Question Generation

Create relevant questions based on document content.

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/qs \
  -F 'file=@presentation.pptx'

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "questions": [
      {
        "id": 1,
        "question": "What are the main topics covered?",
        "type": "factual",
        "difficulty": "easy"
      }
    ],
    "questionCount": 5
  }
}

💬 Conversational Chat

Engage with Dara's AI assistant for interactive conversations.

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/chat \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "question": "What is artificial intelligence?",
    "session": "user-session-123"
  }'

Response:

{
  "answer": "Artificial intelligence (AI) is a field of computer science that aims to create systems capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence..."
}

Supported File Formats

Format	Extension	Description
PDF	.pdf	Portable Document Format
Word	.docx	Microsoft Word documents
PowerPoint	.pptx	Microsoft PowerPoint presentations
Text	.txt	Plain text files

Rate Limits

• 100 requests per 15-minute window per IP address
• 10MB maximum file size
• 50,000 characters maximum document length

🏗️ Architecture

Dara follows a modern, scalable architecture built on proven technologies:

┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│   Frontend      │    │   Backend       │    │   AI Services   │
│   (Handlebars)  │◄──►│   (Express.js)  │◄──►│   (Cohere AI)   │
│                 │    │                 │    │                 │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
                               │
                               ▼
                       ┌─────────────────┐
                       │   File System   │
                       │   (Processing)  │
                       └─────────────────┘

🔧 Technology Stack

Layer	Technologies
Backend	Node.js, Express.js, ES6 Modules
AI/ML	LangChain, Cohere AI, Document Loaders
Security	Helmet.js, CORS, Rate Limiting, Input Validation
File Processing	Multer, PDF-Parse, Office Parser
Development	Nodemon, Prettier, PM2
Deployment	Docker, PM2, Nginx

📁 Project Structure

dara/
├── 📂 server/              # Backend application
│   ├── 🎮 controllers/     # Request handlers
│   ├── 🔧 middlewares/     # Express middlewares  
│   ├── 🛣️  routes/         # API route definitions
│   └── 🔨 utils/           # Server utilities
├── 🛠️  utils/              # Shared utilities
│   ├── 🤖 model.js         # AI model configuration
│   └── 📄 parser.js        # Document parsers
├── 🔧 tools/               # Processing scripts
├── 🖼️  views/              # Handlebars templates
├── 📤 uploads/             # File upload directory
├── 📥 downloads/           # Processed files
└── 📚 docs/                # Comprehensive documentation

🔄 Data Flow

1. File Upload → User uploads document via API/Web
2. Validation → File type, size, and content validation
3. Parsing → Extract text using appropriate document loader
4. AI Processing → Send to Cohere AI for analysis
5. Response → Return structured results to client

For detailed architecture information, see Architecture Documentation.

🚀 Deployment

Quick Deployment Options

🐳 Docker (Recommended)

# Build and run with Docker
docker build -t dara .
docker run -p 3000:3000 -e API_KEY=your_key dara

☁️ Cloud Platforms

• AWS: ECS, EC2, Lambda
• Google Cloud: Cloud Run, Compute Engine
• Azure: Container Instances, App Service
• Heroku: One-click deployment

🖥️ Traditional Servers

# Production deployment with PM2
npm install -g pm2
pm2 start ecosystem.config.cjs
pm2 save && pm2 startup

For comprehensive deployment instructions, see Deployment Guide.

📖 Documentation

📚 Complete Documentation

• 📋 API Reference - Complete REST API documentation
• 🏗️ Architecture Guide - System design and components
• 🔧 Development Setup - Local development environment
• 🚀 Deployment Guide - Production deployment
• ⚙️ Environment Variables - Configuration reference
• 🛠️ Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions

🔗 Quick Links

• Technology Stack
• API Response Formats
• Contributing Guidelines

🔧 Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js v20+
• npm v10+
• Cohere AI API key

Development Commands

# Start development server
npm run dev

# Format code
npm run lint

# Production mode
npm start

Adding New Features

1. Create route in server/routes/
2. Add controller in server/controllers/
3. Implement business logic
4. Update documentation
5. Test thoroughly

See Development Guide for detailed instructions.

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Common Issues

• Port in use: Change PORT in .env
• API key errors: Verify API_KEY in environment
• File upload issues: Check file format and size
• Memory errors: Reduce file size or increase Node.js memory

For comprehensive troubleshooting, see Troubleshooting Guide.

🔐 Security

Dara implements multiple security layers:

• Rate Limiting: 100 requests per 15 minutes
• Input Validation: Comprehensive request validation
• Security Headers: Helmet.js protection
• CORS Protection: Configurable origin restrictions
• File Validation: Type and size checking

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions from the community! Dara is an open-source project that benefits from diverse perspectives and expertise.

🚀 Ways to Contribute

• 🐛 Bug Reports: Report issues and bugs
• 💡 Feature Requests: Suggest new functionality
• 📖 Documentation: Improve or expand documentation
• 🔧 Code Contributions: Submit pull requests
• 🧪 Testing: Help test new features and fixes
• 🎨 Design: Improve UI/UX and visual design

📋 Contribution Process

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 the branch: git push origin feature/amazing-feature
5. Open a Pull Request

📝 Guidelines

• Follow existing code style and conventions
• Write clear, descriptive commit messages
• Include tests for new features
• Update documentation as needed
• Be respectful and constructive in discussions

For detailed guidelines, see CONTRIBUTING.md.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.

📜 License Summary

• ✅ Commercial use - Use for commercial purposes
• ✅ Modification - Modify the software
• ✅ Distribution - Distribute the software
• ✅ Patent use - Grant of patent rights
• ✅ Private use - Use for private purposes
• ❗ Liability - No liability protection
• ❗ Warranty - No warranty provided
• 📋 License and copyright notice - Must include
• 📋 State changes - Must document changes
• 📋 Disclose source - Must provide source code

See the LICENSE file for full details.

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🌟 Star the Project

If you find Dara useful, please consider giving it a star! ⭐

Made with ❤️ by the ALX Software Engineering Community

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