README.md

---
title: StarChat Playground
emoji: 🚀
colorFrom: red
colorTo: purple
sdk: gradio
sdk_version: 5.15.0
app_file: app.py
pinned: true
license: apache-2.0
---

# CodeChat Playground

Welcome to **CodeChat Playground**, a platform to explore, test, and deploy chat-based applications using cutting-edge AI models. This project provides an environment for rapid experimentation with conversational AI, built to foster innovation and enable developers to create interactive chatbots with ease.

### Features
- **Customizable Chatbot:** Use advanced AI models to design and customize chatbot interactions.
- **Model Integration:** Easily integrate with popular models for intelligent responses.
- **Real-Time Interaction:** Test chatbots with real-time input and immediate feedback.
- **Extendable:** Add custom features, modify behaviors, and experiment with different models and configurations.
- **Security-Focused:** Best practices for API key management, input sanitization, and request validation.

### Getting Started

#### Prerequisites
Before getting started, make sure you have the following installed:
- Python 3.7 or higher
- Node.js (if applicable for frontend interactions)
- npm or yarn for managing dependencies
- A virtual environment for Python dependencies (optional but recommended)

#### Installation

1. Clone the repository:
   ```bash
   git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/codechat-playground.git
   cd codechat-playground
   ```

2. Set up Python Environment:
   It's recommended to use a virtual environment for Python projects.
   ```bash
   python3 -m venv env
   source env/bin/activate  # For Linux/MacOS
   env\Scripts\activate     # For Windows
   ```

3. Install Python Dependencies:
   ```bash
   pip install -r requirements.txt
   ```

4. Install Frontend Dependencies (if applicable):
   If there are frontend components in your project (e.g., React, Vue.js), run:
   ```bash
   npm install
   ```
   or
   ```bash
   yarn install
   ```

5. Run the Application:

   - For the backend (Python server):
     ```bash
     python app.py  # Or the appropriate command to start your app
     ```

   - For the frontend (if applicable):
     ```bash
     npm start  # Or the corresponding command to run the frontend
     ```

6. Access the Application:
   Navigate to `http://localhost:5000` (or the URL specified) to interact with your chatbot.

### Configuration

If you want to customize the AI models or change settings, you can modify the configuration files. These are typically found in:
- `config/`
- `models/`
- `settings.py`

Ensure that any required API keys, model configurations, or environment variables are set in `.env` or within the project configuration files.

### Usage

Once set up, you can interact with your **CodeChat Playground** app via the web interface or API (depending on the app’s setup). Test different configurations of chat models, tune their behavior, and experiment with various user inputs.

#### Example Usage

To test a basic interaction through the API:
```bash
curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/chat -d '{"message": "Hello, AI!"}' -H "Content-Type: application/json"
```
This will return a response from the AI model in the form of a chat message.

### Security Best Practices

Since this project involves AI-driven chat interactions, security considerations are critical:
- **Input Validation:** Prevent prompt injection attacks by sanitizing and filtering user input.
- **Rate Limiting:** Implement request rate limiting to prevent abuse.
- **API Key Management:** Store API keys in a `.env` file and never expose them in code.
- **Logging & Monitoring:** Keep track of requests and responses to detect anomalies.

### Contributing

We welcome contributions! If you have ideas for improvements, bug fixes, or additional features, please fork the repository and create a pull request.

#### How to Contribute

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch (`git checkout -b feature-name`).
3. Make your changes and commit them (`git commit -am 'Add feature'`).
4. Push to your fork (`git push origin feature-name`).
5. Create a pull request with a detailed description of your changes.

### License

This project is licensed under the Apache 2.0 License - see the LICENSE file for details.

---