Lychee

Lychee is a Flask-based, encyclopedia-style web application focused on truth and factual accuracy. Users submit articles and the community votes to verify and validate facts, aiming to rival major encyclopedias like Wikipedia. Optional OpenAI Codex/GPT integration can assist in drafting and refining content.

Requirements

• Python 3.10 or later
• SQLite 3 (for the default built-in database)

Local Setup (Beta Testing)

1. Clone the repository

   git clone <repo-url> lychee
   cd lychee

2. Create and activate a virtual environment (recommended)

   python3 -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate

3. Install dependencies

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Configure environment variables

   cp .env.example .env
   # Edit .env and set your OPENAI_API_KEY and FLASK_SECRET_KEY

5. Initialize the database

python3 create_db.py

6. Run the development server

python3 main.py

To run on a different port (if 8000 is in use), set the PORT environment variable, e.g.:

PORT=8001 python3 main.py

Security notes (portfolio)

• FLASK_SECRET_KEY is required (no insecure default). Use a long random value.
• Article content is rendered with Jinja auto-escaping (safe by default). If you later add rich-text HTML/Markdown rendering, you must sanitize to prevent stored XSS.

7. Open in your browser Visit http://localhost:8000 (or the host/port printed by Flask).

Notes

• The .env file is listed in .gitignore and should not be committed to source control.
• In production (e.g. Cloud Run), set OPENAI_API_KEY and FLASK_SECRET_KEY via your platform's environment/secret management.

License

This project is released under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.