Notecast

Notecast is a NotebookLM alternative AI knowledge base.

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+ (for backend)
• Node.js 16+ (for frontend)
• Git

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/deBrian07/Notecast.git
cd Notecast

2. Backend Setup

# Navigate to backend directory
cd backend

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv venv

# Activate virtual environment
# On Linux/Mac:
source venv/bin/activate
# On Windows:
# venv\Scripts\activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Create environment file
cp .env.example .env  # or create manually (see Environment Variables section)

# Initialize database
python create_db.py

# Start the backend server
python app.py

The backend will be available at http://localhost:8000

3. Frontend Setup

# Navigate to client directory (from project root)
cd client

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start the development server
npm run dev

The frontend will be available at http://localhost:5173

🔧 Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the backend directory with the following variables:

# Database
DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///./data/notecast.db

# Security
SECRET_KEY=your-super-secret-key-here
ALGORITHM=HS256
ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRE_MINUTES=60

# Directories
UPLOAD_DIR=./data/uploads
TEXT_DIR=./data/text
PODCAST_DIR=./data/podcasts

# AI/LLM Configuration
OLLAMA_URL=http://localhost:11434
OLLAMA_MODEL=llama2

# Text-to-Speech Configuration
TTS_VOICE_FEMALE=ljspeech
TTS_VOICE_MALE=male_voice
TTS_SAMPLE_RATE=22050

# Development
DEBUG=true

📁 Project Structure

Notecast/
├── backend/                 # FastAPI backend
│   ├── models/             # Database models
│   ├── routers/            # API routes
│   ├── services/           # Business logic
│   ├── core/               # Configuration and security
│   ├── data/               # Database and file storage
│   ├── alembic/            # Database migrations
│   ├── app.py              # Main application entry point
│   └── requirements.txt    # Python dependencies
├── client/                 # React frontend
│   ├── src/                # Source code
│   ├── public/             # Static assets
│   ├── package.json        # Node.js dependencies
│   └── vite.config.js      # Vite configuration
└── README.md

🛠 Development

Backend Development

cd backend

# Run with auto-reload
python app.py

# Run database migrations
alembic upgrade head

# Create new migration
alembic revision --autogenerate -m "Description"

Frontend Development

cd client

# Development server with hot reload
npm run dev

# Build for production
npm run build

# Preview production build
npm run serve

📚 API Documentation

Once the backend is running, visit:

• Swagger UI: http://localhost:8000/docs
• ReDoc: http://localhost:8000/redoc

🎯 Features

• Document Upload: Support for PDF and DOCX files
• AI-Powered Content Generation: Convert documents to podcast scripts
• Text-to-Speech: Generate audio from text with multiple voice options
• User Authentication: Secure user registration and login
• Project Management: Organize documents and podcasts into projects
• Modern UI: Responsive design with Tailwind CSS

🔍 Usage

1. Register/Login: Create an account or sign in
2. Create Project: Organize your work into projects
3. Upload Documents: Add PDF or DOCX files to your project
4. Generate Podcast: Convert documents to podcast scripts using AI
5. Text-to-Speech: Generate audio files from your scripts
6. Download: Get your finished podcast files

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Backend won't start:

• Check if all environment variables are set
• Ensure Python virtual environment is activated
• Verify all dependencies are installed: pip install -r requirements.txt

Frontend won't start:

• Check Node.js version: node --version (should be 16+)
• Clear node_modules and reinstall: rm -rf node_modules && npm install
• Check if port 5173 is available

Database issues:

• Run python create_db.py to initialize the database
• Check if data directory exists and is writable

TTS not working:

• Ensure TTS models are properly installed
• Check TTS configuration in environment variables

🚀 Production Deployment

Backend

# Install production dependencies
pip install gunicorn

# Run with Gunicorn
gunicorn app:app -w 4 -k uvicorn.workers.UvicornWorker --bind 0.0.0.0:8000

Frontend

# Build for production
npm run build

# Serve static files (dist folder) with your preferred web server

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature-name
3. Make your changes
4. Run tests (if available)
5. Commit your changes: git commit -m 'Add feature'
6. Push to the branch: git push origin feature-name
7. Submit a pull request

📄 License

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

🆘 Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions:

1. Check the troubleshooting section above
2. Search existing issues in the repository
3. Create a new issue with detailed information about your problem

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Happy podcasting! 🎙️