AiCompanion

AiCompanion is a full-stack application that enables users to create, customize, and chat with AI character companions. The project consists of a Node.js Express backend and a Next.js frontend.

Project Structure

AiCompanion/
├── backend/             # Express server backend
│   ├── server.js        # Main server file with API endpoints
│   └── package.json     # Backend dependencies
│
└── ai-companion-nextjs/ # Next.js frontend
    ├── src/             # Source code
    │   ├── app/         # Next.js app router pages
    │   ├── components/  # React components
    │   └── services/    # API service layer
    └── package.json     # Frontend dependencies

Features

• User Authentication: Secure user management with Clerk
• Character Creation: Create and customize AI companions with personalities, interests, and appearances
• Conversational AI: Chat with AI characters that maintain their unique personalities
• Character Management: Edit, view, and delete your created characters
• Conversation History: Access and manage previous conversations with characters

Backend

The backend server is built with Express.js and provides API endpoints for character and conversation management.

Setup

cd backend
npm install

Environment Variables

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

PORT=3001
MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key
CLERK_SECRET_KEY=your_clerk_secret_key

Running the Backend

cd backend
node server.js

API Endpoints

Characters

• GET /v1/characters/:clerkId - Get all characters for a user
• GET /v1/character/:characterId - Get a specific character by ID
• POST /v1/characters - Create a new character
• PUT /v1/characters/:characterId - Update a character
• DELETE /v1/characters/:characterId - Delete a character

Conversations

• GET /v1/conversations/:clerkId - Get all conversations for a user
• GET /v1/conversations/:clerkId/:characterId - Get conversations with a specific character
• GET /v1/conversation/:conversationId - Get a specific conversation
• POST /v1/conversations - Create a new conversation
• PUT /v1/conversation/:conversationId/title - Update a conversation title
• DELETE /v1/conversation/:conversationId - Delete a conversation

Messages

• GET /v1/messages/:conversationId - Get all messages in a conversation
• POST /v1/messages - Send a new message

Frontend

The frontend is built with Next.js and provides a modern, responsive UI for interacting with AI characters.

Setup

cd ai-companion-nextjs
npm install

Environment Variables

Create a .env.local file in the ai-companion-nextjs directory:

NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:3001
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=your_clerk_publishable_key
CLERK_SECRET_KEY=your_clerk_secret_key

Running the Frontend

cd ai-companion-nextjs
npm run dev

The application will be available at http://localhost:3000.

Key Pages

• / - Home page with app introduction
• /characters - List of user-created characters
• /characters/[characterId] - View character details
• /characters/create - Create a new character
• /characters/edit/[characterId] - Edit an existing character
• /chat/[characterId] - Chat with a specific character

Development

Dependencies

Backend Dependencies

• Express.js - Web server framework
• MongoDB - Database for storing characters and conversations
• OpenAI - AI services for character interactions
• Clerk - Authentication and user management

Frontend Dependencies

• Next.js - React framework
• React - UI library
• Clerk/nextjs - Authentication components
• TailwindCSS - Utility-first CSS framework

Deployment

Backend Deployment

1. Set up a Node.js environment on your hosting service
2. Configure environment variables
3. Run npm install to install dependencies
4. Start the server with node server.js or using a process manager like PM2

Frontend Deployment

1. Build the Next.js application: npm run build
2. Deploy the built application to a hosting service that supports Next.js (Vercel, Netlify, etc.)
3. Configure environment variables on your hosting service

License

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