Text-to-Learn

AI-powered course generator that turns a free-form topic into a structured course with modules, lessons, objectives, quizzes, video resources, Hinglish explanations, and PDF export.

Features

• Prompt-to-course generation with 3 modules and 9 structured lessons
• Lesson renderer for headings, paragraphs, code, videos, and MCQs
• Saved course list and course detail pages
• PDF export for individual lessons
• Optional Auth0 login
• In-memory backend demo storage plus browser local storage fallback
• Optional YouTube and Gemini integrations with graceful fallbacks

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React, Vite, Tailwind CSS, React Router
• Backend: Node.js, Express, Mongoose
• Auth: Auth0
• Integrations: YouTube Data API, Gemini text/audio

Local Setup

Install dependencies if needed:

cd server
npm install

cd ../client
npm install

Run the backend:

cd server
npm start

Run the frontend:

cd client
npm run dev

The frontend runs at http://localhost:5173 and the backend runs at http://localhost:8000.

From the repository root, you can also run:

npm start
npm run client

Environment Variables

Backend .env inside server/:

PORT=8000
CLIENT_URL=http://localhost:5173
MONGO_URI=
SKIP_DB=true
AUTH0_DOMAIN=
AUTH0_AUDIENCE=
YOUTUBE_API_KEY=
GEMINI_API_KEY=

Frontend .env inside client/:

VITE_API_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8000/api
VITE_AUTH0_DOMAIN=
VITE_AUTH0_CLIENT_ID=
VITE_AUTH0_AUDIENCE=

Auth0, MongoDB, YouTube, and Gemini keys are optional for local demo mode.

You can copy the starter files:

cp server/.env.example server/.env
cp client/.env.example client/.env

Deployment on Render

This repo is configured to deploy both apps on Render with the included render.yaml Blueprint:

• text-to-learn-api-dubeyharshit0605: Node/Express backend
• text-to-learn-frontend-dubeyharshit0605: React/Vite static frontend

Render Blueprint

1. Push this repository to GitHub.
2. In Render, choose New + > Blueprint.
3. Connect dubeyharshit0605/Text-to-learn.
4. Render reads render.yaml from the repo root and creates both services.
5. Optional secret variables can be left blank for demo mode: AUTH0_DOMAIN, AUTH0_AUDIENCE, YOUTUBE_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY.

The expected production URLs are:

Frontend: https://text-to-learn-frontend-dubeyharshit0605.onrender.com
Backend:  https://text-to-learn-api-dubeyharshit0605.onrender.com
API:      https://text-to-learn-api-dubeyharshit0605.onrender.com/api
Health:   https://text-to-learn-api-dubeyharshit0605.onrender.com/api/health

If Render changes either generated URL, update these environment variables in the Render dashboard:

# Backend service
CLIENT_URL=https://your-frontend-service.onrender.com

# Frontend static site
VITE_API_BASE_URL=https://your-backend-service.onrender.com/api

Then redeploy both services.

Manual Render Setup

Backend Web Service:

Root Directory: server
Runtime: Node
Build Command: npm install
Start Command: npm start
Health Check Path: /api/health

Backend environment variables:

NODE_ENV=production
SKIP_DB=true
CLIENT_URL=https://your-frontend-service.onrender.com
AUTH0_DOMAIN=
AUTH0_AUDIENCE=
YOUTUBE_API_KEY=
GEMINI_API_KEY=

Frontend Static Site:

Root Directory: leave blank
Build Command: cd client && npm install && npm run build
Publish Directory: client/dist

Frontend environment variables:

VITE_API_BASE_URL=https://your-backend-service.onrender.com/api
VITE_AUTH0_DOMAIN=
VITE_AUTH0_CLIENT_ID=
VITE_AUTH0_AUDIENCE=

Add a frontend rewrite rule for React Router:

Source: /*
Destination: /index.html
Action: Rewrite

API Overview

• POST /api/courses/generate creates and saves a course from { "prompt": "Intro to React Hooks" }
• GET /api/courses lists saved courses
• GET /api/courses/:id returns one course with modules and lessons
• GET /api/youtube?query=... returns embeddable video results or a YouTube search fallback
• POST /api/explanations/hinglish-text returns a Hinglish explanation
• POST /api/explanations/hinglish-audio returns WAV audio when Gemini is configured

Demo Flow

1. Enter a topic on the home page.
2. Open the generated course syllabus.
3. Navigate into any lesson.
4. Try MCQs, video resources, Hinglish explanation, and PDF download.