QA-pulse - Dynamic Question-Answer System with Real-time Updates

A modern, real-time Q&A platform built with FastAPI and Next.js that enables dynamic question-answer interactions with live updates, user authentication, and admin management capabilities.

🚀 Features

Core Functionality

• Real-time Q&A: Ask questions and get instant answers with live updates
• WebSocket Integration: Real-time communication for instant notifications
• User Authentication: Secure login/signup system with JWT tokens
• Admin Panel: Manage questions, update statuses, and moderate content
• Guest Mode: Allow anonymous users to participate
• Smart Sorting: Questions automatically sorted by priority and status

Question Management

• Status Tracking: Questions can be marked as Pending, Escalated, or Answered
• Priority Sorting: Escalated questions appear first, followed by pending, then answered
• Real-time Updates: All users see new questions and answers instantly
• Answer Suggestions: AI-powered answer suggestions for questions

User Experience

• Responsive Design: Modern UI built with Tailwind CSS
• Real-time Notifications: Instant updates when new questions/answers are posted
• Clean Interface: Intuitive dashboard for easy navigation
• Mobile Friendly: Optimized for all device sizes

🛠️ Tech Stack

Backend

• FastAPI - Modern, fast web framework for building APIs
• SQLAlchemy - SQL toolkit and ORM
• WebSockets - Real-time bidirectional communication
• JWT Authentication - Secure token-based authentication
• SQLite - Lightweight database for development
• Pydantic - Data validation using Python type annotations

Frontend

• Next.js 15 - React framework for production
• React 19 - Modern React with latest features
• Tailwind CSS - Utility-first CSS framework
• WebSocket Client - Real-time frontend communication

📋 Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• Node.js 18+
• npm or yarn

🚀 Installation

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/QA-pulse---Dynamic-question-answer-system-with-real-time-updates.git
cd QA-pulse---Dynamic-question-answer-system-with-real-time-updates

2. Backend Setup

# Navigate to backend directory
cd backend

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv venv

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

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Run the backend server
uvicorn app.main:app --reload --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

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

3. Frontend Setup

# Navigate to frontend directory
cd frontend

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run the development server
npm run dev

The frontend will be available at http://localhost:3000

📖 Usage

Getting Started

1. Access the Application: Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser
2. Authentication:
   • Sign up for a new account, or
   • Log in with existing credentials, or
   • Use guest mode for anonymous participation
3. Ask Questions: Use the question form to post new questions
4. Answer Questions: Provide answers to questions in real-time
5. Admin Features: If you're an admin, you can update question statuses

User Roles

Regular User

• Ask questions
• Provide answers
• View all questions and answers
• Real-time updates

Admin User

• All regular user features
• Update question statuses (Pending → Escalated → Answered)
• Moderate content
• Manage the Q&A flow

Guest User

• Ask questions anonymously
• Provide answers anonymously
• View all content
• No persistent account

🔌 API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /signup - Register a new user
• POST /token - Login and get JWT token

Questions

• GET /questions/ - Get all questions (sorted by priority)
• POST /questions/ - Create a new question
• PUT /questions/{question_id}/status - Update question status (admin only)
• GET /questions/{question_id}/suggestions - Get AI-powered answer suggestions

Answers

• POST /questions/{question_id}/answers - Add an answer to a question

WebSocket

• WS /ws - Real-time communication endpoint

🔧 Configuration

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the backend directory:

# JWT Settings
SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key-here
ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRE_MINUTES=30

# Database
DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///./qa_app.db

# CORS Settings
ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:3000

Database

The application uses SQLite by default. The database file (qa_app.db) will be created automatically when you first run the application.

🏗️ Project Structure

QA-pulse/
├── backend/
│   ├── app/
│   │   ├── auth.py              # Authentication logic
│   │   ├── main.py              # FastAPI application
│   │   ├── models/
│   │   │   └── models.py        # Database models
│   │   ├── database/
│   │   │   └── database.py      # Database configuration
│   │   ├── rag/
│   │   │   ├── llm_wrapper.py   # AI integration
│   │   │   └── suggestions.py   # Answer suggestions
│   │   └── schemas.py           # Pydantic schemas
│   ├── requirements.txt         # Python dependencies
│   └── venv/                    # Virtual environment
├── frontend/
│   ├── app/
│   │   ├── components/
│   │   │   ├── QuestionForm.js      # Question input form
│   │   │   ├── QuestionList.js      # Questions display
│   │   │   ├── AnswerForm.js        # Answer input form
│   │   │   └── auth/
│   │   │       ├── AuthWrapper.js   # Authentication wrapper
│   │   │       ├── Login.js         # Login component
│   │   │       └── SignUp.js        # Signup component
│   │   ├── layout.js            # Root layout
│   │   ├── page.js              # Main page
│   │   └── globals.css          # Global styles
│   ├── package.json             # Node.js dependencies
│   └── next.config.js           # Next.js configuration
└── README.md                    # This file

🚀 Deployment

Backend Deployment (Heroku Example)

# Install Heroku CLI
# Create Procfile in backend directory
echo "web: uvicorn app.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port \$PORT" > Procfile

# Deploy to Heroku
heroku create your-app-name
git add .
git commit -m "Deploy to Heroku"
git push heroku main

Frontend Deployment (Vercel Example)

# Install Vercel CLI
npm i -g vercel

# Deploy to Vercel
vercel

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open 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 Issues page
2. Create a new issue with detailed information
3. Contact the maintainers

🔮 Future Enhancements

• Email notifications for new questions/answers
• Rich text editor for questions and answers
• File attachments support
• Search and filtering capabilities
• User reputation system
• Categories and tags for questions
• Mobile app development
• Advanced analytics dashboard

🙏 Acknowledgments

• FastAPI community for the excellent framework
• Next.js team for the amazing React framework
• Tailwind CSS for the utility-first CSS framework
• All contributors and users of this project

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