updated readme file

Author: Shakiran-Nannyombi

README.md

@@ -1,2 +1,92 @@
-# Model-Testing
-This is the interface of the first user interface we made to interact with our models and test how they work.
+# MzeeChakula — Model-Testing
+
+This repository contains the frontend and backend for the MzeeChakula nutrition recommendation and meal-planning prototype. The project provides:
+
+- An interactive, voice-enabled chat assistant for collecting user demographics and dietary preferences.
+- A prediction API that estimates daily caloric needs and recommends local foods based on nutritional similarity and learned models.
+- A small frontend app built with Vue + Vite + Pinia that consumes the backend API.
+
+## Live demos
+
+- Frontend (static UI): <https://mzeechakula.vercel.app/>
+- Backend API: <https://mzeechakula-backend.onrender.com/>
+
+## Quick links
+
+- Frontend folder: `frontend/`
+- Backend folder: `backend/`
+
+## Getting started (developer)
+
+1. Clone the repository:
+
+```bash
+git clone https://github.com/MzeeChakula/Model-Testing.git
+cd Model-Testing
+```
+
+2.Backend (Python / FastAPI)
+
+- Requirements: Python 3.9+ and a virtual environment.
+
+```bash
+# from repo root
+cd backend
+python3 -m venv ../.venv
+source ../.venv/bin/activate
+pip install -r requirements.txt
+# Run the API server (development)
+uvicorn api.main:app --reload --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8000
+```
+
+Notes:
+
+- The backend serves endpoints under `/predict`, `/foods`, and `/health`.
+- Model files and optional embeddings are expected under `backend/models/`. If no trained models are present the backend falls back to a heuristic predictor so the API remains usable.
+
+3.Frontend (Vue / Vite)
+
+- Requirements: Node.js + npm (or yarn).
+
+```bash
+# from repo root
+cd frontend
+npm install
+# Run dev server
+npm run dev
+# Build for production
+npm run build
+```
+
+- The frontend expects an API base URL in `VITE_API_URL` (defaults to `http://localhost:8000`). When running locally, start the backend first.
+
+Recommendations & troubleshooting
+
+- If the recommender system (embedding-based) is not available, the frontend falls back to scoring local foods by basic nutritional similarity; ensure `frontend/src/store/predictionStore.js` has been loaded and that `getLocalFoods` works (endpoint: `/foods/local`).
+- To include the built frontend in this repo for hosts like Vercel that can serve static output, the `dist/` folder can be committed — the project `.gitignore` has been updated to allow committing `dist`.
+
+Deploying
+
+- Frontend: Vercel (recommended). Point the Vercel project to the `frontend` directory or push the built `dist` folder to the repo and configure Vercel to serve it.
+- Backend: Render / Heroku / any container or VM. Ensure environment variables and model files are available on the host.
+
+Useful git commands (commit dist to repo)
+
+```bash
+# Force add a previously ignored folder (only if needed)
+git add -f frontend/dist
+git commit -m "Include built frontend dist for deployment"
+git push origin main
+```
+
+Contributing
+
+- Open issues and PRs are welcome. Keep changes focused and add tests where appropriate.
+
+License
+
+- This repository is released under the terms in the `LICENSE` file.
+
+Contact
+
+- For questions, open an issue or contact the repository owner.