---
title: 6.S041 Staff Chatbot
emoji: 🚀
colorFrom: blue
colorTo: red
sdk: gradio
sdk_version: 5.23.3
python_version: "3.10"
app_file: app.py
pinned: false
secrets:
  - HF_TOKEN
---

# Boston Public School Selection Chatbot

This is a skeleton repo you can use to design your school choice chatbot. Feel free to change it however you'd like! This repo is compatible with CPU (using your own computer) because it uses models on HuggingFace. You can also load models locally if you'd like, but we recommend using smaller ones.

The end goal: make the chatbot and upload it to a Huggingface Space. We have included instructions for using HuggingFace below. [Here's an example](https://huggingface.co/spaces/sbentley/Boston-School-Choice) of a chatbot made by the course staff. Yours should be much better!

Note: We encourage you to use AI tools (like Cursor or LLMs) to help you on this assignment. Learn how to leverage these tools.

## Setup

1. Make a virtual environment and install the required dependencies:
```bash
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
```

2. Make a HuggingFace account and make an access token:
   - Visit [Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co)
   - Make an account if you don't already have one
   - Click on your profile, then "Access Tokens" and make a new token
   - Make a .env file with `HF_TOKEN=<insert your token here>`
   - Now, log in to Hugging Face in the terminal as well:
   ```bash
   huggingface-cli login
   ```

3. Choose a base model:
   - In config.py, set the BASE_MODEL variable to your base model of choice from HuggingFace.
   - Keep in mind it's better to have a small, lightweight model if you plan on finetuning.



## Repository Organization

```
6.s041-chatbot/
├── app.py              # Gradio web interface - implement the chat function
├── requirements.txt    # Python dependencies
├── chatbot_development.ipynb     # Notebook for developing and testing your chatbot
├── .env     # Add this file yourself for storing your HF_TOKEN
├── config.py     # Holds variables for the models from HuggingFace you will use
├── chatbot_conversation_example.txt     # Example conversation we might want to have with this chatbot
└── src/
    └── chat.py        # SchoolChatbot class (implement this)
```

### Key Files:

- **app.py**: Creates the web interface using Gradio. You only need to implement the `chat` function that generates responses.

- **chat.py**: Contains the `SchoolChatbot` class where you'll implement:
  - `format_prompt`: Format user input into proper prompts
  - `get_response`: Generate responses using the model

- **config.py**: Contains the `BASE_MODEL` and `MY_MODEL` variables, which are names of models on HuggingFace. Update the `MY_MODEL` variable if you create a new model and upload it to the HuggingFace Hub.

- **chatbot_development.ipynb**: Jupyter notebook for:
  - Experimenting with the chatbot
  - Trying different approaches
  - Testing responses before deployment

### What You Need to Implement:

1. In `chat.py`:
   - Complete the `SchoolChatbot` class methods
   - Design how the chatbot formats prompts
   - Implement response generation

2. In `app.py`:
   - Implement the `chat` function to work with Gradio
   - The rest of the file is already set up

3. Use `chatbot_development.ipynb` to:
   - Develop and test your implementation
   - Try different approaches
   - Verify everything works before deployment

4. After you update the code, you can run the chatbot locally:
```bash
python app.py
```


## Deploying to Hugging Face

To deploy your chatbot as a free web interface using Hugging Face Spaces:

1. Create a Hugging Face Space:
   - Go to [Hugging Face Spaces](https://huggingface.co/spaces)
   - Click "New Space"
   - Choose a name for your space (e.g., "boston-school-chatbot")
   - Select "Gradio" as the SDK
   - Choose "CPU" as the hardware (free tier)
   - Make it "Public" so others can use your chatbot

2. Prepare your files:
   Your repository should already have all needed files:
   ```
   6.so41-midterm/
   ├── README.md           # Description of your chatbot
   ├── app.py             # Your Gradio interface
   ├── requirements.txt   # Already set up with needed dependencies
   └── src/              # Your implementation files
   ```

3. Push your code to the Space:
   ```bash
   git init
   git add .
   git commit -m "Initial commit"
   git remote add origin https://huggingface.co/spaces/YOUR_USERNAME/YOUR_SPACE_NAME
   git push -u origin main
   ```

4. Add your HF_TOKEN to the space as a secret.
   - Go to Files.
   - Go to Settings.
   - Under secrets, add HF_TOKEN.
   

5. Important Free Tier Considerations:
   - Use free tier model (already configured in model.py)
   - Free CPU spaces have 2GB RAM limit
   - The interface might queue requests when multiple users access it. Sometimes there will be 503 errors.

6. After Deployment:
   - Your chatbot will be available at: `https://huggingface.co/spaces/YOUR_USERNAME/YOUR_SPACE_NAME`
   - Anyone can use it through their web browser
   - You can update the deployment anytime by pushing changes:
     ```bash
     git add .
     git commit -m "Update chatbot"
     git push
     ```

7. Troubleshooting:
   - Check the Space's logs if the chatbot isn't working
   - Verify the chatbot works locally before deploying
   - Remember free tier has limited resources. Sometimes if you get a 503 error it means the server is overloaded. Just try again a few seconds later.

Your chatbot should now be accessible to anyone through their web browser!