Installation Guide

Step 1: Enter the project directory

cd "Mental Health Companion Chatbot"

Step 2: Create and activate a virtual environment

python -m venv venv

On macOS or Linux:

source venv/bin/activate

On Windows:

venv\Scripts\activate

Step 3: Install dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

Step 4: Configure environment variables

cp .env.example .env

Open the .env file and set the following values:

• SECRET_KEY — a strong random string
• GROQ_API_KEY — your key from console.groq.com
• DEBUG — set to True for local development

To generate a Django secret key, run:

python -c "from django.core.management.utils import get_random_secret_key; print(get_random_secret_key())"

Step 5: Apply database migrations

python manage.py migrate

Step 6: Create a superuser (optional)

This is only needed if you want access to the admin panel.

python manage.py createsuperuser

Step 7: Run the development server

python manage.py runserver

Open http://127.0.0.1:8000 in your browser to start using MindMate.