Installation Guide

SevaSetu -- Installation Guide

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure the following are installed on your system:

• Python 3.10 or higher -- download from python.org
• pip (comes bundled with Python)
• Redis server -- needed for real-time chat and background task processing
• Git -- for version control (optional but recommended)
• A code editor such as VS Code, PyCharm, or Sublime Text

Step 1: Extract and Open the Project

Extract the downloaded ZIP file to a folder of your choice. Open a terminal or command prompt and navigate to the project directory:

cd sevasetu

Step 2: Create a Virtual Environment

It is a good practice to use a virtual environment so that project dependencies do not interfere with other Python projects on your system.

python -m venv venv

Activate the virtual environment:

• Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
• macOS / Linux: source venv/bin/activate

Step 3: Install Python Packages

Install all required packages using the requirements file, then install Razorpay separately:

pip install -r requirements.txt
pip install razorpay

Step 4: Set Up Environment Variables

Create a file named .env in the root of the project folder. Add the following configuration values, replacing placeholders with your actual credentials:

SECRET_KEY=your-django-secret-key
DEBUG=True
ALLOWED_HOSTS=localhost,127.0.0.1
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379
GROQ_API_KEY=your-groq-api-key
RAZORPAY_KEY_ID=rzp_test_xxxxx
RAZORPAY_KEY_SECRET=your-razorpay-secret
EMAIL_HOST_USER=your@gmail.com
EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD=your-gmail-app-password
FIELD_ENCRYPTION_KEY=your-base64-encryption-key

To get your Groq API key, create a free account at console.groq.com. For Razorpay test keys, sign up at dashboard.razorpay.com and use the test mode credentials.

Step 5: Run Database Migrations

Django needs to create the database tables before the application can run:

python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate

Step 6: Load Seed Data

Run the following four commands in this exact order. Each one populates a different part of the database:

python manage.py seed_maharashtra
python manage.py seed_services
python manage.py seed_subscriptions
python manage.py seed_demo

This loads 10 districts, 31 cities, 98 areas, 7 service categories, 29 service problems, 5 subscription plans, 5 demo customer accounts, 10 demo vendor accounts, and 20 sample bookings.

Step 7: Create the Admin Account

Create a superuser account to access the Django admin panel:

python manage.py createsuperuser

When prompted, enter admin as the username and admin@123 as the password.

Step 8: Start the Development Server

python manage.py runserver

Open your web browser and go to http://127.0.0.1:8000 to see the application. The admin panel is available at http://127.0.0.1:8000/admin/.

Step 9 (Optional): Enable Real-Time Chat and Background Tasks

For WebSocket-based chat and Celery-powered notifications to work, you need Redis running:

In a separate terminal window, start Redis:

redis-server

In another terminal window, start the Celery worker:

celery -A sevasetu worker -l info

Demo Login Credentials

Use these accounts to test different roles in the application:

Role	Username	Password
Admin	admin	admin@123
Customer	customer_priya	demo@123
Vendor	vendor_suresh	demo@123

All 5 customer accounts and all 10 vendor accounts use the same password: demo@123.

Troubleshooting

• If WeasyPrint throws errors on Windows, you need to install the GTK3 runtime. Check the WeasyPrint documentation for Windows-specific instructions.
• If Redis is not installed, the chat feature and Celery tasks will not function. The rest of the application will still work normally.
• If you see a "Module not found" error, make sure your virtual environment is activated before running any command.
• For any setup difficulties, CodeAj provides a guided setup session via Google Meet or AnyDesk. Visit the project setup page on codeAj Marketplace for details.