AI Portfolio Backend - Secure Server

This is the secure backend server for the AI Portfolio project, powering the GPT-4o chatbot functionality.

🔒 Security Features

• Environment Variables: API keys are stored securely in .env file (never committed)
• Server-side API calls: OpenAI API key stays on the server, never exposed to frontend
• CORS enabled: Configured for secure cross-origin requests
• Serverless ready: Optimized for Vercel deployment

🚀 Tech Stack

• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/saadashrafai/Ai-Backend-Secure/main/api/Secure-Backend-Ai-saleroom.zip - Runtime environment
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/saadashrafai/Ai-Backend-Secure/main/api/Secure-Backend-Ai-saleroom.zip - Web server framework
• OpenAI GPT-4o - AI chatbot model
• dotenv - Environment variable management
• CORS - Cross-origin resource sharing

📁 Project Structure

backend/
├── https://raw.githubusercontent.com/saadashrafai/Ai-Backend-Secure/main/api/Secure-Backend-Ai-saleroom.zip           # Express server (local development)
├── api/
│   └── https://raw.githubusercontent.com/saadashrafai/Ai-Backend-Secure/main/api/Secure-Backend-Ai-saleroom.zip        # Serverless API endpoint (Vercel)
├── https://raw.githubusercontent.com/saadashrafai/Ai-Backend-Secure/main/api/Secure-Backend-Ai-saleroom.zip        # Vercel deployment config
├── https://raw.githubusercontent.com/saadashrafai/Ai-Backend-Secure/main/api/Secure-Backend-Ai-saleroom.zip       # Dependencies
├── https://raw.githubusercontent.com/saadashrafai/Ai-Backend-Secure/main/api/Secure-Backend-Ai-saleroom.zip       # Environment variable template
└── .gitignore         # Protected files

🛠️ Setup Instructions

1. Install Dependencies

npm install

2. Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root directory:

OPENAI_API_KEY=your-actual-openai-api-key-here

⚠️ Never commit your .env file!

3. Run Local Development Server

npm start
# or
npm run dev

The server will start on http://localhost:3001

🌐 API Endpoints

POST /api/chat

Sends messages to OpenAI GPT-4o and returns AI responses.

Request Body:

{
  "model": "gpt-4o",
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "system",
      "content": "You are a helpful assistant..."
    },
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "User message here"
    }
  ],
  "temperature": 0.8,
  "max_tokens": 200
}

Response:

{
  "choices": [
    {
      "message": {
        "role": "assistant",
        "content": "AI response here"
      }
    }
  ]
}

🚢 Deployment to Vercel

Method 1: GitHub Integration

1. Push this repo to GitHub
2. Go to Vercel Dashboard
3. Import your GitHub repository
4. Add environment variable:
   • Key: OPENAI_API_KEY
   • Value: Your actual OpenAI API key
5. Deploy!

Method 2: Vercel CLI

# Install Vercel CLI
npm install -g vercel

# Deploy
vercel

# Add environment variable
vercel env add OPENAI_API_KEY

🔐 Security Best Practices

✅ DO:

• Keep .env file in .gitignore
• Use environment variables for sensitive data
• Set API keys in Vercel dashboard for production
• Validate all incoming requests

❌ DON'T:

• Commit API keys to Git
• Expose API keys in frontend code
• Share .env file publicly
• Hard-code sensitive credentials

📝 Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Required
OPENAI_API_KEY	Your OpenAI API key	✅ Yes

Get your API key from: OpenAI Platform

🤝 Contributing

This backend is part of the AI Portfolio project. For frontend integration, see the main portfolio repository.

📄 License

Private - All rights reserved

👨‍💻 Author

Saad Ashraf

• Specialized in AI automation and full-stack development
• Expert in GPT integration and secure API design

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⚠️ Important: Always keep your API keys secure and never commit them to version control!