Assistly Backend

Assistly Backend is the server-side component of the Assistly application, designed to handle backend operations, user interactions, and chat session management for AI-based communication.

Features

• Manage AI chatbots and their characteristics.
• Create guest users and manage chat sessions.
• Store and retrieve chat messages between AI and users.

Data Models Overview

1. Chatbot

Represents an AI chatbot created by a specific user.

Field	Type	Description
clerk_user_id	CharField(255)	ID from Clerk authentication
name	CharField(255)	Name of the chatbot
created_at	DateTimeField	Timestamp of creation

2. ChatbotCharacteristic

Defines personality traits or behavior notes associated with a chatbot.

Field	Type	Description
chatbot	ForeignKey	Links to the associated chatbot
content	TextField	Characteristic content
created_at	DateTimeField	Timestamp of creation

3. Guest

Stores information about a guest user initiating a chat session.

Field	Type	Description
name	CharField(255)	Optional guest name
email	CharField(255)	Optional guest email
created_at	DateTimeField	Timestamp of creation

4. ChatSession

Represents a chat instance between a chatbot and a guest.

Field	Type	Description
chatbot	ForeignKey	Linked chatbot
guest	ForeignKey	Optional guest (nullable)
created_at	DateTimeField	Timestamp of session start

5. Message

Stores each message sent during a chat session.

Field	Type	Description
chat_session	ForeignKey	Related chat session
content	TextField	Message content
sender	CharField(50)	'user' or 'ai'
created_at	DateTimeField	Timestamp of the message

🛠 Technologies Used

• Python 3
• Django
• Gunicorn – Production WSGI server
• Railway – For cloud deployment
• PostgreSQL – Flexible DB support

🚀 Getting Started (Local Setup)

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x
• pip

Installation

git clone https://github.com/AliAlabed1/Assistly-Backend.git
cd Assistly-Backend
python -m venv env
source env/bin/activate  # Windows: env\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Migrate Database

python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate

Run Development Server

python manage.py runserver

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☁️ Deployment on Railway

Step-by-Step

1. Go to Railway.app and sign in.

2. Click on "New Project" → Deploy from GitHub Repo.

3. Select your Assistly-Backend repo.

4. Railway will detect it’s a Python app and install dependencies.

5. In the "Variables" section, add the following environment variables:

   • DJANGO_SECRET_KEY: Your secret key.
   • DEBUG: False
   • ALLOWED_HOSTS: * or your domain
   • DATABASE_URL: If using PostgreSQL (Railway auto-generates this if enabled)

6. Add a start command in Railway settings:

   gunicorn assistly_backend.wsgi:application

7. Connect a PostgreSQL plugin (optional) or continue using SQLite for development.

8. Your app is live! 🎉

👤 Author

• Ali Ahmad Alabed
  GitHub Profile