🔍 Astra Search Engine

A Google-style search interface built with Python Django, HTML/CSS, and Bootstrap, integrated with the Google Programmable Search Engine API. It also features toggle tabs to showcase AstraSoftwares' products like Web Design, AI Systems, and SEO.

🌐 Features

• 🔎 Web-wide search using Google Custom Search API
• 🖼️ Image tab with full image results
• 📰 News, Videos, Books, Finance, Forums, and Maps tabs (custom UI routing)
• 🎛️ Toggle interface for AstraSoftwares products
• 📄 Pagination-ready search results
• 🧪 Clean, responsive UI with Bootstrap
• 🔐 Credentials stored in .env for security

📸 UI Preview

🚀 Technologies Used

• Python 3.x
• Django 4.x
• Bootstrap 5
• Google Programmable Search API
• dotenv for environment variables

🛠️ Setup Instructions

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/astra-search.git
cd astra-search

2. Create a virtual environment

python -m venv env
source env/bin/activate  # On Windows use: env\Scripts\activate

3. Install dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Add your environment variables

Create a .env file in the root directory:

GOOGLE_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
GOOGLE_CSE_ID=your_cse_id_here
DEBUG=True

5. Run the server

python manage.py runserver

Then go to: http://127.0.0.1:8000/

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🔑 How to Get Your Google API Key and CSE ID

Step 1: Get an API Key

1. Go to the Google Cloud Console
2. Create a new project or select an existing one
3. Navigate to APIs & Services > Credentials
4. Click Create Credentials > API Key
5. Copy the generated key and paste it into your .env file as GOOGLE_API_KEY

Step 2: Set Up Programmable Search Engine (CSE)

1. Visit https://programmablesearchengine.google.com/
2. Click Add and follow the steps to create a new search engine
3. Under Control Panel, copy your Search Engine ID (CSE ID)
4. Paste it into your .env file as GOOGLE_CSE_ID
5. (Optional) Under Basics > Search the entire web, enable this option to allow global results

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📁 Folder Structure

astra-search/
│
├── core/
│   ├── templates/core/
│   │   ├── base_search.html
│   │   ├── web.html
│   │   ├── images.html
│   │   └── ...
│   ├── views.py
│   └── urls.py
│
├── .env
├── requirements.txt
├── manage.py
└── README.md

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✨ Future Improvements

• Add real-time suggestions (like Google Autocomplete)
• Infinite scroll or advanced pagination
• AI-powered search assistant (Gemini/ChatGPT-style)
• Dark mode toggle
• Upload as a SaaS tool with user analytics

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🤝 Contributing

Pull requests are welcome. For major changes, please open an issue first.

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📞 Contact

Developer: Ishmael Bett Company: Astra Softwares Email: info.astrasoft@gmail.com WhatsApp: +2547 2740 5667

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📜 License

MIT License © 2025 Ishmael Bett / Astra Softwares