Fix HF hang

app.py

@@ -249,13 +249,9 @@ details summary {
 """
 
 # ─── Data Initialization ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-try:
-    STATE_HIER = get_state_hierarchy()
-    STATE_CHOICES = sorted(STATE_HIER.keys())
-except Exception as e:
-    print(f"Warning: Could not load state hierarchy on startup: {e}")
-    STATE_HIER = {}
-    STATE_CHOICES = []
+# We now defer the heavy loading until the UI is booted so HuggingFace Spaces doesn't time out.
+STATE_HIER = {}
+STATE_CHOICES = []
 
 # ─── HTML builders ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 def build_results_heading_html(results: list[dict], udise_code: str) -> str:
@@ -523,13 +519,24 @@ with gr.Blocks(title="School Name Resolver") as app:
 
     refresh_cache_btn.click(fn=on_refresh_caches, outputs=[cache_status, state_dd])
 
+    def load_initial_data():
+        try:
+            global STATE_HIER, STATE_CHOICES
+            STATE_HIER = get_state_hierarchy()
+            STATE_CHOICES = sorted(STATE_HIER.keys())
+            return gr.update(choices=STATE_CHOICES, interactive=True, info="Select State")
+        except Exception as e:
+            print(f"Failed to load data on boot: {e}")
+            return gr.update(info="Failed to load data")
+
+    app.load(fn=load_initial_data, outputs=[state_dd])
+
 # ─── Launch ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 if __name__ == "__main__":
-    port = int(os.getenv("PORT", 7862))
+    port = int(os.getenv("PORT", 7860))
     app.launch(
         server_name="0.0.0.0",
         server_port=port,
         theme=THEME,
-        css=CSS,
-        inbrowser=True,
+        css=CSS
     )

hf_reader.py

@@ -102,9 +102,13 @@ def _ensure_loaded():
     """Load all caches if they haven't been loaded yet."""
     global _old_master_df, _mapped_masters, _cache_loaded
     if not _cache_loaded:
+        print("[hf_reader] Initializing caches... This may take a few minutes if downloading from HuggingFace.")
         _old_master_df = _load_old_master()
+        print("[hf_reader] Old Master loaded.")
         _mapped_masters = _load_mapped_masters()
+        print(f"[hf_reader] Mapped Masters loaded: {len(_mapped_masters)} files.")
         _cache_loaded = True
+        print("[hf_reader] All caches fully loaded and ready.")
 
 
 def get_state_hierarchy() -> dict: