docs/DEPLOYMENT_GUIDE.md

🚀 Free Cloud Deployment for Hackathon

Quick Deploy Options (FREE)

1. Railway.app (RECOMMENDED) ⭐

Why Railway: No credit card, easy GitHub integration, fast deployment

Steps:

1. Push to GitHub:

   git add .
   git commit -m "Ready for deployment"
   git push origin feature/api-integration
   

2. Deploy on Railway:

   • Go to https://railway.app
   • Click "Deploy from GitHub repo"
   • Select your repository
   • Railway auto-detects Dockerfile
   • Deploy takes 2-3 minutes

3. Your friend gets URL:

   https://your-project.railway.app/predict
   

2. Render.com (Alternative)

Steps:

1. Create account at https://render.com
2. Connect GitHub repo
3. Choose "Web Service"
4. Auto-deploys from Dockerfile

URL format: https://your-app.onrender.com/predict

3. Fly.io (For Performance)

Steps:

# Install fly CLI
curl -L https://fly.io/install.sh | sh

# Login and deploy
flyctl launch
flyctl deploy

---

🎯 INSTANT TESTING (No Deployment Needed)

Option A: ngrok (Fastest for hackathon demo)

# Terminal 1: Start API
uvicorn test_api:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8002

# Terminal 2: Create tunnel
# Download from: https://ngrok.com/download
./ngrok http 8002

# Share the https URL with your friend!
# Example: https://abc123.ngrok.io/predict

Option B: LocalTunnel

# Install
npm install -g localtunnel

# Start API
uvicorn test_api:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8002

# Create tunnel
lt --port 8002 --subdomain your-crop-api

# URL: https://your-crop-api.loca.lt/predict

---

📱 For Your Friend to Test

Sample curl command:

curl -X POST "https://YOUR-DEPLOYED-URL/predict" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
  "year": 2024,
  "state": "Punjab",
  "crop": "Rice",
  "season": "Kharif",
  "area": 10.0,
  "production": 25.0,
  "rainfall": 1200,
  "fertilizer": 75,
  "pesticide": 8
}'

Sample Python code:

import requests

url = "https://YOUR-DEPLOYED-URL/predict"
data = {
    "year": 2024,
    "state": "Punjab", 
    "crop": "Rice",
    "season": "Kharif",
    "area": 10.0,
    "production": 25.0,
    "rainfall": 1200,
    "fertilizer": 75,
    "pesticide": 8
}

response = requests.post(url, json=data)
print(response.json())

---

🏆 Recommended for Hackathon Demo

FASTEST OPTION: Use ngrok for immediate sharing BEST OPTION: Deploy to Railway.app for permanent URL

Both are completely FREE and perfect for hackathons! 🎉