DEPLOY_HF.md

Deploying AutoForm Backend to Hugging Face Spaces

Follow these steps to deploy your backend to: https://huggingface.co/spaces/FireBird-Tech/autoform-backend

Step 1: Clone the Hugging Face Space Repository

# Install Hugging Face CLI if you haven't already
curl -LsSf https://hf.co/cli/install.sh | bash

# Clone the Space repository
# You'll need an access token with write permissions
# Generate one from: https://huggingface.co/settings/tokens
git clone https://huggingface.co/spaces/FireBird-Tech/autoform-backend
cd autoform-backend

Or use HTTPS with token:

git clone https://YOUR_USERNAME:YOUR_TOKEN@huggingface.co/spaces/FireBird-Tech/autoform-backend
cd autoform-backend

Step 2: Copy Your Backend Files

Copy the following files from your local backend/ directory to the cloned repository:

# From your project root, copy files to the HF Space directory
cp backend/Dockerfile autoform-backend/
cp backend/requirements.txt autoform-backend/
cp -r backend/app autoform-backend/
cp -r backend/images autoform-backend/

Or manually copy:

• backend/Dockerfile → autoform-backend/Dockerfile
• backend/requirements.txt → autoform-backend/requirements.txt
• backend/app/ → autoform-backend/app/
• backend/images/ → autoform-backend/images/

Step 3: Create README.md (Optional but Recommended)

Create a README.md file in the Space root:

---
title: AutoForm Backend API
emoji: 📝
colorFrom: purple
colorTo: pink
sdk: docker
sdk_version: 4.0.0
app_port: 7860
---

# AutoForm Backend API

FastAPI backend for AutoForm - AI-powered form builder.

## API Endpoints

- `/api/health` - Health check
- `/docs` - Interactive API documentation
- `/api/forms` - Form management endpoints
- `/api/public/forms/{token}` - Public form endpoints

## Environment Variables

Set these in your Space settings:

- `DEFAULT_MODEL` - LLM model to use (e.g., `openai/gpt-4o-mini`)
- `OPENAI_API_KEY` - OpenAI API key (if using OpenAI)
- `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` - Anthropic API key (if using Anthropic)
- `GEMINI_API_KEY` - Google Gemini API key (if using Gemini)
- `DATABASE_URL` - Database connection string (default: SQLite)
- `JWT_SECRET` - Secret for JWT tokens
- `FRONTEND_URL` - Frontend URL for CORS
- `SESSION_SECRET` - Session secret key

Step 4: Configure Environment Variables

1. Go to your Space settings: https://huggingface.co/spaces/FireBird-Tech/autoform-backend/settings
2. Scroll down to "Variables and secrets"
3. Add these environment variables:

DEFAULT_MODEL=openai/gpt-4o-mini
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_key
DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///./data/app.db
JWT_SECRET=your-jwt-secret-key-here
FRONTEND_URL=https://your-frontend-url.com
SESSION_SECRET=your-session-secret-here

Note: Add API keys as secrets (they'll be encrypted), and other config as variables.

Step 5: Commit and Push

cd autoform-backend

# Add all files
git add Dockerfile requirements.txt app/ images/ README.md

# Commit
git commit -m "Add AutoForm backend application"

# Push to Hugging Face
git push

Step 6: Wait for Build

Hugging Face Spaces will automatically:

1. Build your Docker image
2. Deploy the container
3. Start the application

You can monitor the build logs in the Space's "Logs" tab.

Step 7: Access Your API

Once deployed, your API will be available at:

• API Base URL: https://firebird-tech-autoform-backend.hf.space
• API Docs: https://firebird-tech-autoform-backend.hf.space/docs
• Health Check: https://firebird-tech-autoform-backend.hf.space/api/health

Troubleshooting

Build Fails

• Check the "Logs" tab in your Space
• Verify all files were copied correctly
• Ensure requirements.txt is valid

Application Crashes

• Check environment variables are set correctly
• Review application logs in the Space
• Verify database URL format

Port Issues

• Hugging Face Spaces must use port 7860
• The Dockerfile is already configured for this

Updating the Deployment

To update your deployment:

cd autoform-backend
# Make changes or copy new files
git add .
git commit -m "Update backend"
git push

Hugging Face will automatically rebuild and redeploy.