python-server/TESTING_READY.md

🚀 Ready to Test - Quick Start

✅ Installation Complete

All dependencies have been successfully installed:

• fastapi (FastAPI web framework)
• uvicorn (ASGI server)
• lxml (XML processing)
• transformers (AI/ML models)
• torch (PyTorch ML framework)
• pillow/PIL (image processing)
• python-docx (Word document handling)
• pywin32 (Windows COM automation)
• python-dotenv (environment configuration)

📋 What's Installed

Core AI System:

• local_vision.py - FREE local AI model integration (BLIP/GIT)

Server:

• server2.py - Main FastAPI backend with alt text remediation

Config:

• requirements.txt - Updated with compatible versions
• .env.example - Configuration template (optional)
• .gitignore - Protects .env files

Testing:

• test_ai_setup.py - Diagnostic test script

Docs:

• QUICKSTART.md - Quick start guide
• README.md - Project overview

🚀 To Start the Server

cd python-server
python server2.py

You should see:

✅ Local AI vision model loaded (BLIP - 100% FREE, No Costs)
🚀 Server running on http://localhost:5000

First run will download BLIP model (~1-2GB) - takes 5-15 minutes

🧪 To Test AI Setup

cd python-server
python test_ai_setup.py

This will verify:

• ✅ Transformers library
• ✅ Local BLIP model
• ✅ Image processing
• ✅ AI alt text generation

📁 File Structure

Accessibility-Checker-BE/
├── python-server/
│   ├── server2.py           ← Main backend
│   ├── local_vision.py      ← FREE AI engine
│   ├── test_ai_setup.py     ← Test script
│   ├── requirements.txt     ← Dependencies (all installed)
│   ├── .env.example         ← Config template
│   ├── .gitignore           ← Git ignore rules
│   ├── QUICKSTART.md        ← Quick start
│   ├── TESTING_READY.md     ← This file
│   └── README.md            ← Documentation
├── api/                     ← API code
├── lib/                     ← Libraries
├── docs/                    ← Documentation
└── tests/                   ← Test files

💰 Cost Verification

Component	Cost
Local BLIP AI	$0
Unlimited alt text generation	$0/month
API keys required	0
Surprise billing	IMPOSSIBLE

⚠️ Important Notes

1. No .env file needed - System works with defaults
2. First run is slow - BLIP model downloads (~1-2GB, 5-15 min)
3. Subsequent runs are fast - Model is cached locally
4. 100% private - Images never leave your computer
5. 100% free - No API calls, no costs

✨ What's Removed

• ❌ OpenAI integration (not recommended for students)
• ❌ API key configuration (no longer needed)
• ❌ Paid billing risk (completely eliminated)
• ❌ Unnecessary documentation files (cleaned up)

🎯 Next Steps

1. Start the server:

   python server2.py
   

2. Upload a PowerPoint file through the Angular frontend

3. Watch the console for AI progress:

   🤖 Using FREE local AI (BLIP) for slide 1
   ✅ AI generated alt text for Picture 1: '...'
   

4. Download the remediated PowerPoint

🐛 Troubleshooting

"Module not found" errors

pip install -r requirements.txt

First run taking forever

Normal! BLIP model is ~1-2GB. Wait 5-15 minutes. After download completes, subsequent runs are instant.

Out of memory

Close other programs or use:

# In .env:
LOCAL_VISION_MODEL=blip-base

Can't connect to server

Check that:

1. Server is running: python server2.py
2. Port 5000 is available
3. Firewall allows localhost:5000

📊 Package Versions Installed

• fastapi ≥ 0.100.0
• uvicorn ≥ 0.28.0
• lxml ≥ 5.0.0 (installed: 6.0.2)
• transformers ≥ 4.35.0 (installed: 5.3.0)
• torch ≥ 2.0.0 (installed: 2.10.0)
• python-docx ≥ 1.0.0
• pillow (Pillow) ≥ 10.0.0
• pywin32 ≥ 306

🎉 Ready to Go!

Everything is installed and ready. Your codebase is:

• ✅ Clean (unnecessary docs removed)
• ✅ Tested (packages verified importable)
• ✅ Free (100% local AI, $0 cost)
• ✅ Ready (just run python server2.py)

Start testing! 🚀