Update app.py

app.py

@@ -33,10 +33,18 @@ model_error = None
 try:
     print("Initializing model... This may take a moment.")
     
-    # Explicitly load the token from environment variables (for HF Spaces secrets)
+    # Explicitly load the token from environment variables (for HF Spaces secrets).
     # This makes the authentication more robust, overriding any bad default credentials.
-    hf_token = os.environ.get("HF_TOKEN", None)
-    
+    hf_token = os.environ.get("HF_TOKEN")
+
+    # Add a check to see if the token was loaded correctly.
+    if hf_token:
+        print("✅ HF_TOKEN secret found.")
+    else:
+        print("⚠️ HF_TOKEN secret not found. Please ensure it is set in your Hugging Face Space settings.")
+        # Raise an error to stop the app from proceeding without a token.
+        raise ValueError("Hugging Face token not found. Please set the HF_TOKEN secret.")
+
     # Using a smaller model from the user's list.
     # Passing the token explicitly to ensure correct authentication.
     generator = pipeline(