Phase 1: Prepare the Backend for Hugging Face Since you have a custom FastAPI server (main.py) rather than a standard Gradio or Streamlit app, you should use the Docker SDK on Hugging Face Spaces. 1. Configure the Space: * Go to your Hugging Face Space settings. * Ensure the "Space SDK" is set to Docker. 2. Create a `Dockerfile`: * You will need to create a file named Dockerfile in your backend/ folder. * This file tells Hugging Face how to build your server. It effectively says: "Start with Python, install my requirements.txt, copy my files, and run main.py." * Note: Hugging Face Spaces expects the application to run on port 7860, not 8000. 3. Handle Large Files (Git LFS): * Your finetuned_model.pt is likely a binary file. You must use Git LFS (Large File Storage) to upload it, or the upload might fail/corrupt. Phase 2: Upload to Hugging Face You will treat your Hugging Face Space just like a GitHub repository. 1. Clone the Repository: * On your Space page, look for the instructions to "Clone repository." * Run that command locally to get a folder for your Space. 2. Move Files: * Copy all files from your local backend/ folder (including main.py, requirements.txt, finetuned_model.pt, meta.pkl, and the new Dockerfile) into this new cloned folder. 3. Push Changes: * Use standard git commands to upload: 1 git add . 2 git commit -m "Initial backend deploy" 3 git push * *Note: If `finetuned_model.pt` is large, you might need to run `git lfs track "*.pt"` before adding.* 4. Wait for Build: * Go back to your Space in the browser. You will see a "Building" status. Once it says "Running," your backend is live! * Copy the "Direct URL" (it usually looks like https://username-spacename.hf.space). Phase 3: Connect the Frontend Now you need to tell your React website to stop looking at localhost:8000 and look at the new Hugging Face URL. 1. Update Environment Variables: * In your websitev1 folder, open your .env file. * Find the VITE_API_URL variable. * Change it from http://localhost:8000 to your new Hugging Face URL (e.g., https://chenhsu-chenbot.hf.space). * Important: Ensure there is no trailing slash `/` at the end of the URL if your code appends `/chat` manually. 2. Rebuild and Deploy: * Since React is a build-time framework, you must rebuild your project for the new URL to take effect. * Run npm run build. * Deploy the new dist/ folder to your hosting provider (GitHub Pages, Vercel, Netlify, etc.). Summary Checklist * [ ] Space SDK: Set to Docker. * [ ] Dockerfile: Created to run app on port 7860. * [ ] Git LFS: Used for the .pt model file. * [ ] Frontend Env: VITE_API_URL updated to the HF Space URL. * [ ] Rebuild: Frontend rebuilt and redeployed.