DOCUMENTATION_INDEX.md

# ConversAI Documentation Index

Complete guide to all available documentation for ConversAI.

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## 📚 Documentation Overview

ConversAI comes with comprehensive documentation covering everything from quick setup to advanced usage. Choose the document that best fits your needs.

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## 🎯 Quick Navigation

### 🚀 Recommended Setup (Nov 2025)
**[OPENAI_SETUP.md](OPENAI_SETUP.md)** ⭐ **RECOMMENDED** - 5-minute OpenAI setup (best reliability)

### 🔄 Important Update (Nov 2025)
**[MIGRATION_NOTICE.md](MIGRATION_NOTICE.md)** - HuggingFace API migration info (use OpenAI instead)

### New Users - Start Here!
1. **[USER_GUIDE.md](USER_GUIDE.md)** - Complete user guide
2. **[OPENAI_SETUP.md](OPENAI_SETUP.md)** - Quick OpenAI setup (recommended)
3. **[QUICK_START_HF_SPACES.md](QUICK_START_HF_SPACES.md)** - HF Spaces deployment (free but issues)
4. **[README.md](README.md)** - Project overview and quick reference

### Having Issues?
4. **[TROUBLESHOOTING.md](TROUBLESHOOTING.md)** - Solutions to common problems
5. **[MIGRATION_NOTICE.md](MIGRATION_NOTICE.md)** - Fix 404 errors (HuggingFace API update)
6. **Run `python check_env.py`** - Diagnose configuration issues



### Developers & Advanced Users

6. **[DEPLOYMENT.md](DEPLOYMENT.md)** - Detailed deployment instructions

7. **[USAGE_GUIDE.md](USAGE_GUIDE.md)** - Technical usage documentation



---



## 📖 Document Descriptions



### MIGRATION_NOTICE.md - HuggingFace API Update

**👤 Audience:** All HuggingFace users (CRITICAL if you see 404 errors)
**📏 Length:** Quick reference (~1,500 words)
**⏱️ Read Time:** 5 minutes

**What's Inside:**
- ✅ Explanation of HuggingFace API endpoint change
- ✅ How to verify you're using the new endpoint
- ✅ Update instructions if needed
- ✅ Troubleshooting 404 errors
- ✅ FAQ about the migration

**Best For:**
- Fixing 404 errors with HuggingFace
- Understanding the API migration
- Verifying your deployment is updated
- Users who deployed before November 2025

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### CHANGELOG.md - Version History
**👤 Audience:** All users, especially those tracking changes
**📏 Length:** Growing document
**⏱️ Read Time:** 5 minutes

**What's Inside:**
- ✅ All version changes and updates
- ✅ Migration notes between versions
- ✅ Bug fixes and improvements
- ✅ Future roadmap

**Best For:**
- Understanding what's changed
- Migration between versions
- Tracking new features
- Planning upgrades

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### USER_GUIDE.md - Complete User Guide

**👤 Audience:** All users (non-technical friendly)

**📏 Length:** Comprehensive (~8,000 words)

**⏱️ Read Time:** 30-40 minutes (or use as reference)



**What's Inside:**

- ✅ What ConversAI does and why it's production-grade

- ✅ Step-by-step guides for all three features

- ✅ Complete workflow examples

- ✅ Best practices and tips

- ✅ Use case library with real scenarios

- ✅ Privacy and security information

- ✅ Success stories and metrics

- ✅ Quality checklists

- ✅ When to use vs. traditional methods



**Best For:**

- First-time users learning the platform

- Understanding production-grade features

- Learning best practices

- Seeing real-world examples

- Understanding capabilities and limitations



---



### QUICK_START_HF_SPACES.md - Fast Deployment
**👤 Audience:** Anyone deploying to HuggingFace Spaces
**📏 Length:** Quick reference (~2,000 words)
**⏱️ Read Time:** 5-10 minutes

**What's Inside:**
- ✅ 5-minute deployment steps
- ✅ Zero-configuration setup
- ✅ Troubleshooting common issues
- ✅ Performance tips
- ✅ Testing instructions

**Best For:**
- Getting started quickly
- Deploying to HuggingFace Spaces
- Zero-config setup
- Quick reference during deployment

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### TROUBLESHOOTING.md - Problem Solving
**👤 Audience:** Users experiencing issues
**📏 Length:** Comprehensive reference (~3,000 words)
**⏱️ Read Time:** 10-15 minutes (or search for your issue)

**What's Inside:**
- ✅ Common errors and solutions
- ✅ Configuration problems
- ✅ Performance issues
- ✅ Debugging steps
- ✅ Emergency fixes
- ✅ Environment diagnostics

**Best For:**
- Fixing "LLM backend not configured" errors
- Solving slow performance
- Debugging startup issues
- Understanding error messages
- Getting unstuck quickly

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### README.md - Project Overview
**👤 Audience:** All users, especially new visitors
**📏 Length:** Quick overview (~1,500 words)
**⏱️ Read Time:** 5 minutes

**What's Inside:**
- ✅ Project description
- ✅ Key features overview
- ✅ Quick start instructions
- ✅ Configuration basics
- ✅ Architecture overview
- ✅ Installation steps

**Best For:**
- First impression of the project
- Understanding what ConversAI does
- Quick setup reference
- GitHub/HuggingFace Space homepage

---

### DEPLOYMENT.md - Detailed Deployment
**👤 Audience:** Developers, DevOps, advanced users
**📏 Length:** Comprehensive (~3,500 words)
**⏱️ Read Time:** 15-20 minutes

**What's Inside:**
- ✅ HuggingFace Spaces deployment
- ✅ Local development setup
- ✅ Docker deployment
- ✅ Provider configuration details
- ✅ Monitoring and maintenance
- ✅ Scaling considerations
- ✅ Security best practices

**Best For:**
- Production deployments
- Self-hosting
- Docker containerization
- Scaling for heavy usage
- Enterprise deployments

---

### USAGE_GUIDE.md - Technical Usage

**👤 Audience:** Technical users, researchers

**📏 Length:** Detailed reference (~4,000 words)

**⏱️ Read Time:** 20 minutes



**What's Inside:**

- ✅ Detailed feature workflows

- ✅ File format specifications

- ✅ JSON examples

- ✅ API usage patterns

- ✅ Command-line tips

- ✅ Advanced configurations



**Best For:**

- Technical implementation details

- Understanding file formats

- Programmatic usage

- Advanced configurations

- Integration with other tools



---



### check_env.py - Environment Checker
**👤 Audience:** All users (diagnostic tool)
**📏 Type:** Executable Python script
**⏱️ Run Time:** 5 seconds

**What It Does:**
- ✅ Checks for API keys and tokens
- ✅ Validates Python dependencies
- ✅ Shows which LLM provider will be used
- ✅ Diagnoses configuration issues
- ✅ Provides fix suggestions

**How to Use:**
```bash

python check_env.py

```

**Best For:**
- Diagnosing "backend not configured" errors
- Verifying setup before deployment
- Troubleshooting credential issues
- Understanding environment state

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### test_hf_backend.py - Connection Tester
**👤 Audience:** Developers, troubleshooters
**📏 Type:** Executable Python script
**⏱️ Run Time:** 30-60 seconds

**What It Does:**
- ✅ Tests HuggingFace Inference API connection
- ✅ Validates token functionality
- ✅ Tests survey generation
- ✅ Shows detailed error messages

**How to Use:**
```bash

python test_hf_backend.py

```

**Best For:**
- Testing HuggingFace connectivity
- Validating API tokens
- Debugging generation issues
- Verifying setup works end-to-end

---

## 🗺️ Documentation Roadmap by User Journey

### Journey 1: First-Time User on HuggingFace Spaces

```

1. README.md (2 min)

   ↓ "What is this?"



2. QUICK_START_HF_SPACES.md (5 min)

   ↓ "How do I deploy?"



3. USER_GUIDE.md - "How to Use" section (10 min)

   ↓ "How do I use it?"



4. Try the app!

   ↓ If issues arise...



5. TROUBLESHOOTING.md (as needed)

```

**Total Time to Success:** 20-30 minutes

---

### Journey 2: Self-Hosting Developer

```

1. README.md (5 min)

   ↓ "What is this?"



2. DEPLOYMENT.md - Local Setup (10 min)

   ↓ "How do I install?"



3. Run: python check_env.py (1 min)

   ↓ "Is it configured?"



4. USAGE_GUIDE.md (15 min)

   ↓ "How do I use it?"



5. USER_GUIDE.md - Best Practices (skim)

   ↓ If issues arise...



6. TROUBLESHOOTING.md (as needed)

```

**Total Time to Success:** 30-45 minutes

---

### Journey 3: Researcher/End User

```

1. USER_GUIDE.md - "What ConversAI Does" (5 min)

   ↓ "Can this help my research?"



2. USER_GUIDE.md - "How to Use" for your feature (10 min)

   ↓ "How do I do X?"



3. USER_GUIDE.md - Workflow Examples (10 min)

   ↓ "Show me a real example"



4. Try the app with examples

   ↓ Regular usage...



5. USER_GUIDE.md - Tips for Power Users (reference)

```

**Total Time to Productivity:** 30 minutes

---

### Journey 4: Enterprise Deployment

```

1. README.md (5 min)

   ↓ "Is this production-ready?"



2. USER_GUIDE.md - Production-Grade section (10 min)

   ↓ "What makes it production-grade?"



3. DEPLOYMENT.md - Complete guide (30 min)

   ↓ "How do we deploy?"



4. USER_GUIDE.md - Privacy & Security (5 min)

   ↓ "Is it secure for our data?"



5. DEPLOYMENT.md - Scaling & Monitoring (10 min)

   ↓ "How do we operate it?"



6. Set up with enterprise LLM provider

```

**Total Time to Production:** 1-2 hours of reading, plus setup time

---

## 📊 Documentation by Topic

### Setup & Installation
- **Quick Setup:** QUICK_START_HF_SPACES.md

- **Detailed Setup:** DEPLOYMENT.md

- **Troubleshooting:** TROUBLESHOOTING.md

- **Environment Check:** check_env.py

### Using ConversAI
- **Complete Guide:** USER_GUIDE.md

- **Technical Details:** USAGE_GUIDE.md
- **Quick Reference:** README.md

### Problem Solving
- **Common Issues:** TROUBLESHOOTING.md
- **Environment Issues:** check_env.py

- **Connection Issues:** test_hf_backend.py



### Advanced Topics

- **Production Deployment:** DEPLOYMENT.md

- **Scaling:** DEPLOYMENT.md - Scaling section

- **Security:** USER_GUIDE.md - Privacy section
- **API Integration:** USAGE_GUIDE.md



---



## 🔍 Finding What You Need



### By Question



**"How do I deploy this?"**

→ QUICK_START_HF_SPACES.md or DEPLOYMENT.md

**"What can this do?"**
→ README.md or USER_GUIDE.md - What ConversAI Does



**"How do I use feature X?"**

→ USER_GUIDE.md - Feature Guide: [Feature Name]

**"Why isn't it working?"**
→ TROUBLESHOOTING.md or run check_env.py



**"Is this production-ready?"**

→ USER_GUIDE.md - Production-Grade section

**"How do I translate surveys?"**
→ USER_GUIDE.md - Feature Guide: Survey Translation



**"What are best practices?"**

→ USER_GUIDE.md - Tips sections

**"How much does it cost?"**
→ USER_GUIDE.md - Optimizing for Cost



**"Is my data safe?"**

→ USER_GUIDE.md - Privacy & Data Security

**"Can I use this for [use case]?"**
→ USER_GUIDE.md - Use Case Library



---



## 💡 Documentation Tips



### For Readers



1. **Don't read everything** - Use the index to find what you need

2. **Start with USER_GUIDE.md** if unsure where to begin

3. **Use search** (Ctrl+F) within documents

4. **Check examples** - Most docs include real examples

5. **Run diagnostics first** - check_env.py saves time

### For Contributors

1. **Keep docs in sync** - Update all relevant docs when making changes
2. **Include examples** - Show, don't just tell
3. **Link between docs** - Help readers navigate
4. **Test instructions** - Verify steps actually work
5. **Update this index** - When adding new documentation

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## 📋 Documentation Checklist

When starting with ConversAI, ensure you've read:

**Minimum (Quick Start):**
- [ ] README.md - Know what it does
- [ ] QUICK_START_HF_SPACES.md - Deploy it

- [ ] USER_GUIDE.md - "How to Use" sections for features you need

**Recommended (Full Setup):**
- [ ] USER_GUIDE.md - Complete guide

- [ ] TROUBLESHOOTING.md - Skim common issues

- [ ] Run check_env.py - Verify setup

**Advanced (Production):**
- [ ] DEPLOYMENT.md - Full deployment guide
- [ ] USER_GUIDE.md - Privacy & Production sections

- [ ] USAGE_GUIDE.md - Technical details

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## 🔄 Documentation Updates

**Last Updated:** 2025
**Version:** 1.0

**Recent Changes:**
- Added comprehensive USER_GUIDE.md

- Created this documentation index

- Enhanced troubleshooting guide

- Added diagnostic scripts



**Upcoming:**

- Video tutorials

- API documentation

- Integration guides

- Case study library



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## 📞 Still Need Help?



After reading the relevant documentation:



1. **Check logs** - Look for error messages

2. **Run diagnostics** - `python check_env.py`
3. **Search docs** - Use Ctrl+F in documents
4. **Check issues** - GitHub issues for similar problems
5. **Ask for help** - Provide diagnostic output and what you tried

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**Happy researching!** 🔬

*Choose your documentation path above and get started with ConversAI.*