README.md

---
title: Book Recommender
emoji: 📚
colorFrom: indigo
colorTo: blue
sdk: docker
sdk_version: "latest"  # Or specify a version if needed
app_file: app.py
pinned: false
---

# Book Recommender (Flask)

This Hugging Face Space hosts a web application for recommending books based on their summaries.  It's built using Python, Flask, pandas, and scikit-learn.

## How to Use

1. **Upload Data:** Upload a CSV or Excel file containing book titles and summaries.  The file *must* have columns named "title" and "summary" (case-sensitive).
2. **Process Data:** Click the "Upload and Process" button.
3. **Get Recommendations:** Enter a book title and click the "Get Recommendations" button. The app will display similar books.

## Data Format

The uploaded CSV or Excel file should have the following columns:

*   `title` (string): The title of the book.
*   `summary` (string): A brief summary of the book.

## Dependencies

The following Python libraries are used:

*   Flask
*   pandas
*   scikit-learn
*   gunicorn

These dependencies are listed in the `requirements.txt` file.

## Running Locally (for development)

1.  Clone the repository:

    ```bash
    git clone <repository_url>
    ```

2.  Create a virtual environment:

    ```bash
    python3 -m venv venv
    source venv/bin/activate  # macOS/Linux
    venv\Scripts\activate    # Windows
    ```

3.  Install dependencies:

    ```bash
    pip install -r requirements.txt
    ```

4.  Run the app:

    ```bash
    python app.py
    ```

## File Structure