deployment_guide.md

Deploying to Streamlit Community Cloud

Follow these steps to publish your Research Agent app to the internet.

1. Prepare your Repository

Streamlit Cloud deploys directly from your GitHub repository.

1. Commit your changes:

   git add .
   git commit -m "Initial commit of Research Agent app"
   

2. Push to GitHub:

   • Create a new repository on GitHub.
   • Follow the instructions to push your local repository to GitHub.

   git remote add origin <your-repo-url>
   git branch -M main
   git push -u origin main
   

2. Deploy on Streamlit Cloud

1. Go to share.streamlit.io.
2. Sign in with your GitHub account.
3. Click "New app".
4. Select your repository, branch (main), and the main file path (app.py).
5. Click "Deploy!".

3. Configure Secrets

Your app needs API keys to work. You must set these in the Streamlit Cloud dashboard.

1. On your app's dashboard, click "Manage app" (bottom right) or the three dots menu -> "Settings".

2. Go to the "Secrets" tab.

3. Paste your secrets in the TOML format:

   GOOGLE_API_KEY = "your-google-api-key-here"
   

   (Copy the value from your local .env file, but do not include the export keyword if present).

4. Click "Save".

4. Verify

Once deployed and secrets are saved, your app should automatically refresh and be ready to use!