LocalLink – AI-Powered Travel Planner

FastAPI backend + React frontend for generating personalized travel itineraries using Google Gemini AI.

Tech Stack

• Backend: FastAPI, PostgreSQL, Redis (optional), Google Gemini AI
• Frontend: React, TypeScript, Vite, Clerk Auth
• Deployment: Railway (backend), Docker optional

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+
• Node.js 18+
• PostgreSQL (Railway or local)
• Google Gemini API key

Local Setup (No Docker)

# Backend
cd backend
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
uvicorn main:app --reload

# Frontend (new terminal)
cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev

Docker Setup (Optional)

cd backend
docker compose up

Environment Variables

Create backend/.env:

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@host:port/database
GEMINI_API_KEY=your_gemini_api_key
FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:5173
REDIS_HOST=localhost  # optional
REDIS_PORT=6379       # optional

API Documentation

• Backend: http://localhost:8000
• API Docs: http://localhost:8000/docs
• Frontend: http://localhost:5173

Deployment

Railway:

1. Push to GitHub
2. Connect repo to Railway
3. Set environment variables in Railway dashboard
4. Auto-deploys on push to main

Project Structure

LocalLink/
├── backend/           # FastAPI app
│   ├── main.py       # Entry point
│   ├── database.py   # PostgreSQL config
│   ├── cache.py      # Redis caching
│   ├── routers/      # API routes
│   ├── models/       # Database models
│   ├── schemas/      # Pydantic schemas
│   ├── ai/           # Gemini integration
│   └── venv/         # Virtual environment
└── frontend/         # React app
    └── src/

Features

• ✅ AI-powered itinerary generation
• ✅ User authentication (Clerk)
• ✅ PostgreSQL database
• ✅ Redis caching & rate limiting (optional)
• ✅ Shareable itinerary links
• ✅ Docker support (optional)
• ✅ Railway deployment ready

Troubleshooting

Backend won't start?

source backend/venv/bin/activate
cd backend && uvicorn main:app --reload

Database connection errors?

• Verify DATABASE_URL in .env
• Ensure PostgreSQL is running

Redis not connecting?

• App works without Redis (graceful fallback)
• To enable: brew install redis && brew services start redis