OR‐Tools Integration

Google OR-Tools CP-SAT Integration

What Is Used

Teambuilder uses Google OR-Tools CP-SAT as the optimization engine for team generation.

Primary code paths:

• algorithms/CPSAT/ortools.ts
• algorithms/CPSAT/team_generator.py
• algorithms/CPSAT/README_ORTOOLS.md
• pages/generate-teams.vue
• components/generate-teams/GenerateTeamsCard.vue

How It Is Used

Teambuilder uses OR-Tools to solve the student-to-project assignment problem as a constraint optimization task:

• The TypeScript wrapper serializes student and project data to JSON.
• The Python solver loads the JSON and builds a CP-SAT model.
• Decision variables represent student-to-project assignments.
• Hard constraints enforce feasibility.
• The objective function rewards preferred choices and other soft goals.
• The solution is returned to TypeScript and displayed in the UI.

Relevant API action:

• POST /api/teams/generate

Why It Exists

The solver is used because team generation has many competing constraints:

• Each student must be assigned to exactly one team.
• Team sizes must stay within bounds.
• Meeting day rules must be respected.
• Preferences, returning students, skill matches, and diversity should all influence the result.

CP-SAT gives the team a practical way to produce high-quality assignments while balancing these constraints.

What Teambuilder Needs From OR-Tools

• A CP-SAT solver capable of mixed hard and soft constraints
• Objective maximization over student preference scores
• Support for team size limits and optional overflow handling
• Fast enough runtime for a typical semester roster

Pages Involved

• pages/generate-teams.vue
• pages/teams.vue

Data Dependencies

• Student choices from the database.
• Project records and meeting-day availability.
• Semester selection.
• Algorithm configuration values from the Generate Teams page.

Notes

• OR-Tools runs as a Python subprocess invoked from Node.js.
• The integration is local and does not require a remote service.
• This is a third-party library integration, not a hosted SaaS integration.