AI QuizMaster

AI QuizMaster is a small quiz generator that pairs a desktop Swing client with a Node.js backend. Users can register or sign in locally, request Gemini-powered quizzes on any topic, take them inside the app, and review their personal history.

Features

• Topic-based quiz generation with selectable difficulty and question count (5–10).
• Gemini API creates fresh multiple-choice questions stored in MongoDB.
• Java Swing desktop client with login, quiz, results, and history views.
• Local flat-file storage (user-data/) keeps hashed credentials and a per-user score log.

Project Structure

• backend/ – Express + MongoDB API that talks to Gemini and persists quizzes/results.
• src/ – Java desktop client (AIQuizMaster) that consumes the backend.
• user-data/ – Runtime directory the client uses for credentials (users.txt) and history (history.txt).

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ and npm.
• Java 17+ (the client uses the built-in java.net.http client).
• MongoDB instance (local or Atlas connection string).
• Google Gemini API key with access to gemini-2.5-flash (configurable).

Backend Setup

1. cd backend
2. Install dependencies: npm install
3. Create .env (or set env vars) with at least:

   PORT=3000
   MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://<user>:<pass>@<cluster>/quiz
   GEMINI_API_KEY=your_google_api_key
   GEMINI_MODEL=gemini-2.5-flash        # optional override
   QUIZ_MIN_QUESTIONS=5                 # optional
   QUIZ_MAX_QUESTIONS=10                # optional
   

4. Start the server: npm run dev (nodemon) or npm start.
5. Verify health check at http://localhost:3000/health.

Desktop Client Setup

1. From the repo root, compile the sources:

   mkdir -p out
   javac -d out src/*.java
   

2. Run the app (expects the backend on http://localhost:3000):

   java -cp out AIQuizMaster
   

3. Register a user inside the app (stored locally in user-data/users.txt), generate quizzes, and view results/history.

Tip: keep the backend running while you use the client; quiz generation fails if the API or Gemini key is missing.

Troubleshooting

• Quiz generation fails immediately – Confirm the backend is running, MONGODB_URI is reachable, and GEMINI_API_KEY is valid.
• Login not persisted – Ensure the client process can write to user-data/. Delete user-data/users.txt only if you want a clean slate.
• Connection refused – Adjust QuizService.BASE_URL in src/QuizService.java if you run the backend on another host/port.