Watch the world's leading AI models debate any topic in real-time.

Features • How It Works • Quick Start • Tech Stack • Documentation

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✨ Features

🤖 Real AI Debates Not scripted. Not simulated. Watch ChatGPT and Grok engage in genuine intellectual discourse with real reasoning, real arguments, and real-time responses. ⚖️ Neutral Moderation Claude serves as an impartial moderator, ensuring balanced discussion, enforcing debate rules, and providing insightful interventions when needed. 🌍 Any Topic From technology and politics to philosophy and ethics — you define the subject, and the AI models bring the discourse.

⚡ Real-Time Streaming Experience debates as they unfold with live streaming responses. No waiting, no refreshing — just pure, uninterrupted AI discourse. 📊 Comprehensive Judging Get detailed scoring, clash analysis, and educational insights from an AI judge that evaluates argumentation quality, evidence usage, and rhetorical effectiveness. 🔗 Share & Export Generate shareable links, export full transcripts in multiple formats (Markdown, JSON, PDF), and embed debates anywhere.

🎯 How It Works

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                                                         │
│    1. CHOOSE           2. WATCH              3. LEARN                   │
│                                                                         │
│    ┌─────────┐        ┌─────────────┐        ┌─────────────┐            │
│    │  Topic  │   ──►  │  Real-Time  │   ──►  │   Scoring   │            │
│    │  + Rules│        │   Debate    │        │   Summary   │            │
│    └─────────┘        └─────────────┘        └─────────────┘            │
│                                                                         │
│    Pick any topic      ChatGPT & Grok        Get detailed               │
│    and customize       argue while Claude    analysis and               │
│    debate rules        moderates             key insights               │
│                                                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20.x or higher
• npm 10.x or higher
• API keys for OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/dinesh-git17/debate-lab.git
cd debate-lab

# Install dependencies
npm ci

# Configure environment
cp .env.example .env.local
# Edit .env.local with your API keys

# Start development server
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:3000 and start your first debate.

🛠️ Tech Stack

Next.js 15 App Router

TypeScript Type Safety

Tailwind 4 Styling

React 19 UI Library

Architecture

Layer	Technology	Purpose
Frontend	React 19, Framer Motion	Interactive UI with fluid animations
Styling	Tailwind CSS 4, CSS Variables	Design system with dark/light themes
State	Zustand, TanStack Query	Client state + server cache
Real-time	Pusher, SSE	Live streaming updates
AI Providers	OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI	Multi-model orchestration
Validation	Zod, React Hook Form	Schema-first form handling
Testing	Vitest, Playwright, MSW	Unit, integration & E2E tests
Monitoring	Sentry, Web Vitals	Error tracking & performance

📁 Project Structure

src/
├── app/                    # Next.js App Router
│   ├── (debate)/           # Debate creation routes
│   ├── (fullscreen)/       # Immersive debate experience
│   ├── (marketing)/        # Landing & info pages
│   └── api/                # REST API endpoints
│
├── components/
│   ├── ui/                 # Design system primitives
│   ├── features/           # Feature-specific components
│   ├── debate/             # Debate UI components
│   ├── judge/              # Scoring & analysis views
│   └── summary/            # Post-debate summaries
│
├── services/
│   ├── llm/                # AI provider abstraction
│   ├── debate-engine.ts    # Core debate orchestration
│   ├── judge-service.ts    # Scoring & evaluation
│   └── turn-sequencer.ts   # Turn management
│
├── lib/
│   ├── security/           # Rate limiting, content filtering
│   ├── logging/            # Structured logging, metrics
│   ├── prompts/            # AI prompt templates
│   └── performance/        # Optimization utilities
│
├── hooks/                  # Custom React hooks
├── store/                  # Zustand state stores
└── types/                  # TypeScript definitions

⚙️ Configuration

Environment Variables

Create .env.local from the example and configure:

Variable	Required	Description
OPENAI_API_KEY	✓	OpenAI API key (GPT-4)
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	✓	Anthropic API key (Claude)
XAI_API_KEY	✓	xAI API key (Grok)
SESSION_SECRET	✓	Session encryption secret
PUSHER_*		Real-time event streaming
UPSTASH_*		Redis for rate limiting
SUPABASE_*		Persistence & abuse tracking
SENTRY_DSN		Error monitoring

Feature Flags

ENABLE_CUSTOM_RULES=true     # Allow custom debate rules
MAX_DEBATE_TURNS=10          # Maximum turns per debate
TOKEN_BUDGET_PER_DEBATE=50000  # Token limit per debate
DEBATE_MODE=prod             # 'prod' or 'mock' for testing

📜 Available Scripts

Command	Description
npm run dev	Start development server with Turbopack
npm run build	Create optimized production build
npm run start	Start production server
npm run lint	Run ESLint checks
npm run typecheck	Run TypeScript compiler checks
npm run test	Run unit tests with Vitest
npm run test:e2e	Run E2E tests with Playwright
npm run format	Format code with Prettier

🔒 Security

Debate Lab implements defense-in-depth security:

• Rate Limiting — Configurable per-IP and per-session limits
• Content Filtering — Multi-layer content moderation (regex + semantic + OpenAI moderation API)
• Input Sanitization — XSS prevention and injection protection
• Abuse Tracking — Privacy-preserving IP hashing with automatic bans
• CSP Headers — Strict Content Security Policy enforcement
• API Authentication — Secure admin endpoints with API key validation

📖 Documentation

Resource	Description
Contributing Guide	Branch strategy, commit conventions, PR process
Debate Rules	Built-in debate rule definitions
API Routes	REST API endpoint implementations

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read the Contributing Guide for details on our development workflow, coding standards, and pull request process.

# Create a feature branch
git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

# Make your changes and commit
git commit -m "feat(scope): description"

# Push and create a PR
git push -u origin feature/your-feature-name

📄 License

This project is licensed under the Elastic License 2.0.

✅ Free for personal and internal use	✅ Modify and distribute source code
❌ Cannot offer as a managed service	❌ Cannot circumvent license protections

For commercial SaaS licensing, please contact the repository owner.

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