From 6a9cb5b488c42bdae32b4871153f8c04dad6ff4e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: ricardo-agz <ricardo.gonzalez@vercel.com>
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2025 16:18:18 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] added error message when env var missing

---
 python/vibe-coding-ide/README.md               |  2 +-
 .../frontend/src/hooks/useChat.tsx             | 18 ++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 19 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/python/vibe-coding-ide/README.md b/python/vibe-coding-ide/README.md
index cb804f0ffa..8d3b2ce7d5 100644
--- a/python/vibe-coding-ide/README.md
+++ b/python/vibe-coding-ide/README.md
@@ -31,4 +31,4 @@ npm i
 npm run dev
 ```
 
-Open [http://localhost:3000](http://localhost:3000) with your browser to see the backend.
+Open [http://localhost:3000](http://localhost:3000) with your browser to see the frontend.
diff --git a/python/vibe-coding-ide/frontend/src/hooks/useChat.tsx b/python/vibe-coding-ide/frontend/src/hooks/useChat.tsx
index 072617fd93..9c3926893f 100644
--- a/python/vibe-coding-ide/frontend/src/hooks/useChat.tsx
+++ b/python/vibe-coding-ide/frontend/src/hooks/useChat.tsx
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ import { API_BASE } from '../constants'
 import { useProjects } from '../context/ProjectsContext'
 import { computeProjectHashes } from '../lib/hash'
 
+declare const process: { env: Record<string, string | undefined> }
+
 interface UseChatProps {
   userId: string
   input: string
@@ -44,6 +46,22 @@ export const useChat = ({
     useProjects()
   const sendPrompt = useCallback(async () => {
     if (!input.trim()) return
+    // In production, require NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL to be set; otherwise show a user-facing error
+    const isProd = (process.env.NODE_ENV || '').trim() === 'production'
+    const hasApiUrl = Boolean((process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL || '').trim())
+    if (isProd && !hasApiUrl) {
+      const errorRunId = `config_error_${Date.now()}`
+      createRun(errorRunId, input, projectId, threadId)
+      addAction(errorRunId, {
+        id: `notice_${Date.now()}`,
+        kind: 'system_notice',
+        status: 'done',
+        message:
+          'Missing environment variable: NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL is not set. Set it to your backend URL and reload.',
+        timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
+      } as Action)
+      return
+    }
     setLoading(true)
     setInput('')