DOCUMENTATION_INDEX.md

# ConversAI Documentation Index

Complete guide to all available documentation for ConversAI.

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## 📚 Documentation Overview

ConversAI comes with comprehensive documentation covering everything from quick setup to advanced usage. Choose the document that best fits your needs.

---

## 🎯 Quick Navigation

### 🚀 Recommended Setup (Nov 2025)
**[OPENAI_SETUP.md](OPENAI_SETUP.md)** ⭐ **RECOMMENDED** - 5-minute OpenAI setup (best reliability)

### 🔄 Important Update (Nov 2025)
**[MIGRATION_NOTICE.md](MIGRATION_NOTICE.md)** - HuggingFace API migration info (use OpenAI instead)

### New Users - Start Here!
1. **[USER_GUIDE.md](USER_GUIDE.md)** - Complete user guide
2. **[OPENAI_SETUP.md](OPENAI_SETUP.md)** - Quick OpenAI setup (recommended)
3. **[QUICK_START_HF_SPACES.md](QUICK_START_HF_SPACES.md)** - HF Spaces deployment (free but issues)
4. **[README.md](README.md)** - Project overview and quick reference

### Having Issues?
4. **[TROUBLESHOOTING.md](TROUBLESHOOTING.md)** - Solutions to common problems
5. **[MIGRATION_NOTICE.md](MIGRATION_NOTICE.md)** - Fix 404 errors (HuggingFace API update)
6. **Run `python check_env.py`** - Diagnose configuration issues

### Developers & Advanced Users
6. **[DEPLOYMENT.md](DEPLOYMENT.md)** - Detailed deployment instructions
7. **[USAGE_GUIDE.md](USAGE_GUIDE.md)** - Technical usage documentation

---

## 📖 Document Descriptions

### MIGRATION_NOTICE.md - HuggingFace API Update
**👤 Audience:** All HuggingFace users (CRITICAL if you see 404 errors)
**📏 Length:** Quick reference (~1,500 words)
**⏱️ Read Time:** 5 minutes

**What's Inside:**
- ✅ Explanation of HuggingFace API endpoint change
- ✅ How to verify you're using the new endpoint
- ✅ Update instructions if needed
- ✅ Troubleshooting 404 errors
- ✅ FAQ about the migration

**Best For:**
- Fixing 404 errors with HuggingFace
- Understanding the API migration
- Verifying your deployment is updated
- Users who deployed before November 2025

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### CHANGELOG.md - Version History
**👤 Audience:** All users, especially those tracking changes
**📏 Length:** Growing document
**⏱️ Read Time:** 5 minutes

**What's Inside:**
- ✅ All version changes and updates
- ✅ Migration notes between versions
- ✅ Bug fixes and improvements
- ✅ Future roadmap

**Best For:**
- Understanding what's changed
- Migration between versions
- Tracking new features
- Planning upgrades

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### USER_GUIDE.md - Complete User Guide
**👤 Audience:** All users (non-technical friendly)
**📏 Length:** Comprehensive (~8,000 words)
**⏱️ Read Time:** 30-40 minutes (or use as reference)

**What's Inside:**
- ✅ What ConversAI does and why it's production-grade
- ✅ Step-by-step guides for all three features
- ✅ Complete workflow examples
- ✅ Best practices and tips
- ✅ Use case library with real scenarios
- ✅ Privacy and security information
- ✅ Success stories and metrics
- ✅ Quality checklists
- ✅ When to use vs. traditional methods

**Best For:**
- First-time users learning the platform
- Understanding production-grade features
- Learning best practices
- Seeing real-world examples
- Understanding capabilities and limitations

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### QUICK_START_HF_SPACES.md - Fast Deployment
**👤 Audience:** Anyone deploying to HuggingFace Spaces
**📏 Length:** Quick reference (~2,000 words)
**⏱️ Read Time:** 5-10 minutes

**What's Inside:**
- ✅ 5-minute deployment steps
- ✅ Zero-configuration setup
- ✅ Troubleshooting common issues
- ✅ Performance tips
- ✅ Testing instructions

**Best For:**
- Getting started quickly
- Deploying to HuggingFace Spaces
- Zero-config setup
- Quick reference during deployment

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### TROUBLESHOOTING.md - Problem Solving
**👤 Audience:** Users experiencing issues
**📏 Length:** Comprehensive reference (~3,000 words)
**⏱️ Read Time:** 10-15 minutes (or search for your issue)

**What's Inside:**
- ✅ Common errors and solutions
- ✅ Configuration problems
- ✅ Performance issues
- ✅ Debugging steps
- ✅ Emergency fixes
- ✅ Environment diagnostics

**Best For:**
- Fixing "LLM backend not configured" errors
- Solving slow performance
- Debugging startup issues
- Understanding error messages
- Getting unstuck quickly

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### README.md - Project Overview
**👤 Audience:** All users, especially new visitors
**📏 Length:** Quick overview (~1,500 words)
**⏱️ Read Time:** 5 minutes

**What's Inside:**
- ✅ Project description
- ✅ Key features overview
- ✅ Quick start instructions
- ✅ Configuration basics
- ✅ Architecture overview
- ✅ Installation steps

**Best For:**
- First impression of the project
- Understanding what ConversAI does
- Quick setup reference
- GitHub/HuggingFace Space homepage

---

### DEPLOYMENT.md - Detailed Deployment
**👤 Audience:** Developers, DevOps, advanced users
**📏 Length:** Comprehensive (~3,500 words)
**⏱️ Read Time:** 15-20 minutes

**What's Inside:**
- ✅ HuggingFace Spaces deployment
- ✅ Local development setup
- ✅ Docker deployment
- ✅ Provider configuration details
- ✅ Monitoring and maintenance
- ✅ Scaling considerations
- ✅ Security best practices

**Best For:**
- Production deployments
- Self-hosting
- Docker containerization
- Scaling for heavy usage
- Enterprise deployments

---

### USAGE_GUIDE.md - Technical Usage
**👤 Audience:** Technical users, researchers
**📏 Length:** Detailed reference (~4,000 words)
**⏱️ Read Time:** 20 minutes

**What's Inside:**
- ✅ Detailed feature workflows
- ✅ File format specifications
- ✅ JSON examples
- ✅ API usage patterns
- ✅ Command-line tips
- ✅ Advanced configurations

**Best For:**
- Technical implementation details
- Understanding file formats
- Programmatic usage
- Advanced configurations
- Integration with other tools

---

### check_env.py - Environment Checker
**👤 Audience:** All users (diagnostic tool)
**📏 Type:** Executable Python script
**⏱️ Run Time:** 5 seconds

**What It Does:**
- ✅ Checks for API keys and tokens
- ✅ Validates Python dependencies
- ✅ Shows which LLM provider will be used
- ✅ Diagnoses configuration issues
- ✅ Provides fix suggestions

**How to Use:**
```bash
python check_env.py
```

**Best For:**
- Diagnosing "backend not configured" errors
- Verifying setup before deployment
- Troubleshooting credential issues
- Understanding environment state

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### test_hf_backend.py - Connection Tester
**👤 Audience:** Developers, troubleshooters
**📏 Type:** Executable Python script
**⏱️ Run Time:** 30-60 seconds

**What It Does:**
- ✅ Tests HuggingFace Inference API connection
- ✅ Validates token functionality
- ✅ Tests survey generation
- ✅ Shows detailed error messages

**How to Use:**
```bash
python test_hf_backend.py
```

**Best For:**
- Testing HuggingFace connectivity
- Validating API tokens
- Debugging generation issues
- Verifying setup works end-to-end

---

## 🗺️ Documentation Roadmap by User Journey

### Journey 1: First-Time User on HuggingFace Spaces

```
1. README.md (2 min)
   ↓ "What is this?"

2. QUICK_START_HF_SPACES.md (5 min)
   ↓ "How do I deploy?"

3. USER_GUIDE.md - "How to Use" section (10 min)
   ↓ "How do I use it?"

4. Try the app!
   ↓ If issues arise...

5. TROUBLESHOOTING.md (as needed)
```

**Total Time to Success:** 20-30 minutes

---

### Journey 2: Self-Hosting Developer

```
1. README.md (5 min)
   ↓ "What is this?"

2. DEPLOYMENT.md - Local Setup (10 min)
   ↓ "How do I install?"

3. Run: python check_env.py (1 min)
   ↓ "Is it configured?"

4. USAGE_GUIDE.md (15 min)
   ↓ "How do I use it?"

5. USER_GUIDE.md - Best Practices (skim)
   ↓ If issues arise...

6. TROUBLESHOOTING.md (as needed)
```

**Total Time to Success:** 30-45 minutes

---

### Journey 3: Researcher/End User

```
1. USER_GUIDE.md - "What ConversAI Does" (5 min)
   ↓ "Can this help my research?"

2. USER_GUIDE.md - "How to Use" for your feature (10 min)
   ↓ "How do I do X?"

3. USER_GUIDE.md - Workflow Examples (10 min)
   ↓ "Show me a real example"

4. Try the app with examples
   ↓ Regular usage...

5. USER_GUIDE.md - Tips for Power Users (reference)
```

**Total Time to Productivity:** 30 minutes

---

### Journey 4: Enterprise Deployment

```
1. README.md (5 min)
   ↓ "Is this production-ready?"

2. USER_GUIDE.md - Production-Grade section (10 min)
   ↓ "What makes it production-grade?"

3. DEPLOYMENT.md - Complete guide (30 min)
   ↓ "How do we deploy?"

4. USER_GUIDE.md - Privacy & Security (5 min)
   ↓ "Is it secure for our data?"

5. DEPLOYMENT.md - Scaling & Monitoring (10 min)
   ↓ "How do we operate it?"

6. Set up with enterprise LLM provider
```

**Total Time to Production:** 1-2 hours of reading, plus setup time

---

## 📊 Documentation by Topic

### Setup & Installation
- **Quick Setup:** QUICK_START_HF_SPACES.md
- **Detailed Setup:** DEPLOYMENT.md
- **Troubleshooting:** TROUBLESHOOTING.md
- **Environment Check:** check_env.py

### Using ConversAI
- **Complete Guide:** USER_GUIDE.md
- **Technical Details:** USAGE_GUIDE.md
- **Quick Reference:** README.md

### Problem Solving
- **Common Issues:** TROUBLESHOOTING.md
- **Environment Issues:** check_env.py
- **Connection Issues:** test_hf_backend.py

### Advanced Topics
- **Production Deployment:** DEPLOYMENT.md
- **Scaling:** DEPLOYMENT.md - Scaling section
- **Security:** USER_GUIDE.md - Privacy section
- **API Integration:** USAGE_GUIDE.md

---

## 🔍 Finding What You Need

### By Question

**"How do I deploy this?"**
→ QUICK_START_HF_SPACES.md or DEPLOYMENT.md

**"What can this do?"**
→ README.md or USER_GUIDE.md - What ConversAI Does

**"How do I use feature X?"**
→ USER_GUIDE.md - Feature Guide: [Feature Name]

**"Why isn't it working?"**
→ TROUBLESHOOTING.md or run check_env.py

**"Is this production-ready?"**
→ USER_GUIDE.md - Production-Grade section

**"How do I translate surveys?"**
→ USER_GUIDE.md - Feature Guide: Survey Translation

**"What are best practices?"**
→ USER_GUIDE.md - Tips sections

**"How much does it cost?"**
→ USER_GUIDE.md - Optimizing for Cost

**"Is my data safe?"**
→ USER_GUIDE.md - Privacy & Data Security

**"Can I use this for [use case]?"**
→ USER_GUIDE.md - Use Case Library

---

## 💡 Documentation Tips

### For Readers

1. **Don't read everything** - Use the index to find what you need
2. **Start with USER_GUIDE.md** if unsure where to begin
3. **Use search** (Ctrl+F) within documents
4. **Check examples** - Most docs include real examples
5. **Run diagnostics first** - check_env.py saves time

### For Contributors

1. **Keep docs in sync** - Update all relevant docs when making changes
2. **Include examples** - Show, don't just tell
3. **Link between docs** - Help readers navigate
4. **Test instructions** - Verify steps actually work
5. **Update this index** - When adding new documentation

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## 📋 Documentation Checklist

When starting with ConversAI, ensure you've read:

**Minimum (Quick Start):**
- [ ] README.md - Know what it does
- [ ] QUICK_START_HF_SPACES.md - Deploy it
- [ ] USER_GUIDE.md - "How to Use" sections for features you need

**Recommended (Full Setup):**
- [ ] USER_GUIDE.md - Complete guide
- [ ] TROUBLESHOOTING.md - Skim common issues
- [ ] Run check_env.py - Verify setup

**Advanced (Production):**
- [ ] DEPLOYMENT.md - Full deployment guide
- [ ] USER_GUIDE.md - Privacy & Production sections
- [ ] USAGE_GUIDE.md - Technical details

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## 🔄 Documentation Updates

**Last Updated:** 2025
**Version:** 1.0

**Recent Changes:**
- Added comprehensive USER_GUIDE.md
- Created this documentation index
- Enhanced troubleshooting guide
- Added diagnostic scripts

**Upcoming:**
- Video tutorials
- API documentation
- Integration guides
- Case study library

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## 📞 Still Need Help?

After reading the relevant documentation:

1. **Check logs** - Look for error messages
2. **Run diagnostics** - `python check_env.py`
3. **Search docs** - Use Ctrl+F in documents
4. **Check issues** - GitHub issues for similar problems
5. **Ask for help** - Provide diagnostic output and what you tried

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**Happy researching!** 🔬

*Choose your documentation path above and get started with ConversAI.*