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LifeLens — API Keys Setup

Point your camera at anything, know everything.

LifeLens is Qwen-only for identification and needs just one key:

  1. DASHSCOPE_API_KEY — for Qwen-VL (vision + language) via DashScope. Required for everything: identification, specs, nutrition, price synthesis and follow-up Q&A. A working default key ships with the app so it runs out of the box; paste your own in Settings to override it.
  2. SEARCH_API_KEY — optional. Live price grounding already works without any key by aggregating several free search engines (Google, DuckDuckGo, Bing). Adding a Serper key simply adds Google Shopping's structured listings to the mix for richer pricing.

Keys are never hard-coded. You provide them either at build time (via secrets.properties) or at runtime (in the in-app Settings screen). This guide covers both.

Related: TECHNICAL.md · README.md · docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.

1. Get a DashScope (Qwen) API Key

DashScope is Alibaba Cloud's model service; Qwen-VL is served through its OpenAI-compatible endpoint.

  1. Go to Alibaba Cloud Model Studio (DashScope) and sign in / create an account.
  2. Open the API Keys section and create an API key. It looks like sk-....
  3. Use the international endpoint. LifeLens is configured for: https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1 Make sure your key belongs to the same region/account as this endpoint (see Troubleshooting).
  4. Confirm access to the vision models: qwen-vl-max and qwen2.5-vl-72b-instruct.
  5. Copy the key — you'll paste it below.

Keep the key private. Treat it like a password; it bills your account.

2. Search for live pricing (no key required)

Price grounding is behind a single SearchClient (AggregatingSearchClient) that queries several providers concurrently and merges the listings for thorough, resilient results. If one engine is rate-limited or changes its markup, the others still return.

Supported search platforms

Provider Key needed? Role
Google (web scrape) No Queried first — leads de-duplication, per the "Google over any other API" rule.
DuckDuckGo (HTML endpoint) No Free breadth; different index than Google.
Bing (web scrape) No Free breadth; catches retailers the others miss.
Serper.dev (Google Shopping) Yes (SEARCH_API_KEY) Optional booster — adds structured Shopping prices when a key is present.

Results are deduped to one listing per retailer host (Google wins ties), capped, and handed to Qwen to synthesize a price range with buy links.

Optional: add a Serper key for richer prices

  1. Sign up at serper.dev.
  2. Copy your API key from the dashboard.
  3. Use it as SEARCH_API_KEY (build time or in Settings).

Location-aware currency

When you grant coarse location, LifeLens biases the price search to your country and asks Qwen to report prices in your local currency (e.g. ₦ for Nigeria). Deny/skip it and pricing stays generic (USD) — never a country currency you didn't opt into.

3. Where to Put the Keys

Option A — secrets.properties (build time)

Create a file named secrets.properties at the repo root (next to settings.gradle.kts). It is gitignored and read into BuildConfig at build time.

# secrets.properties  (repo root — DO NOT COMMIT)
DASHSCOPE_API_KEY=sk-your-dashscope-key-here
SEARCH_API_KEY=            # optional — leave blank to use the free Google/DuckDuckGo/Bing search
  • The build reads these into BuildConfig fields the network/search modules consume.
  • You may alternatively place them in local.properties (also gitignored) if you prefer a single file.

Option B — In-app Settings (runtime)

  1. Launch LifeLens.
  2. Open Settings.
  3. Paste your DashScope key and (optionally) your search key.
  4. Save. Keys are stored via DataStore and persist across launches.

Precedence: a key entered in Settings (DataStore) overrides the BuildConfig value. This lets developers build with secrets.properties while end users (e.g. judges running a prebuilt APK) simply paste keys in the app.

4. These Files Are Gitignored — Never Commit Keys

local.properties and secrets.properties are listed in .gitignore and must never be committed. Before pushing:

  • Do not paste real keys into source, XML, README, or commit messages.

  • If a key is ever committed, revoke and regenerate it immediately on the provider dashboard.

  • Verify with:

    git check-ignore -v secrets.properties local.properties
git status --porcelain   # should NOT list either file

5. Verify Your Setup

  1. Add keys via Option A or B.
  2. Build and run: 
    ./gradlew assembleDebug
./gradlew installDebug
  3. Scan a common object → you should get an identification (confirms the DashScope key).
  4. Scan a product → you should get a price range + buy links (works with the free search; a Serper key just adds Shopping listings).

Troubleshooting

Symptom Likely cause Fix
401 / "invalid api key" / "Incorrect API key" Missing, wrong, or malformed DASHSCOPE_API_KEY; extra spaces/quotes. Re-copy the key (no surrounding quotes/whitespace). Confirm it's saved in Settings or present in secrets.properties. Regenerate if unsure.
403 / access denied to model Key lacks access to qwen-vl-max / qwen2.5-vl-72b-instruct. Enable the vision models in Model Studio for your account.
Region / endpoint mismatch Key created for a different region than the international endpoint. Ensure the key matches https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1, or switch to the endpoint that matches your key's region.
429 / rate limited / quota exceeded Too many calls, or free-tier quota hit. Slow down (debounce), reduce image size, wait for the window to reset, or upgrade the plan. LifeLens caches results in Room to cut repeat calls.
No prices / empty buy options All search engines were rate-limited or returned nothing for the query. Retry; add a Serper key for structured Shopping results; identification still works without any pricing.
Prices in the wrong currency Location permission state changed the currency basis. Grant coarse location for local currency, or deny it for generic USD pricing.
Prices look off Grounding varies by region/stock/time; model estimates. Expected — LifeLens shows ranges with disclaimers and live links; verify at the source.
Keys not picked up after adding to secrets.properties Stale build / Gradle didn't re-read. Re-sync Gradle and rebuild (./gradlew clean assembleDebug). Or just enter keys in Settings (takes effect immediately).
Large images fail / slow Payload too big. LifeLens downscales to ~1024px automatically; ensure you're on the current build (see TECHNICAL.md).

Summary

  • One required key: DASHSCOPE_API_KEY (Qwen powers everything; a default ships so the app runs out of the box). SEARCH_API_KEY (Serper) is optional — free Google/DuckDuckGo/Bing search runs without it.
  • Two ways to provide them: secrets.properties → BuildConfig (build time) or Settings screen → DataStore (runtime; overrides build-time).
  • Never commit them. Both secrets.properties and local.properties are gitignored.

Back to README.md · Deep-dive in TECHNICAL.md.