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❓ FAQ — LeetLog AI

Answers to the most common questions from contributors and users. Cross-references: README.md | CONTRIBUTING.md

📖 General

What is LeetLog AI? LeetLog AI is a Chrome Extension + Python FastAPI backend that automatically generates and publishes a professional blog post whenever you solve a LeetCode problem. It uses AI providers (Gemini, OpenAI, Perplexity, or xAI/Grok) to write the post and can publish to Dev.to, Hashnode, Medium, or a custom webhook.

What is the tech stack?

  • Backend: Python 3.12.3, FastAPI, Motor (async MongoDB), Celery, Redis
  • Frontend: React + Vite, runs at http://localhost:5173
  • Extension: Chrome MV3 (content.js, background.js, popup.js)
  • AI Providers: Gemini, OpenAI, Perplexity, xAI/Grok
  • Publishing: Dev.to, Hashnode, Medium, custom webhook
  • Social sharing: Twitter/X, LinkedIn
  • Deployment: Render (backend), MongoDB Atlas (database)

⚙️ Setup

What Python version is required? Python 3.12.3 — see .python-version in the project root. The README badge says 3.10+ but 3.12.3 is the tested version.

How do I set up the virtual environment?

Windows:

cd backend
python -m venv venv
venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

macOS / Linux:

cd backend
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Windows OneDrive note: If your Desktop is inside OneDrive, use the full path: cd C:\Users\YourName\OneDrive\Desktop\LeetcodeAI\backend

How do I create the .env file? Copy backend/.env.example to backend/.env and fill in your values. Never commit .env — it is already in .gitignore.

Key Required Use case Where to get it
AI_PROVIDER Yes Set to gemini, openai, perplexity, or xai —
GEMINI_API_KEY If using Gemini AI blog generation Google AI Studio
OPENAI_API_KEY If using OpenAI AI blog generation OpenAI platform
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY If using Perplexity AI blog generation Perplexity settings
XAI_API_KEY If using xAI/Grok AI blog generation xAI console
DEVTO_API_KEY For Dev.to publishing Publish blog posts Dev.to Settings → Extensions
MONGODB_URI Yes Store publish records MongoDB Atlas → Connect → Drivers
TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID For WhatsApp reminders Send reminders Twilio Console
TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN For WhatsApp reminders Send reminders Twilio Console
TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER For WhatsApp reminders Sender number Twilio purchased number
TEST_PHONE_NUMBER For local Twilio testing Test SMS/calls locally Your personal phone number
ELEVENLABS_API_KEY For voice call alerts AI voice audio ElevenLabs settings
TWITTER_API_KEY For Twitter/X sharing Post tweets Twitter developer portal
TWITTER_API_SECRET For Twitter/X sharing Post tweets Twitter developer portal
TWITTER_ACCESS_TOKEN For Twitter/X sharing Post tweets Twitter developer portal
TWITTER_ACCESS_SECRET For Twitter/X sharing Post tweets Twitter developer portal
LINKEDIN_ACCESS_TOKEN For LinkedIn sharing Post updates LinkedIn developer portal
LINKEDIN_PERSON_URN For LinkedIn sharing Identify account LinkedIn developer portal
APP_SECRET_KEY Recommended for production JWT token signing — defaults to dev-only-change-me if not set Any random secret string
REDIS_URL For Celery reminders Redis broker URL — defaults to redis://localhost:6379/0 Your Redis instance URL
BACKEND_URL For ElevenLabs voice calls Public backend URL for audio file serving Your Render deployment URL

How do I run the backend?

cd backend
python main.py

Server starts at http://localhost:10000

How do I run the Celery reminder worker? First start Redis, then run:

cd backend
celery -A celery_app.celery_app worker --loglevel=info -Q reminders

Set REDIS_URL, CELERY_BROKER_URL, or CELERY_RESULT_BACKEND if Redis is not running at redis://localhost:6379/0.

How do I run the frontend dashboard?

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev

Dashboard opens at http://localhost:5173

If your backend is not at http://localhost:10000, set the environment variable before running: VITE_API_URL=https://your-backend-url npm run dev

🔌 Chrome Extension

How do I load the extension in Chrome?

  1. Open Chrome and go to chrome://extensions/
  2. Enable Developer mode (top-right toggle)
  3. Click Load unpacked
  4. Select the extension/ folder from the repo

The extension asks for my email — why? Your email is stored locally in chrome.storage.local and sent as the X-User-Email header with every request. This identifies your data on the backend so your publish history and stats are kept separate from other users. It is never shared externally.

How do I point the extension to my local backend? Open extension/background.js and update API_BASE_URL:

const API_BASE_URL = "http://localhost:10000";

How do I point the extension to my deployed Render backend? Update API_BASE_URL in extension/background.js:

const API_BASE_URL = "https://your-app.onrender.com";

📤 Publishing Issues

Why is a platform showing as failed? Each platform reports success or failure independently in the popup. Common causes:

  • Missing or expired API key for that platform in your .env
  • Platform API rate limit reached
  • Network timeout during publishing

Why is Dev.to not publishing? Verify DEVTO_API_KEY in your .env. Get it from Dev.to → Settings → Extensions → DEV Community API Keys.

Why is the blog generating but not publishing anywhere? Make sure at least one platform is selected in the extension popup before clicking Generate Blog.

🚀 Deployment

How do I deploy the backend to Render?

  1. Push your code to GitHub
  2. Create a new Web Service on Render
  3. Set Build Command: pip install -r requirements.txt
  4. Set Start Command: uvicorn main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 10000
  5. Add all environment variables from your .env file in the Render dashboard
  6. Copy your public Render URL and update API_BASE_URL in extension/background.js
  7. Also set BACKEND_URL to your Render URL so ElevenLabs audio files are served correctly

🤝 Contributing

How do I claim an issue? Comment on the issue before starting work. Wait for the maintainer to assign it to you. See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full workflow.

How do I name my branch?

  • Bug fix: fix/short-description
  • New feature: feat/short-description
  • Documentation: docs/short-description
  • Refactor: refactor/short-description

What commit message format should I use? Use Conventional Commits:

Prefix When to use
feat: A new feature
fix: A bug fix
docs: Documentation only changes
refactor: Code cleanup without feature/fix
chore: Dependency updates, config changes
test: Adding or updating tests

How do I run the tests locally?

cd backend
pytest -v

How do I run the linter?

cd backend
ruff check .

How do I auto-fix lint errors?

cd backend
ruff check --fix .

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the complete contribution workflow.