shopping-assistant-api

.NET Back-end API with OpenAI integration for a Shopping Assistant that utilizes Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology to interpret user queries for products and gifts. Users interact through a chat-style interface to communicate their shopping requirements.

Features
Stack
Installation
- Prerequisites
- Setup Instructions
Configuration

Features

Chat-style interface that processes natural language queries for product and gift recommendations.
Integration with OpenAI API to generate intelligent product search responses.
Server-Sent Events (SSE) streaming product search results to clients in real-time.
Personal wishlist management with CRUD operations.
Role and user management with authorization and JWT-based authentication.
GraphQL API implemented with HotChocolate for flexible queries and mutations.
Pagination support for roles, users, wishlists, messages, and products.

Stack

Language: C# (.NET 7)
Frameworks & Libraries:
- ASP.NET Core Web API
- HotChocolate GraphQL
- MongoDB with official C# driver
Authentication & Security:
- JWT Bearer Authentication
- Password hashing with PBKDF2 (Rfc2898DeriveBytes)
Cloud & DevOps:
- Azure App Configuration
- GitHub Actions for CI/CD workflows
External APIs:
- OpenAI API for natural language processing and chat completions
Tools & Extensions:
- Swagger / OpenAPI for API documentation
- Server-Sent Events for realtime streaming responses
- Visual Studio Code DevContainer for development environment

Installation

Prerequisites

.NET 7 SDK
MongoDB instance (local or hosted)
An OpenAI API key to access the OpenAI services

Setup Instructions

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/Shchoholiev/shopping-assistant-api.git
cd shopping-assistant-api

Navigate to the API project and restore dependencies:

dotnet restore ShoppingAssistantApi.Api/ShoppingAssistantApi.Api.csproj

Build the solution:
```
dotnet build ShoppingAssistantApi.sln
```
Configure the environment variables (see Configuration section).
Run the API locally:
```
cd ShoppingAssistantApi.Api
dotnet run
```
The API will start and Swagger UI will be available (usually at https://localhost:7268/swagger).
Use GraphQL Playground or REST clients to interact with the API.

Configuration

The application uses configuration files and environment variables to configure key settings. Important configuration values are:

MongoDB connection:
- Set your MongoDB connection string (default database name is ShoppingAssistant) in appsettings.json or environment variable:
```
"ConnectionStrings": {
  "MongoDatabaseName": "ShoppingAssistant"
}
```
- The connection string URL is typically configured externally.

JWT Authentication: Configure JWT validation parameters in your configuration with keys like:

"JsonWebTokenKeys": {
  "ValidateIssuer": true,
  "ValidateAudience": true,
  "ValidateLifetime": true,
  "ValidateIssuerSigningKey": true,
  "ValidIssuer": "<your-issuer>",
  "ValidAudience": "<your-audience>",
  "IssuerSigningKey": "<your-secret-key>"
}

OpenAI API: API endpoint and API key settings:
```
"OpenAi": {
  "ApiUrl": "https://api.openai.com/v1/chat/completions",
  "ApiKey": "<your_openai_api_key>"
}
```
Set the API key securely via environment variables or Azure App Configuration.

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