lovdata-chat/README-setup.md

Lovdata Chat Development Environment

This setup creates a container-per-visitor architecture for the Norwegian legal research chat interface with socket-based Docker communication.

Quick Start

1. Set up environment variables:

   cp .env.example .env
   # Edit .env with your API keys and MCP server URL
   

2. Start the services:

   docker-compose up --build
   

3. Create a session:

   curl http://localhost/api/sessions -X POST
   

4. Access the chat interface: Open the returned URL in your browser

Architecture

• session-manager: FastAPI service managing container lifecycles with socket-based Docker communication
• lovdata-mcp: External Norwegian legal research MCP server (configured via MCP_SERVER env var)
• caddy: Reverse proxy with dynamic session-based routing

Security Features

• Socket-based Docker communication: Direct Unix socket access for container management
• Container isolation: Each visitor gets dedicated container with resource limits
• Automatic cleanup: Sessions expire after 60 minutes of inactivity
• Resource quotas: 4GB RAM, 1 CPU core per container, max 3 concurrent sessions

Development Notes

• Session data persists in ./sessions/ directory
• Docker socket mounted from host for development
• External MCP server configured via environment variables
• Health checks ensure service reliability

API Endpoints

• POST /api/sessions - Create new session
• GET /api/sessions - List all sessions
• GET /api/sessions/{id} - Get session info
• DELETE /api/sessions/{id} - Delete session
• POST /api/cleanup - Manual cleanup
• GET /api/health - Health check
• /{path} - Dynamic proxy routing (with X-Session-ID header)

Environment Variables

# Required
MCP_SERVER=http://your-lovdata-mcp-server:8001

# Optional LLM API keys
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_key
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_key
GOOGLE_API_KEY=your_key