Pat & Jack Stories

This code can be a good start to learn to use the OpenAI API to generate content with a simple prompt and includes some ways to customize output.

This application generates concise stories for a 10-year-old audience, featuring two brothers, Pat and Jack, who embark on adventures in rural western Pennsylvania. It was inspired by stories my grandfather told when I was a kid. The stories are generated using OpenAI's GPT-4 model, with the ability to customize elements of the story by selecting specific story elements.

Table of Contents

• Installation
• Usage
• Environment Variables
• Structure
• Contributing
• License

Installation

To run this project locally, follow these steps:

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone [email protected]:markstephenburnham/patandjackweb.git
   cd pat-and-jack-stories

2. Install dependencies:

   Make sure you have Node.js installed, then run:

   npm install

3. Set up environment variables:

   Create a .env file in the root of the project and add your OpenAI API key:

   OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key_here

4. Start the server:

   node app.js

   The application will be running on http://localhost:3000.

Usage

1. Open a web browser and navigate to http://localhost:3000.
2. Select a story element from the provided options.
3. Click "Create Your Story!" to generate a new story.
4. The story will be generated using OpenAI's GPT-4 model and displayed on the page.

Key Features:

• Feature Selection: Users can select a story element, which will be incorporated into the generated story.
• Random Elements: Occasionally, an additional character ("The Old Trapper") is added to the story.
• Dynamic Story Generation: Stories are generated on-demand via AJAX requests to a local server, which proxies requests to OpenAI.

Environment Variables

The application requires the following environment variables:

• OPENAI_API_KEY: Your OpenAI API key to access the GPT-4 model.

Structure

• index.html: The main HTML file containing the structure of the web page.
• styles.css: The CSS file that styles the application.
• story.js: The JavaScript file that handles front-end logic, including the AJAX request to generate stories.
• app.js: The Node.js server that handles incoming requests and communicates with the OpenAI API.
• public/: Directory containing static assets, such as images and additional HTML files (e.g., 404.html).

Contributing

If you'd like to contribute to this project:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch (git checkout -b feature-branch-name).
3. Make your changes and commit them (git commit -m 'Add some feature').
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature-branch-name).
5. Open a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.