📚 Study Assistant

A lightweight AI-powered study support tool that helps students learn more effectively from their class transcripts and notes. Built with Streamlit and powered by Google's Gemini AI.

✨ Features

• 📖 Interactive Q&A: Ask questions about your course materials and get AI-powered answers
• 📝 Exam Mode: Take practice exams with varied question types (multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, true/false, select all)
• ⚡ Smart Flashcards: Auto-generate flashcards from course content with intelligent caching
• 💾 Caching System: Saves generated flashcards to avoid redundant API calls
• 📁 Multi-Course Support: Organize materials by courses and lessons
• 🎯 Context-Aware: AI responses are strictly based on your provided course materials

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher
• Google Gemini API key (Get one here)

Installation

1. Clone or download this repository

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd Study-assistant

2. Install dependencies

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Set up your API key

   Create a .env file in the root directory:

   touch .env

   Add your Gemini API key to the .env file:

   GOOGLE_API_KEY=your_gemini_api_key_here
   

   ⚠️ Important: Never commit your .env file to version control. It's already included in .gitignore.

4. Add your course materials

   Follow the structure in Courses/Example-Course/:

   Courses/
   ├── Your-Course-Name/
   │   ├── Lesson-1/
   │   │   ├── lecture_notes.txt
   │   │   └── readings.txt
   │   ├── Lesson-2/
   │   │   └── content.txt
   │   └── ...
   

5. Run the application

   streamlit run app.py

6. Start studying!

   • Select your course and lesson from the sidebar
   • Click "Load Materials"
   • Choose your study mode: Q&A, Exam, or Flashcards

📁 Course Material Setup

File Structure

Courses/
├── README.md                 # Guidelines for organizing courses
├── Example-Course/           # Sample course (included)
│   └── Lesson-1/
│       └── sample_content.txt
└── Your-Course/              # Your course materials
    ├── Week-1/
    │   ├── lecture_transcript.txt
    │   └── readings.txt
    └── Week-2/
        └── notes.txt

Guidelines

• Format: Use .txt files only (UTF-8 encoded)
• Organization: Create folders for each course, then subfolders for lessons/weeks
• Content: Include lecture transcripts, notes, readings, or any study materials
• Naming: Use consistent naming conventions (e.g., "Week-1", "Chapter-2", "Lesson-3")

🎓 Study Modes

💬 Q&A Mode (Default)

• Ask questions about your course materials
• Get contextual answers based only on your content
• Perfect for clarifying concepts and reviewing material

📝 Exam Mode

• Take AI-generated practice exams
• Multiple question types: multiple choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank, select all
• Immediate feedback with explanations
• Questions are based strictly on your course content

⚡ Flashcard Mode

• Auto-generate flashcards from course materials
• Navigate with Previous/Next buttons
• Show/hide answers for active recall practice
• Cached for fast loading on repeat visits

🔧 Configuration

API Key Setup

The app supports both environment variable names:

• GOOGLE_API_KEY (recommended)
• GEMINI_API_KEY (legacy support)

Model Configuration

• Default model: gemini-2.5-pro
• Optimized for educational content and question generation
• Configured for reliable JSON output for flashcards

💾 Data Management

Caching

• Flashcards are automatically cached in data/flashcard_cache/
• Reduces API costs and improves performance
• Cache files are course and lesson-specific

Privacy

• All course materials remain local
• Only processed content is sent to Gemini API for generating responses
• No personal data is stored or transmitted beyond what's necessary for AI responses

🛠️ Technical Details

Built With

• Streamlit: Web application framework
• Google Gemini: AI model for content understanding and generation
• Python 3.8+: Core programming language

Key Features

• Robust error handling for API calls
• Smart content parsing and recovery
• Session state management for seamless user experience
• Natural sorting for course and lesson organization

🤝 Contributing

Adding Course Support

To add support for additional file formats or course structures:

1. Modify extract_text_from_folder() function
2. Update course info mapping in get_course_info()
3. Test with your specific course format

Improving AI Responses

• Adjust temperature settings in generate_response() for different response styles
• Modify system prompts for different teaching approaches
• Customize question types in exam mode

📝 License

This project is intended for educational use. Please ensure compliance with your institution's academic integrity policies when using AI assistance for studying.

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"No courses found"

• Ensure you have created course folders in the Courses/ directory
• Check that your course folders contain lesson subfolders with .txt files

"API key not found"

• Verify your .env file exists in the root directory
• Check that your API key is correctly formatted in the .env file
• Ensure the environment variable name matches GOOGLE_API_KEY

"Failed to generate flashcards"

• Your course content might be too long; try shorter lessons
• Check your API quota and billing status
• Look for special characters that might break JSON parsing

App crashes or doesn't start

• Install all requirements: pip install -r requirements.txt
• Check Python version compatibility (3.8+)
• Verify all file paths and permissions

Getting Help

1. Check the console output for detailed error messages
2. Verify your course material format matches the example
3. Test with the included Example-Course first
4. Check the Gemini API status and your quota limits

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Happy studying! 🎓✨