ZU-LM

A research-driven podcast generator that creates engaging conversations about any topic.

Environment Setup

This project requires several API keys to function properly. Follow these steps to set up your environment:

1. Copy the example environment files:

   # Root directory
   cp .env.example .env
   
   # zu-chat directory
   cd zu-chat
   cp .env.example .env.local
   
   # researcher directory
   cd ../researcher
   cp .env.example .env
   

2. Obtain the required API keys:

   • ElevenLabs - For text-to-speech
   • Groq - For LLM inference
   • OpenAI - For AI capabilities
   • Luma AI - For image generation
   • Perplexity - For search capabilities

3. Fill in your API keys in the respective .env files

Required API Keys

The following API keys are required for full functionality:

• ELEVENLABS_API_KEY - For text-to-speech generation
• GROQ_API_KEY - For LLM inference
• OPENAI_API_KEY - For AI capabilities
• LUMAAI_API_KEY - For image generation
• PERPLEXITY_API_KEY - For search functionality

Optional Configuration

Some features can be configured through environment variables:

• LOCAL_LLM - Specify which local LLM to use (default: "deepseek-r1:8b")
• MAX_WEB_RESEARCH_LOOPS - Control research depth (default: 1)
• SEARCH_API - Search provider to use (default: "perplexity")

Run the project

To run the frontend server:

cd zu-chat
npm install
npm run dev

To run the Rust backend:

cd researcher
cargo run

Enjoy!