TrueShorts Backend API

What is TrueShorts?

TrueShorts is an intelligent news aggregation and verification platform that combines AI-powered fact-checking with personalized news delivery. It helps users discover relevant news while automatically verifying the authenticity of claims using multiple sources and AI analysis.

Key Features:

AI-Powered News Verification: Automatically fact-checks news articles using web search, Wikipedia, and AI analysis
Personalized News Feed: Delivers news tailored to user preferences using machine learning
Interactive AI News Agent: Allows users to ask questions about news articles and get detailed analysis
Multi-Source Aggregation: Collects news from multiple reliable sources (BBC, Reuters, Al Jazeera, etc.)
Real-time Fact Checking: Continuously verifies news claims in the background

🚀 How to Use the API

Option 1: Use the Deployed API (Production)

The backend is deployed and available at:

http://trueshorts-api.duejcqajdff7c5h2.centralindia.azurecontainer.io:8000

API Docs: http://trueshorts-api.duejcqajdff7c5h2.centralindia.azurecontainer.io:8000/docs
Use this URL in your frontend or API testing tools (e.g., Postman, Swagger UI).
All endpoints described below are available at this base URL.

Option 2: Run Locally with Docker Compose

You can run the backend locally for development or testing using Docker Compose:

# 1. Clone the repository
# 2. Create a .env file with your secrets (see below)
# 3. Start all services

docker-compose up -d

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f

# Stop services
docker-compose down

Example docker-compose.yml

version: '3.8'

services:
  mongodb:
    image: mongo:latest
    ports:
      - "27017:27017"
    environment:
      - MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_USERNAME=admin
      - MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD=password
    volumes:
      - mongodb_data:/data/db
    restart: unless-stopped

  backend:
    image: shubhthecoder/trueshorts_backend:latest
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    env_file:
      - .env
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  mongodb_data:

📚 API Documentation

Production Docs: http://trueshorts-api.duejcqajdff7c5h2.centralindia.azurecontainer.io:8000/docs
Local Docs: http://localhost:8000/docs (if running locally)

🔗 API Endpoints & Usage Guide

All endpoints are available at the base URL (production or local). For example:

Production: http://trueshorts-api.duejcqajdff7c5h2.centralindia.azurecontainer.io:8000/news
Local: http://localhost:8000/news

Authentication

POST /auth/signup — Register a new user
POST /auth/login — Login and get JWT token

News

GET /news — Get personalized news (requires JWT)
POST /read/{article_id} — Track reading
POST /fetch-latest-news — Fetch latest news
POST /news/save/{article_id} — Save article
GET /news/saved — Get saved articles
GET /news/search?query=... — Search news

AI News Agent

POST /get_more_about_news — Start AI chat about an article
POST /get_more_follow_up — Ask follow-up questions

Fake News Detection

POST /fake_news/claim-verdict — Verify a claim

📝 Environment Variables

For local development, create a .env file:

GNEWS_API_KEY=YOUR_GNEWS_API_KEY
SECRET_KEY=YOUR_SECRET_KEY
MONGO_URI=YOUR_MONGO_URI
SERPER_API_KEY=YOUR_SERPER_API_KEY
GOOGLE_FACT_CHECK_API_KEY=YOUR_GOOGLE_FACT_CHECK_API_KEY
GROQ_API_KEY=YOUR_GROQ_API_KEY

🧑‍💻 Example: Using the API from Frontend

const API_BASE = 'http://trueshorts-api.duejcqajdff7c5h2.centralindia.azurecontainer.io:8000'; // or 'http://localhost:8000' for local

// Register
fetch(`${API_BASE}/auth/signup`, { method: 'POST', headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }, body: JSON.stringify({ email, password }) })
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(console.log);

// Login
fetch(`${API_BASE}/auth/login`, { method: 'POST', headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }, body: JSON.stringify({ email, password }) })
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(data => localStorage.setItem('token', data.access_token));

// Get news (after login)
fetch(`${API_BASE}/news`, { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${localStorage.getItem('token')}` } })
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(console.log);

🗄️ Accessing the Database (MongoDB)

Production:
- MongoDB is not exposed publicly for security. Use Azure Portal or a secure admin tunnel if needed.
Local:
- Use MongoDB Compass or mongosh:
  - Connection string: mongodb://admin:password@localhost:27017
  - Default DB: news

🛡️ Auto-Shutdown Feature (Production)

Every API request updates a last_active timestamp in MongoDB.
A scheduled GitHub Action checks this timestamp every 15 minutes.
If the backend is idle for >1.5 hours, the Azure container is automatically stopped to save costs.

🛠️ CI/CD Pipeline (GitHub Actions)

Deployment is automated using GitHub Actions:

On every push to main, the workflow .github/workflows/docker-render-deploy.yml will:
1. Build and push the Docker image to Docker Hub (shubhthecoder/trueshorts_backend:latest).
2. Log in to Azure using the service principal credentials in AZURE_CREDENTIALS.
3. Restart the Azure Container Instance (trueshorts-backend in resource group trueshorts-backend).
This ensures your latest code is always deployed to the public API URL above.

📞 Support

If you encounter issues:

Check the API docs
Check logs in Azure Portal
For local: docker-compose logs
For deployment: see GitHub Actions logs

Quick Start (DockerHub Image)

Prerequisites

Docker Desktop installed
Docker Hub account access (credentials provided below)

Step 1: Login to Docker Hub

Since the Docker image is in a private repository, you need to login first:

# Login to Docker Hub with provided credentials
docker login

# Username: <dockerhub-username>
# Password: <dockerhub-password>

Step 2: Setup Project

# Create a new directory for your project
mkdir trueshorts-test
cd trueshorts-test

# Create docker-compose.yml file (copy the content below)
# Then run:
docker-compose up -d

Required Files

1. Create `docker-compose.yml`

version: '3.8'

services:
  mongodb:
    image: mongo:latest
    ports:
      - "27017:27017"
    environment:
      - MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_USERNAME=admin
      - MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD=password
    volumes:
      - mongodb_data:/data/db
    restart: unless-stopped

  trueshorts:
    image: shubhthecoder/trueshorts_backend:latest
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    depends_on:
      - mongodb
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
      - GNEWS_API_KEY=YOUR_GNEWS_API_KEY
      - SECRET_KEY=YOUR_SECRET_KEY
      - MONGO_URI=YOUR_MONGO_URI
      - SERPER_API_KEY=YOUR_SERPER_API_KEY
      - GOOGLE_FACT_CHECK_API_KEY=YOUR_GOOGLE_FACT_CHECK_API_KEY
      - GROQ_API_KEY=YOUR_GROQ_API_KEY

volumes:
  mongodb_data:

2. Create `.env` file (optional, for custom configuration)

# Optional: Override default API keys
GNEWS_API_KEY=your_gnews_api_key
SECRET_KEY=your_secret_key
MONGO_URI=mongodb://admin:password@mongodb:27017
SERPER_API_KEY=your_serper_api_key
GOOGLE_FACT_CHECK_API_KEY=your_google_fact_check_key
GROQ_API_KEY=your_groq_api_key

Start the API

# First, login to Docker Hub (if not already logged in)
docker login
# Username: <dockerhub-username>
# Password: <dockerhub-password>

# Pull the private image
docker pull shubhthecoder/trueshorts_backend:latest

# Start all services
docker-compose up -d

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f

# Stop services
docker-compose down

API Documentation

Once running, visit:

Interactive API Docs: http://localhost:8000/docs
OpenAPI Schema: http://localhost:8000/openapi.json

API Endpoints & Usage Guide

Authentication Endpoints

`POST /auth/signup`

Purpose: Register a new user account to access personalized news features.

When to use:

First-time user registration
Creating user profiles for personalized news delivery
Enabling user-specific features like saved articles and reading history

Request Body:

{
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "password": "securepassword123"
}

Response:

{
  "msg": "Account created"
}

Frontend Integration Example:

const registerUser = async (email, password) => {
  const response = await fetch('http://localhost:8000/auth/signup', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify({ email, password })
  });
  return response.json();
};

`POST /auth/login`

Purpose: Authenticate existing users and get access token for API calls.

When to use:

User login after registration
Session management
Getting authentication token for protected endpoints

Request Body:

{
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "password": "securepassword123"
}

Response:

{
  "access_token": "eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9...",
  "token_type": "bearer"
}

Frontend Integration Example:

const loginUser = async (email, password) => {
  const response = await fetch('http://localhost:8000/auth/login', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify({ email, password })
  });
  const data = await response.json();
  localStorage.setItem('token', data.access_token);
  return data;
};

News Management Endpoints

`GET /news`

Purpose: Get personalized news articles for the authenticated user.

When to use:

Display news feed on homepage
Show personalized news recommendations
Get verified news articles with fact-checking results

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <token>

Response:

{
  "article_id": "507f1f77bcf86cd799439011",
  "title": "Breaking News Headline",
  "content": "Full article content...",
  "category": "politics",
  "published": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "source": "BBC",
  "url": "https://example.com/article",
  "user_id": "user123",
  "seen": false,
  "verified": true,
  "verdict": "REAL",
  "explanation": "This claim has been verified by multiple reliable sources."
}

Frontend Integration Example:

const getNews = async () => {
  const token = localStorage.getItem('token');
  const response = await fetch('http://localhost:8000/news', {
    headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${token}` }
  });
  return response.json();
};

`POST /read/{article_id}`

Purpose: Track user reading behavior for better personalization.

When to use:

When user opens an article
To improve news recommendations
Track user engagement metrics

Request Body:

{
  "duration": 120
}

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <token>

Response:

{
  "msg": "Reading tracked"
}

`POST /fetch-latest-news`

Purpose: Manually trigger news aggregation and fetch latest articles.

When to use:

Refresh news feed
Get latest breaking news
Force update of news recommendations

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <token>

Response:

{
  "status": "success",
  "new_articles": 15
}

Article Management Endpoints

`POST /news/save/{article_id}`

Purpose: Save articles for later reading.

When to use:

Bookmark interesting articles
Create reading list
Save articles for offline reading

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <token>

Response:

{
  "msg": "Article saved"
}

`GET /news/saved`

Purpose: Get all saved articles for the user.

When to use:

Display saved articles page
Show user's reading list
Access bookmarked content

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <token>

Response:

[
  {
    "article_id": "507f1f77bcf86cd799439011",
    "title": "Saved Article Title",
    "content": "Article content...",
    "category": "technology",
    "published": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
    "source": "TechCrunch",
    "url": "https://example.com/article",
    "saved_at": "2024-01-15T11:00:00Z"
  }
]

Search Endpoints

`GET /news/search?query={search_term}`

Purpose: Search through all available news articles.

When to use:

Implement search functionality
Find specific topics or keywords
Filter news by content

Parameters:

query (required): Search keywords or description

Response:

[
  {
    "headline": "Search Result Title",
    "content": "Article content matching search...",
    "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
    "source": "Reuters",
    "category": "business",
    "url": "https://example.com/article"
  }
]

Frontend Integration Example:

const searchNews = async (query) => {
  const response = await fetch(`http://localhost:8000/news/search?query=${encodeURIComponent(query)}`);
  return response.json();
};

🤖 AI News Agent Endpoints

`POST /get_more_about_news`

Purpose: Start an AI-powered conversation about a specific news article.

When to use:

Provide detailed analysis of news articles
Answer user questions about news context
Generate timelines and impact analysis

Request Body:

{
  "article_id": "507f1f77bcf86cd799439011"
}

Response:

{
  "session_id": "session_12345",
  "timeline": "Detailed timeline of events...",
  "analysis": "Comprehensive analysis of the news impact..."
}

Frontend Integration Example:

const startAIChat = async (articleId) => {
  const response = await fetch('http://localhost:8000/get_more_about_news', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify({ article_id: articleId })
  });
  return response.json();
};

`POST /get_more_follow_up`

Purpose: Ask follow-up questions in an existing AI conversation session.

When to use:

Continue AI conversations about news
Ask specific questions about articles
Get detailed explanations and context

Request Body:

{
  "session_id": "session_12345",
  "question": "How does this affect the economy?"
}

Response:

{
  "session_id": "session_12345",
  "answer": "Detailed answer about economic impact..."
}

Frontend Integration Example:

const askFollowUp = async (sessionId, question) => {
  const response = await fetch('http://localhost:8000/get_more_follow_up', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify({ session_id: sessionId, question })
  });
  return response.json();
};

🔍 Fake News Detection Endpoints

`POST /fake_news/claim-verdict`

Purpose: Verify if a specific claim or statement is fake news using AI and multiple sources.

When to use:

Fact-check user-submitted claims
Verify news headlines
Provide credibility scores for information

Request Body:

{
  "claim": "The Earth is flat"
}

Response:

{
  "verdict": "FAKE",
  "explanation": "This claim has been debunked by scientific evidence. Multiple reliable sources confirm the Earth is spherical."
}

Frontend Integration Example:

const verifyClaim = async (claim) => {
  const response = await fetch('http://localhost:8000/fake_news/claim-verdict', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify({ claim })
  });
  return response.json();
};

Testing the API

1. Using Interactive Docs (Easiest)

Go to http://localhost:8000/docs
Click "Try it out" on any endpoint
Fill in the required parameters
Click "Execute"

2. Using curl

# Test if API is running
curl http://localhost:8000/news/

# Test fake news verification
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/fake_news/claim-verdict \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"claim": "The Earth is flat"}'

# Test news agent
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/get_more_about_news \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"article_id": "your_article_id"}'

3. Complete Frontend Integration Example

class TrueShortsAPI {
  constructor(baseURL = 'http://localhost:8000') {
    this.baseURL = baseURL;
    this.token = localStorage.getItem('token');
  }

  // Authentication
  async signup(email, password) {
    const response = await fetch(`${this.baseURL}/auth/signup`, {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
      body: JSON.stringify({ email, password })
    });
    return response.json();
  }

  async login(email, password) {
    const response = await fetch(`${this.baseURL}/auth/login`, {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
      body: JSON.stringify({ email, password })
    });
    const data = await response.json();
    this.token = data.access_token;
    localStorage.setItem('token', data.access_token);
    return data;
  }

  // News
  async getNews() {
    const response = await fetch(`${this.baseURL}/news`, {
      headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${this.token}` }
    });
    return response.json();
  }

  async saveArticle(articleId) {
    const response = await fetch(`${this.baseURL}/news/save/${articleId}`, {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${this.token}` }
    });
    return response.json();
  }

  async getSavedArticles() {
    const response = await fetch(`${this.baseURL}/news/saved`, {
      headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${this.token}` }
    });
    return response.json();
  }

  // Search
  async searchNews(query) {
    const response = await fetch(`${this.baseURL}/news/search?query=${encodeURIComponent(query)}`);
    return response.json();
  }

  // AI Agent
  async startAIChat(articleId) {
    const response = await fetch(`${this.baseURL}/get_more_about_news`, {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
      body: JSON.stringify({ article_id: articleId })
    });
    return response.json();
  }

  async askFollowUp(sessionId, question) {
    const response = await fetch(`${this.baseURL}/get_more_follow_up`, {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
      body: JSON.stringify({ session_id: sessionId, question })
    });
    return response.json();
  }

  // Fake News Detection
  async verifyClaim(claim) {
    const response = await fetch(`${this.baseURL}/fake_news/claim-verdict`, {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
      body: JSON.stringify({ claim })
    });
    return response.json();
  }
}

// Usage
const api = new TrueShortsAPI();

// Example workflow
async function exampleWorkflow() {
  // 1. Register/Login
  await api.signup('[email protected]', 'password123');
  await api.login('[email protected]', 'password123');

  // 2. Get personalized news
  const news = await api.getNews();
  console.log('Latest news:', news);

  // 3. Verify a claim
  const verification = await api.verifyClaim('Some claim here');
  console.log('Verification result:', verification);

  // 4. Start AI chat about an article
  const aiSession = await api.startAIChat(news.article_id);
  console.log('AI analysis:', aiSession);

  // 5. Ask follow-up question
  const followUp = await api.askFollowUp(aiSession.session_id, 'How does this affect the economy?');
  console.log('Follow-up answer:', followUp);
}

##️ Database Access

MongoDB Connection Details

Host: localhost
Port: 27017
Username: admin
Password: password
Database: news (default)

View Database Data

# Connect to MongoDB container
docker exec -it trueshorts-test-mongodb-1 mongosh -u admin -p password

# List databases
show dbs

# Use news database
use news

# List collections
show collections

# View articles
db.articles.find().pretty()

# View users
db.users.find().pretty()

# View news sessions
db.news_sessions.find().pretty()

MongoDB Management Tools

MongoDB Compass: Connect to mongodb://admin:password@localhost:27017
Studio 3T: Same connection string
MongoDB Atlas: Export data if needed

Development Commands

# Start services
docker-compose up -d

# Start with logs
docker-compose up

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f

# View specific service logs
docker-compose logs -f trueshorts
docker-compose logs -f mongodb

# Stop services
docker-compose down

# Stop and remove volumes (clears database)
docker-compose down -v

# Restart services
docker-compose restart

# Rebuild and restart
docker-compose up --build -d

# Check service status
docker-compose ps

🔧 Troubleshooting

Port 8000 already in use

# Find what's using the port
netstat -ano | findstr :8000

# Use a different port
docker-compose up -d -p 8001:8000
# Then access at http://localhost:8001

MongoDB connection issues

# Check if MongoDB is running
docker-compose ps

# Check MongoDB logs
docker-compose logs mongodb

# Restart MongoDB
docker-compose restart mongodb

# Reset MongoDB (clears all data)
docker-compose down -v
docker-compose up -d

API not responding

# Check if containers are running
docker-compose ps

# View app logs
docker-compose logs trueshorts

# Restart the app
docker-compose restart trueshorts

# Check container health
docker ps

Docker image pull issues

# Login to Docker Hub (if needed)
docker login

# Pull image manually
docker pull shubhthecoder/trueshorts_backend:latest

# Check available images
docker images

Monitoring and Logs

View Real-time Logs

# All services
docker-compose logs -f

# Specific service
docker-compose logs -f trueshorts
docker-compose logs -f mongodb

Check Resource Usage

# Container stats
docker stats

# Disk usage
docker system df

Health Checks

# Check if API is responding
curl http://localhost:8000/docs

# Check MongoDB connection
docker exec -it trueshorts-test-mongodb-1 mongosh -u admin -p password --eval "db.runCommand('ping')"

Environment Variables Reference

Variable	Default Value	Description
`GNEWS_API_KEY`	YOUR_GNEWS_API_KEY	GNews API key for news aggregation
`SECRET_KEY`	YOUR_SECRET_KEY	JWT secret key for authentication
`MONGO_URI`	YOUR_MONGO_URI	MongoDB connection string
`SERPER_API_KEY`	YOUR_SERPER_API_KEY	Serper API key for web search
`GOOGLE_FACT_CHECK_API_KEY`	YOUR_GOOGLE_FACT_CHECK_API_KEY	Google Fact Check API key
`GROQ_API_KEY`	YOUR_GROQ_API_KEY	Groq LLM API key for AI features

Ready to Test!

Create the files above
Run: docker-compose up -d
Visit: http://localhost:8000/docs
Start testing the API endpoints

No backend knowledge required! Everything is pre-configured and ready to use.

Support

If you encounter issues:

Check logs: docker-compose logs
Restart: docker-compose restart
Rebuild: docker-compose up --build -d
Reset: docker-compose down -v && docker-compose up -d

Docker Image: shubhthecoder/trueshorts_backend:latest
Docker Hub: https://hub.docker.com/r/shubhthecoder/trueshorts_backend

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 34 Commits
.expo		.expo
TrueShortsApp		TrueShortsApp
endpoints		endpoints
faiss_indexes		faiss_indexes
model		model
scripts		scripts
services		services
tasks		tasks
utils		utils
.gitignore		.gitignore
Dockerfile		Dockerfile
app.py		app.py
config.py		config.py
docker-compose.yml		docker-compose.yml
experiment.ipynb		experiment.ipynb
experiment_newsaggregrator.ipynb		experiment_newsaggregrator.ipynb
fake_news_handeler.py		fake_news_handeler.py
readme.md		readme.md
requirements.txt		requirements.txt

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TrueShorts Backend API

What is TrueShorts?

Key Features:

🚀 How to Use the API

Option 1: Use the Deployed API (Production)

Option 2: Run Locally with Docker Compose

Example docker-compose.yml

📚 API Documentation

🔗 API Endpoints & Usage Guide

Authentication

News

AI News Agent

Fake News Detection

📝 Environment Variables

🧑‍💻 Example: Using the API from Frontend

🗄️ Accessing the Database (MongoDB)

🛡️ Auto-Shutdown Feature (Production)

🛠️ CI/CD Pipeline (GitHub Actions)

📞 Support

Quick Start (DockerHub Image)

Prerequisites

Step 1: Login to Docker Hub

Step 2: Setup Project

Required Files

1. Create docker-compose.yml

2. Create .env file (optional, for custom configuration)

Start the API

API Documentation

API Endpoints & Usage Guide

Authentication Endpoints

POST /auth/signup

POST /auth/login

News Management Endpoints

GET /news

POST /read/{article_id}

POST /fetch-latest-news

Article Management Endpoints

POST /news/save/{article_id}

GET /news/saved

Search Endpoints

GET /news/search?query={search_term}

🤖 AI News Agent Endpoints

POST /get_more_about_news

POST /get_more_follow_up

🔍 Fake News Detection Endpoints

POST /fake_news/claim-verdict

Testing the API

1. Using Interactive Docs (Easiest)

2. Using curl

3. Complete Frontend Integration Example

MongoDB Connection Details

View Database Data

MongoDB Management Tools

Development Commands

🔧 Troubleshooting

Port 8000 already in use

MongoDB connection issues

API not responding

Docker image pull issues

Monitoring and Logs

View Real-time Logs

Check Resource Usage

Health Checks

Environment Variables Reference

Ready to Test!

Support

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Contributors

1. Create `docker-compose.yml`

2. Create `.env` file (optional, for custom configuration)

`POST /auth/signup`

`POST /auth/login`

`GET /news`

`POST /read/{article_id}`

`POST /fetch-latest-news`

`POST /news/save/{article_id}`

`GET /news/saved`

`GET /news/search?query={search_term}`

`POST /get_more_about_news`

`POST /get_more_follow_up`

`POST /fake_news/claim-verdict`

Packages