Smart Study Companion

AI-powered study platform for Sri Lankan students. Upload lecture PDFs/slides and get cheat sheets, flashcards, Tamil explanations, mock viva practice, and ElevenLabs voice lessons.

Built for the Best Build by ElevenLabs category.

Features

Feature	Description
PDF/Slide upload	Students & lecturers upload lecture materials
Cheat sheet generator	Exam-focused markdown notes
Flashcards	Q&A cards with completion tracking
Tamil explanation	Simple Tamil / Tamil-English mix
Lecturer-style Tamil	“Explain like my lecturer in Tamil”
Voice mode	ElevenLabs multilingual TTS
Mock viva	One-by-one questions + AI feedback
Lecturer panel	Approve uploads, summaries, custom viva sets
Admin panel	Users, usage stats, content moderation

Tech stack

• Frontend: Next.js 14, React, Tailwind CSS
• Backend: Node.js, Express, TypeScript
• Database: MongoDB (Mongoose)
• AI: OpenAI GPT-4o-mini
• Voice: ElevenLabs API
• PDF: pdf-parse

Quick start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• MongoDB running locally (or MongoDB Atlas URI)

1. Install

cd smart-study-companion   # your project folder (aaha)
npm run install:all

2. Configure server

cp server/.env.example server/.env

Edit server/.env:

MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/smart-study-companion
JWT_SECRET=your-long-secret
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...          # required for full AI features
ELEVENLABS_API_KEY=...         # required for voice mode
ELEVENLABS_VOICE_ID=21m00Tcm4TlvDq8ikWAM

3. Configure client

cp client/.env.example client/.env.local

NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:5000/api

4. Seed demo users

npm run seed

Role	Email	Password
Student	student@demo.lk	student123
Lecturer	lecturer@demo.lk	lecturer123
Admin	admin@demo.lk	admin123

5. Run

npm run dev

• App: http://localhost:3000
• API: http://localhost:5000/api/health

Demo flow (Operating Systems viva)

1. Login as student@demo.lk
2. Upload a PDF (e.g. deadlock lecture notes)
3. Open the document → Generate Cheat Sheet
4. Create Flashcards → Explain in Tamil → Explain like my lecturer in Tamil
5. Voice Explanation (ElevenLabs) — listen while revising
6. Mock Viva Questions — answer and get feedback
7. Save to library and download notes

Project structure

├── client/          # Next.js frontend
├── server/          # Express API
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── models/
│   │   ├── routes/
│   │   └── services/   # OpenAI, ElevenLabs, PDF
└── README.md

API overview

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/api/auth/register	Sign up
POST	/api/auth/login	Login
POST	/api/documents/upload	Upload PDF/PPT
POST	/api/study/cheat-sheet/:id	Generate cheat sheet
POST	/api/study/flashcards/:id	Generate flashcards
POST	/api/study/tamil/:id	Tamil explanation
POST	/api/study/voice/:id	ElevenLabs voice
POST	/api/study/viva/generate/:id	Start mock viva
GET	/api/admin/stats	Admin analytics

Deployment

Live

• App: https://aaha1.netlify.app
• API: https://smart-study-api-sjc4.onrender.com/api/health
• Repo: https://github.com/AhamedAAHA/SmartStudyCompanionAAHA

Netlify (client/)

• Base directory: client
• Build: npm run build
• Publish directory: (empty — Next.js plugin)
• Env: NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=https://smart-study-api-sjc4.onrender.com/api

Render (server/)

• Root directory: server
• Build: npm install && npm run build
• Start: npm start
• Env: copy from server/.env.example — set MONGODB_URI, JWT_SECRET, OPENAI_API_KEY, ELEVENLABS_API_KEY, CLIENT_URL=https://aaha1.netlify.app

Database: MongoDB Atlas (allow 0.0.0.0/0 for Render)

Notes

• Without OPENAI_API_KEY, the app returns demo placeholders so judges can click through the UI.
• Voice mode requires a valid ElevenLabs key.
• PowerPoint files get placeholder text; PDF is recommended for best extraction.

License

MIT — for educational and hackathon use.