Document Search System

A robust document search engine built with Flask and React that supports boolean and proximity search operations. This system allows users to upload text documents and perform advanced searches with real-time indexing.

DEMO VIDEO

Click the image above to watch the full demo video

Features

• Boolean search operations (AND, OR, NOT)
• Proximity search with customizable word distance
• Stopwords management
• Multi-threaded document processing
• Real-time indexing status
• Document content viewer
• Support for large text files (up to 32MB)

Prerequisites

• Python 3.7+
• Node.js 14+
• npm or yarn

🛠Installation

Backend Setup

1. Create and activate a virtual environment:

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # For Windows use: venv\Scripts\activate

2. Install dependencies using requirements.txt:

pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Create required directory:

mkdir uploads

2. Install dependencies using requirements.txt:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Frontend Setup

1. Install Node.js dependencies:

cd frontend
npm install

Running the Application

1. Start the Flask backend:

python app.py

The server will start at http://localhost:5000

2. In a new terminal, start the React frontend:

cd frontend
npm start

Access the application at http://localhost:3000

Usage Guide

Document Upload

1. Click the "Upload Files" button
2. Select one or more .txt files
3. Wait for processing completion

Stopwords Management

1. Create a text file with stopwords (one per line)
2. Upload via the stopwords upload feature
3. System automatically applies stopwords to searches

Search Operations

Boolean Search

Use AND, OR, NOT operators to combine search terms:

computer AND science
technology OR programming
software NOT bugs

Proximity Search

Find words within a specific distance:

data science /5    # Finds "data" and "science" within 5 words

API Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Description
/upload	POST	Upload documents
/upload-stopwords	POST	Upload stopwords file
/search	POST	Perform search
/status	GET	Get system status
/clear	POST	Clear indexes
/document/<doc_id>	GET	Get document content

Error Handling

The system provides clear error messages for:

• Invalid file types
• Processing errors
• Search syntax errors
• System errors

Security Features

• Secure filename handling
• Input validation
• File size restrictions (32MB max)
• CORS protection

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

1. Check if both servers are running
2. Verify uploads directory permissions
3. Check console for error messages
4. Ensure all dependencies are installed
5. Try clearing indexes and restarting

Development Notes

• Uses Flask for backend API
• React for frontend interface
• Multi-threaded document processing
• Real-time status updates
• Memory-efficient indexing

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Commit changes
4. Push to the branch
5. Create a Pull Request