📚 LegalHuB

LegalHuB is a web-based platform designed to simplify access to legal resources. Users can explore legal terms, download state-specific legal documents, understand their rights, read comprehensive legal guides, and apply for legal services through official links — all in one place.

---

🚀 Features

• ✅ Legal Dictionary – AI-powered explanations of complex legal terms.
• ✅ Download Legal Forms – Access and download state-specific legal documents.
• ✅ Apply for Legal Services – Redirects to official legal application portals.
• ✅ Legal Rights Database – Browse essential civil, fundamental, and employment rights.
• ✅ Legal Articles & Guides – Learn from structured and easy-to-read legal content.
• ✅ Smart Search – Search across legal terms, rights, and documents efficiently.

---

📸 Screenshots

🏠 Homepage

---

📘 Legal Dictionary

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

🛠️ Tech Stack

• Backend: Node.js, Express.js
• Database: MongoDB (Free Tier or Atlas)
• AI Integration: Chatbase (for AI chatbot responses)
• Templating Engine: EJS
• Authentication: Passport.js

---

⚙️ Installation

📌 Prerequisites

• Node.js
• MongoDB (local or MongoDB Atlas)
• .env file with necessary API keys

📥 Setup Instructions

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/LegalHuB
   
   cd LegalHuB

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Set up environment variables

• Create a .env file in the root directory and add the following:

---

🧑‍💻 Environment Setup

1. Copy the example environment file:

---

   cp .env.sample .env

---

2. Update the .env file with your configuration:

---

   # Server Configuration
   PORT=8000
   SESSION_SECRET=mysecrectkey

   # CORS Configuration
   CORS_ORIGIN=*
   # CORS_ORIGIN=http://localhost:4000 

   #DB_URL=
   DB_URL=mongodb+srv://<username>:<password>@cluster0.weuhr.mongodb.net
   # Uncomment if needed for frontend security

   DB_URL=

   NODE_ENV=development

   MISTRAL_API_KEY=

   ADMIN_SECRECT_KEY=mysupersecretkey

---

🔐 Mistral AI API Integration

⚙️ Setting Up Mistral API Key

To enable Mistral AI-powered features in LegalHuB, follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Mistral AI Platform and create an account (if you haven't already).

2. Navigate to API Keys and generate a new key.

3. Add the following entry to your .env file:

   MISTRAL_API_KEY=your_mistral_api_key_here

---

3. Start the server

   npm start or npm run dev

The server will run on http://localhost:8000

---

🤝 How to Contribute

We welcome contributions to help improve LegalHuB! 🚀 Whether you're fixing bugs, improving documentation, or building new features — your support makes a difference.

---

🍴 Fork the Repository

1. Navigate to the LegalHuB GitHub repository.
2. Click the Fork button in the top-right corner to create a personal copy of the repository.

---

🔄 Clone Your Forked Repository

1. Clone the repository to your local machine:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/LegalHuB.git

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd LegalHuB

3. 🌿 Create a New Branch
   • Create a new branch for your changes:

   git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

4. Make Your Changes✏️

   • Add your desired features, fix bugs, or improve documentation. 🛠️

5. 📦 Stage the Changes

   • Add modified files to the staging area:

   git add .

6. 📝 Commit Your Changes
   • Commit your changes with a clear, descriptive message:

   git commit -m "Add [feature/fix]: short description of what you changed"

7. ⬆️ Push to Your Fork
   • Push the changes to your forked GitHub repository:

   git push origin feature/your-feature-name

8. 📬 Create a Pull Request

   • Visit your forked repository on GitHub.

   • Click on "Compare & pull request".

   • Add a title and description of your changes.

   • Submit the pull request for review.

---

💡 Tips for a Great Contribution

• Follow consistent code style.

• Write descriptive commit messages.

• Make sure the project builds without errors.

• Reference any related issue numbers (e.g., Fixes #123).

---

📂 Project Structure

LegalHuB/
├── init/                   # Seed scripts for rights & documents
│   ├── documents.data.js
│   ├── index.documents.js
│   ├── index.rights.js
│   └── rights.data.js
│
├── src/                    # Main application source
│   ├── controllers/        # Business logic for each route
│   ├── db/                 # MongoDB database connection
│   ├── middlewares/        # Auth, error, upload middleware
│   ├── models/             # Mongoose schemas
│   ├── public/             # Static files (CSS, JS, images)
│   ├── routes/             # Express.js route definitions
│   ├── uploads/            # Uploaded files (PDFs etc.)
│   ├── utils/              # Helpers: error handling, responses, Cloudinary
│   ├── views/              # EJS templates (includes, layouts, pages)
│   ├── app.js              # Express app config
│   ├── constants.js        # Global constants
│   ├── index.js            # Server entry point
│   └── readme.md           # Dev-specific readme
│
├── .env.sample             # Example environment config
├── .gitignore              # Git ignored files
├── .prettierrc             # Prettier config
├── .prettierignore
├── CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
├── LICENSE
├── package.json
├── package-lock.json
└── README.md               # Project overview and setup

---

🌐 API Endpoints

📘 Legal Dictionary

• GET /api/dictionary/:term
  Returns an AI-generated explanation for a legal term.

---

📄 Legal Forms & Documents

• GET /api/forms
  Retrieve all available legal forms.

• GET /api/forms/:id
  Get a specific form by its ID.

• GET /api/forms/download/:id
  Download a specific legal form.

---

🧾 Legal Rights

• GET /api/rights
  Fetch all legal rights from the database.

• GET /api/rights/:id
  Retrieve a specific legal right by ID.

---

🔍 Smart Search

• GET /api/search?q=your_query
  Searches across legal dictionary, rights, and forms.

🔁 Example Response

{
  "dictionary_results": ["Tenant Rights - Explanation"],
  "rights_results": ["Right to Safe Housing"],
  "form_results": ["Rental Agreement Form"]
}

---

🔍 Smart Search Logic

The Smart Search feature performs a unified query across:

• Legal terms in the dictionary database
• User rights stored in MongoDB
• Legal forms and their descriptions

The results are ranked and returned in a categorized format to ensure relevance and clarity.

---

🎨 UI Pages

• Home (/) – Introductory landing page with navigation
• Legal Dictionary (/dictionary) – Look up legal terms
• Legal Forms (/forms) – Download or view forms by category
• Legal Rights (/rights) – Explore civil and employment rights

---

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

---

🤝 Contributing

Pull requests are welcome! For significant changes, please open an issue first to discuss your proposed modifications.

---

📬 Contact

For support, collaboration, or legal partnerships, please contact:
📧 [email protected]

---

LegalHuB – Empowering users with accessible legal information.